Fine Art (Top-up) - BA (Hons)

More about this course

In our School of Art, Architecture and Design, you’ll be studying in a famous art school in one of the busiest contemporary art scenes in Europe. London is home to hundreds of art galleries and museums, art events and a range of art organisations and businesses.

On this exciting and challenging undergraduate degree, you'll be taught in cutting-edge studios by practising London artists who are passionate about art and teaching. Our staff include artists with an impressive track record of international shows such as Bob and Roberta Smith, Pil and Galia Kollectiv and Mel Brimfield. There’s also an extensive programme of lectures from guest artists.

Facilities include spacious art studios, the latest 3D printing and laser-cutting facilities, exhibition spaces and even a roof garden. You’ll also have access to state-of-the-art digital media, print, painting, photography, ceramics and sculpture workshops.

You’ll study alongside a diverse mix of ambitious and prolific fellow art students and will associate with architects, designers, musicians and film directors, providing a collaborative atmosphere that will stimulate your creativity.

With two huge all-student exhibitions taking place, as well as a major degree show every summer, you will have excellent opportunities to showcase your work.

As a final year student you will have the opportunity to explore a topic of your choice in your dissertation. Our dissertation students all belong to a themed dissertation studio that offers a supportive group context for planning and writing your dissertation, and specific academic tutoring about how to manage the project.

Assessment

Assessment is through practical and written coursework. Practical coursework is developed in workshops and studios, while some written project development coursework is developed online. Coursework is marked in percentages according to a standard band of passing grades by a group of art examiners using clear, published assessment criteria.

You will also be involved in formative assessment during the year. This includes tutorials in which you will be given valuable verbal and written feedback on your art project proposals, works in progress and draft submissions, helping you to build on your individual strengths.

There are no examinations.

Entry requirements

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have one of the following:

• 240 credits from a Higher National Diploma (HND), Foundation Degree (FdA/ FdSc) or equivalent international qualification in a relevant subject
• 240 credits from years 1 and 2 of an undergraduate degree (BA/BSc) in a relevant subject at a different institution
• a portfolio interview

Suitable applicants living in the UK will be invited to a portfolio interview. Applicants living outside the UK will be required to submit a portfolio of work via email.

Portfolios and interviews

Your portfolio should be selective but have enough work to show the range of your interests and talents. We're interested in seeing how you develop a project from beginning to end, not only finished work.

Physical portfolio

If you are coming in person to your interview we strongly suggest bringing a physical portfolio of work.

Things to bring:

• Sketchbooks – we love to see your sketchbooks with ideas and notes, even if they are messy
• Examples of the development of a project from start to finish and the final outcome
• Some work that you are really proud of and want to talk about
• Some work that shows you experimenting with different processes

Digital portfolio

If you are submitting an online application, please follow these guidelines.

Things to include:

• Scans or photographs demonstrating items from the list above
• Storyboarding for motion-based work
• Scans of sketchbook pages showing development
• Be sure to check the resolution and overall quality of your image to ensure submissions are not pixelated

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).

English language requirements

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

Modular structure

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2023/24 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year 3 modules include:

Consolidating Studio Practice (core, 60 credits)

This module currently runs:

• spring semester - Monday
• spring semester - Thursday morning

FA6P02 Consolidating Studio Practice marks the summation of the programme of studies on the BA Fine Art course. The module comprises a major body of work demonstrating independent study, produced under supervision and guidance. The purpose of this final module is to demonstrate the application and integration of the skills and knowledge gained throughout the course.
The module requires you to appropriately frame your studio work building on your planned proposal undertaken in FA6011 Planning Studio Practice in Semester 1, and culminating in the submission of a final body of work using ideas, techniques and processes at the forefront of fine art practice.

The module will be supported by a series of sessions on curatorial decision to suit a range of audiences, which will enable you to realise your final outcomes. On this basis, the module requires you to frame the project in contemporary terms and be able to justify and present the methods employed in its execution, including the conceptual and practical aims of the project and its intended audience or reception.
Students are encouraged to act as critical and autonomous learners, taking increasing
responsibility for the progress of their project work.

The module aims to allow students to show they have acquired coherent and detailed
knowledge at the forefront of fine art, able to deploy critical thinking with
accuracy by developing and sharing the context for their project. Students are expected to synthesise the experience and knowledge gained over the course, and employ a range of transferable skills in communication, negotiation, analysis, project planning and project management. The module also aims to provide students with work-related learning about different outreach strategies, curatorial practices, setting up and running of exhibitions. Finally, the module aims to enable the student to successfully mount their final degree exhibition, through a series of sessions on technical as well as theoretical exhibition practices.

Read full details

Critical & Contextual Studies 3: Dissertation (Art) (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• autumn semester - Wednesday morning
• autumn semester - Wednesday afternoon

Critical and Contextual Studies (CCS) in Level 6 offers you an opportunity to develop a sustained enquiry into a topic you choose because it particularly interests you. Building on critical and academic skills gained during two years of previous study, the module encourages you to develop an awareness of issues around which there is some debate, uncertainty or contest. Based on this awareness, you will develop a set of research questions which constitute the topic of your study. This topic can be theoretical, historical, or technical and you may, with guidance, decide to engage with an area of scholarly interest outside the territory of your degree course.

