University of Chester, BA (Hons), Fine Art

Level 1: Students are introduced to essential elements of creative practice and studio-based activity through the exploration and generation of ideas in visual form; students are given the opportunity to examine, interrogate and challenge previously held beliefs through the negotiation of set tasks; these serve as open-ended points of departure providing opportunities for a personal, visual and conceptual response; modules in level 1 introduce students to practical and conceptual strategies that inform subsequent studio enquiries; curriculum areas include: studio practice; visual research; contextual research; historical and contemporary contexts; interdisciplinary practice. Level 2: Individual programmes of study based on identified interests and strengths are negotiated with tutors; studio-based modules are designed to support individual creative needs, while a studio journal provides evidence and confirmation of students’ understanding, personal research agendas, and growing awareness of a functional relationship between theory and practice; curriculum areas include: studio practice (with embedded theory); visual research; contextual research; interdisciplinary practice; in addition, and during level 2 studies, students complete a module of fine art experiential learning or a choice of work-based learning modules within areas of potential employment during which students are able to assess and apply their skills within the wider social and/or commercial context. Level 3: The programme culminates in a period of sustained studio practice during which students demonstrate their creative development in the preparation of a final studio exhibition project; at this level, contemporary artistic ideas, discourse and contexts are critically interrogated, expanding students’ theoretical perspectives, subject knowledge and promoting confidence in the articulation of their personal opinions; students’ visual research continues to provide formal and conceptual references and adds impetus to the origination and production of their final year work; the needs of students making an application for postgraduate study are addressed in both practical and theoretical elements of the course and by the University’s careers advisors; curriculum areas include: studio practice/exhibition project; visual research; contextual research; critical and contextual studies; professional practice.