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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

Arts Foundation course

18 replies

BoxitUp · 28/03/2021 08:29

Has anyone's child done an Arts Foundation course? And if so:

At which uni was it and why was that uni chosen?

Was there anything on the PS that helped secure their place?

Dd is wanting to do Art for a degree and I'm just wondering if there's anything she can do to enhance her application. She's currently 16 so has a bit of time yet.

Would working in an art gallery/shop as a Saturday job help? Any other suggestions?

OP posts:

PresentingPercy · 28/03/2021 09:48

No. Work doesn’t really help. Art Foundation is usually about your portfolio. It’s what art you can do. So do Art A levelor equivalent. Work on a portfolio.

Universities and colleges run Foundation courses. Some universities guarantee Foundation students will get a place on their degree courses. Look at the top arts universities first. Eg London University of the Arts, etc. See what Foundation courses they offer. Look at local universities. They may have Art Foundation too. What courses do their Foundation students progress to?

The Foundation is a chance to try various media and hone skills. And work up a portfolio for degree entry.

titchy · 28/03/2021 11:01

If she did all Art for sixth form she wouldn't need to do the foundation. So if she is only focussed on an art degree she could do a BTEC extended diploma (or the T level equivalent) which would give her enough time to get a decent portfolio together. It's all eggs in one basket though which is a risky decision at 16.

PresentingPercy · 28/03/2021 13:01

You don’t need to do all art at 6th form. DD did Art and Photography A levels and that was enough. However some degree courses prefer candidates with an Art Foundation. Doing a portfolio and A levels is seriously hard work. Your portfolio may well have to go in during January! So one term of y13. That’s seriously hard work with practicals likely to be in the Spring. Art Foundation gives time to explore and is definitely recommended for some courses. You need to check out requirements. However ALL will want a portfolio. That can be daunting when doing A levels.

ruby29 · 28/03/2021 20:15

My daughter did foundation ( diagnostic, which gives you a chance to try different specialisms ) at UAL Camberwell.

Tuition fees are free if you’re under 19 starting so in some ways it’s a no brainer. Chance to try different mediums /specialisms . More time to build up a portfolio & support from specialist tutors on portfolio / Uni applications.

I think the admission for foundation is mostly based on portfolio plus interview/ passion for art.

Visiting galleries, being able to talk about her work likely more important than Saturday job etc.

Good luck to her

Unescorted · 28/03/2021 20:20

DD went straight from A Level to BFA without a foundation - she did Fine Art, 3D Art and Graphics. She also sweated her portfolio. As an insurance she applied to Camberwell and Manchester for foundations.

Good luck to your DD - mine loves her degree course.

Original poster

BoxitUp · 28/03/2021 22:38

Thanks all.

Looks like she might be better doing a Foundation course probably though I'd worry about her going to London to do it. She's young for her age and we live in the north of England. Do Foundation students mostly live in halls for the year?

OP posts:

BlossomCat · 28/03/2021 22:50

Most local further education colleges do an art foundation course, so there should be no need to live away. My daughter did hers in the next town over as it had a better reputation than the one here.
Ask her art teacher what they recommend, they will have plenty of students intending to do art degrees planning on doing a foundation course.
My daughter found that it focused her mind on what specialism she wanted to follow, and the tutors were geared up to steering students in the appropriate direction.

BlossomCat · 28/03/2021 22:52

Even though she was commuting to the next town, she was living at home, but still able to work part time and save some money, but it was an intensive year of 9 till 5 days.

RaininSummer · 28/03/2021 23:07

It was a good few years ago now, but my daughter did art foundation at the local college and as she was under 19 it was free as mentioned above. After that she went to.uni and left home.

weegiepower · 28/03/2021 23:14

As far as im aware (as was the case for me anyway, but this was 14 years ago now) you do need an art foundation to get a place on a good degree. I would highly suggest her doing one local to where you live, I did mine at a local university that offered art foundation courses. Nowhere at the time I found would offer halls accommodation for foundation courses as weren't considered "higher education" but that could well be different now.

I went to do my degree at UAL Central St Martins and really wish I'd spent my foundation year working and saving some money to make my time in London easier financial wise! I was too close to qualify for halls so commuted but would have been a better experience to have lived closer! I would definitely make sure she considers things like this when choosing where to study!

Sidewalksue · 28/03/2021 23:18

Where in the north? There’s certainly a few places in the north east to do it.

PresentingPercy · 29/03/2021 00:24

My DD went to LCF without a Foundation.

No, you don’t have to go to London for the Art Foundation. Look at what’s available locally. There will be something. She will be 18 when doing the Art Foundation so the same age as every other student!

PresentingPercy · 29/03/2021 00:32

The basic choice is local FE College, University for Foundation or integrated Foundation/Degree at a university. There are pros and cons for both. There’s a lot of good info out there so she should make the choice that works for her.

Unescorted · 29/03/2021 06:46

Weegiepower not necessarily. My DD is at The Ruskin without a foundation. When she applied she was also offered at Leeds, UAL and Newcastle. When she was doing the interview rounds there was a group of 8-10 students who were all doing the same. All of them were offered and got places at their preferred Art schools. None bothered applying to the not "good Art School".

Boxitup It is possible to apply for both the BFA and foundation in the same year. DD knew she wanted to go to RSA if at all possible applying and to the BFA straight from A level gave her 2 chances. If she was unsuccessful 1st time she would have done a foundation and applied again.

Original poster

BoxitUp · 29/03/2021 18:25

Unescorted Thanks. Art's not my area so trying to catch up with everything

OP posts:

Unescorted · 29/03/2021 18:33

It was a steep learning curve for us as well. It isn't necessary to decide which route to go down until it is time to apply for uni & then her tutors will be on hand to advise based on their knowledge of her.

In terms of what helped DDs application was putting the hours into her portfolio & taking an interest in Art in general.

PresentingPercy · 29/03/2021 19:18

The Complete University Guide has good info. Art Foundations are popular due to the fact they allow more time for creativity in different media and time to put together a portfolio. You can apply anywhere you want afterwards. If you can do it all at school, that’s fine. But it’s manic!

Original poster

BoxitUp · 29/03/2021 19:26

Presentingpercy thanks, that's useful to know

OP posts:

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