You will develop your topic and respond to your research questions in the form of an extended critical study or Dissertation (6,000–7,000 words). Through this study you demonstrate that you can thoroughly research a topic, use appropriate methods of investigation, and work in a methodical and organised way to develop a coherent argument or line of thought. Teaching and Learning on the module is designed to support you in this process through a combination of seminars, workshops, academic skill sessions and one-to-one supervision; as well as a series of formative and summative assessments which prepare you for the final submission.

The final form and presentation of your Dissertation can reflect a broad range of approaches to research and writing. It may include visual materials or other non-written forms of presentation as long they support your enquiry and comprise an integral part of the whole. By prior approval at the start of the module, your research can be part practice-based, and include primary research and fieldwork.

By virtue of the sustained, independent nature of the learning and substantial final output, the dissertation is also intended to prepare you for possible postgraduate study.

Read full details

Planning Studio Practice (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• autumn semester - Monday
• autumn semester - Monday morning

The FA6011Planning Studio Practice module supports intensive research and development towards the realisation of your major body of work in the second semester module FA6P02 Consolidating Studio Practice. In this module you will engage in methods of enquiry that are appropriate to your identified areas of interest and supportive of your future creative aspirations.

During the module, you will test out working methods, clarify your intentions,
and frame your project in a contemporary context. The module includes talks, seminars and workshops to support your ability to deliver a professional artistic Project Proposal, a document that you will submit at the end of the module. The document will allow you to clarify the intensions of your final body of work, outline the research context, understand professional practice aspects such as timing, planning, health & safety and other measures needed to be considered in the work towards the realisation of your final body of work.

The FA6011 Planning Studio Practice serves and sustains the BA Fine Art course, delivered in a seamless and integral relationship with the work of other core modules in the level. Students are expected to reflect upon and represent the complexity of critical and creative relationships between and across the body of work undertaken in Level 6, including in the Critical and Contextual Studies dissertation.

By developing and sharing methods of enquiry and professional practice skills - through a journal and project proposal - the aim of this module is for you to acquire knowledge of contemporary art research in such a way that will be enable you to deploy critical thinking with accuracy. By planning and communicating methods of enquiry to peers in advance, one of this module’s objectives is to enable you to identify potential obstacles and solve complex problems throughout the initiation and production of your projects. The module will also enable you to demonstrate skills of reflection and evaluation of concepts and methods of enquiry and the analysis of materials and techniques in the body of work, via a public dialogue with a specialist audience - your peers.

Read full details

What our students say

"This is an enjoyable and rewarding course which provides exciting engagement with current art practice. It allowed me to develop my own approach to the discipline of painting, equipping me with both discipline-specific skills and a range of transferable ones, too. It provided me with the experience and confidence to go on to my MA."

Elizabeth Vicar, Fine Art graduate

“I am really grateful for all of the support and encouragement provided and to have had such an enriching education. Having tutors like Patrick Ward, Mel, Jonathan, Galia and Ben Cain was amazing and the critical direction they provided and professional relationships we had were unlike any of the ones my friends at other London art schools have had. I think working in studios was one of the best aspects of studying and I really benefited from learning in this environment.”

Grace Radford, Fine Art graduate

Where this course can take you

Many organisations value a Fine Art graduate’s creativity very highly, and you’ll be joining the School’s proud list of students, which includes famous artists such as Tracey Emin, Sam Taylor-Wood, John Cecil Stephenson and Professor Gerard Hemsworth.

There are a wide range of job opportunities as artists, curators, art critics and art journalists, as previous graduates will testify. Others have gone on to become artists' assistants, art technicians, gallery administrators, art event organisers, marketers, auctioneers, print technicians, photographers, video producers and studio managers.

Alternative career paths include arts officers for local government, art teachers, art tutors and lecturers. Some graduates have even pursued rewarding roles as art therapists, working in hospitals, day care, rehabilitation, prisons and the probation service.

There’s also the chance that your work may one day be displayed alongside our past students. Organisations that host work by our graduates include the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Venice Biennale, ICA, Henry Moore Foundation, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim, Art Basel, Frieze, Parkett, Artforum, The English Arts Council and the Pompidou Centre.

Important information about this course

We're committed to continuously improving our degree courses to ensure our students receive the best possible learning experience. Many of the courses in our School of Art, Architecture and Design are currently under review for 2023-24 entry. We encourage you to apply as outlined in the how to apply section of this page and if there are any changes to your course we will contact you. All universities review their courses regularly and this year we are strengthening our art, architecture and design courses to better reflect the needs of employers and ensure you're well-equipped for your future career.

Additional costs

Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things like equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips or professional body fees.

Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.

Stay up to date

Treat yourself to snaps of our latest students' work and news from the course by following us on Instagram @metartlondon.

You can follow our School of Art, Architecture and Design on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with everything that's happening in our creative community.

When to apply

The University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) accepts applications for full-time courses starting in September from one year before the start of the course. Our UCAS institution code is L68.

If you will be applying direct to the University you are advised to apply as early as possible as we will only be able to consider your application if there are places available on the course.