The Student Room Group

Art Foundation degree -Q&A help!

Hey, so I decided to apply for a foundation degree before the BA degree. Which would also help me with my portfolio. I decided to do this just a few days ago. I start uni in Sep 2015 but now I want to apply for a foundation before. But, I just realised that it might not be a good idea? I have studied art for 5 years now at an art high school and I thought i might not need it but now I am 90% sure I would benefit from it a lot.
A foundation degree usually lasts a year?! And I want to use the work produced there as my portfolio. But , how can I apply for a BA degree if I haven't finished the foundation degree. Instead of starting the BA in 2015 , now I want to start it in 2016, therefore I would have to apply by January 2016, right? But won't have finished the foundation by then... I don't really understand this. If you do a foundation do you really have to take a gap year ? Or is it a possibility to apply later to start college I'm Sep ?
I am really overwhelmed :cry2::facepalm:
Does this make sense? Please help me, I am on the verge of crying...
Also, any suggestions on the best foundation courses? Does the Slade really have only a ten week course? Anyone went there? Is UCA a good option?
Thank you for your kindness!
Reply 1
Hi,
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking but I did an Art Foundation last year so I'll attempt to answer as much as I can for you.
First off, you don't NEED to have an Art Foundation to apply for Art based BA degrees, and I know a fair few people who got straight into an arts degree without one - however, most universities (particularly the good ones) do prefer prospective students to have an Art Foundation, therefore doing one will increase your chances of getting into a good Art Uni. Also, the work you complete on an Art Foundation tends to be much more diverse, and of a better standard, than that completed at Sixth Form/College/High School - and therefore will mean your portfolio will be stronger.

You don't need to have completed your Art Foundation before you send off your application to Universities, you can just put the result of the qualification as 'pending'. This way the universities you have applied for will see you that you are completing the course - but know you won't have the grade yet.
Many Art Foundation courses will offer to help you through the UCAS application process, and it is done in much the same way that it would be if you applied during your last year of A-Levels, with the grade for the qualification you've entered being stated as 'pending'.

You don't need to take a gap year before/after you complete an Art Foundation if it's not what you want to do. The Art Foundation generally takes a year to complete so it would be an extra year added in to your studies.

UCA is a good university, though I haven't studied there I know a few people who do, and they all enjoy their time there. I would suggest you research as many different Art Foundation options as you can - and consider whether it's worth you going further afield to study, or staying near home (Obviously this depends on whether you can afford to support yourself away from home, as due to the fact that an Art Foundation is a 'Prep for HE' course and not a 'HE' course, there is no student finance available.)

I hope this helps, if only a little bit! :O
Reply 2
Thank you for your answer!:adore: it really helps.
I checked the UCA site and I found this interesting thing : http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/ips
So, as far as I understand at this hour , it pretty much says that if you want to continue with a degree at the same uni you don't need to apply, they will make an offer based on the foundation result. That would be pretty cool, less stress which is good. But what if I don't like it? I don't think i can switch the uni.
Would you mind me asking where did you do your foundation? And did you go to college right after you have finished your degree? Sorry, the process is a bit confusing for me, but your answer gave me hope .
I wonder if all the unis ( that offer a foundation) have the same Internal procedure?
Reply 3
:smile:

I studied my Art Foundation at the Arts University Bournemouth - and they also ran an internal application process. Most universities that run Art Foundations seem to prefer to allow their foundation students on to their BA courses over other students - provided they've been any good at foundation :')
The internal application process really does take a whole heap of pressure off of applications because you know early on whether you've gotten a place or not, and if not you can get feed back on what went wrong, and then have a second chance through formal UCAS admissions.

As far as the whole process goes - basically you don't apply to an Art Foundation through UCAS (as UCAS is for HE Higher Education, and an Art Foundation is classed as FE Further Education) - however during your year on your Art Foundation you will have to apply to whichever degree you want to do through UCAS (Your university will likely help you LOADS with this).
Even if you do the internal admissions process, your application still needs to be registered 'officially' through UCAS, if that makes sense. So you apply through UCAS, then go through the internal application process, then are given your result through UCAS - it's a bit convoluted but it works well enough. Also this works really well because if you don't get a place initially through the internal application you will often get feedback on your portfolio/interview/'what went wrong' and then get to have a second interview when they are interviewing people who have applied from other places. Basically Universities that offer internal applications tends to mean that you get two chances to impress at interview!

I personally took a gap year after my Art Foundation, but I was the exception to the rule - most people I knew on the foundation course went straight in to their degree. :smile:
Do you still want to go to the university you've been accepted to? If not, then I would recommend doing a Foundation course if you're young enough to do it for free. You should produce enough work before February/March for a portfolio. I mostly put in work I did in 2014 into mine.
Slade's foundation course is 10 week over summer, but it isn't an accredited Foundation course. It's really for people who just want to do it for fun, rather than to get into university and it costs £3,400. However, if you're over 19 this might be cheaper than a regular foundation.
Where are you looking to apply next year?
I went to Cambridge Regional College for my foundaton, but I wouldn't recommend it. I'm going to Goldsmiths for Fine Art in Sep. :smile:
Reply 5
@KehRawwr
Thank you so much, I calmed down now :biggrin: so it is a lot more simple than I thought. So the foundation year helped a lot with your work? I think it's a great experience and it's good to have one, but since I just decided it might be worth doing one I don't know much about it.
@HelveticaBold
Thank you for the answer. Unfortunately I will be 19 in July right before the Term starts which means I have to pay the tuition fees :frown: congratulations on your offer at Goldsmiths, I heard it's really good.
So Slade is not exactly an option, thanks for making that clear.
I wanted to go to UCA, because I meet them at an uni fair and I juts got carried away by the whole experience :biggrin: I am not so sure anymore, maybe should I chose one with a better reputation? When I made a list of the unis I tried not to look at their reputation because I want a course that is good for me and maybe some styles don't fit my vision.( if that makes sense) I talked with some tutors and they advised me to go for the reputation so I don't know anymore...


Also, I like the fine art courses from Newcastle and Norwich!? But I not sure if they are good, the studios are amazing though. What do you think about these options?
Also, do you attend and interview for the foundation as well? What exactly do they ask?

Sorry for all the questions you both, I just want to make sure I chose the right thing.
It doesn't really matter where you do your foundation and most people just go to there local college. It's definitely better financially to be able to live at home. It's such bad luck that you turn 19 just before the start of term. I wouldn't worry about the reputation of where you do your foundation course. If you are applying to the top art schools (such as Slade, Goldsmiths, CSM), then you might want to consider the UAL or Kingston foundation courses as they are more geared towards getting you in to these places.
Newcastle has good reputation for art and I know someone on the foundation course there who loves it. I didn't have an interview as such, more just a portfolio inspection, but I think a lot of universities do interview. They will probably just ask you to explain your work and why you want to go there.
No one will care where you did your foundation, so go to the one you love. :smile:
Reply 7
Yeah, I think it's more important for them to have a foundation degree rather than the reputation of the uni. I see it more of an opportunity for developing my portfolio and choose a path in art. Unfortunately, I don't live in the UK so the local college doesn't work for me.
You can work during foundation year right? Foundation students can live in the campus or do you have to consider renting somewhere outside the campus?
I applied for the best game art courses I could find and got offers from all of them with only an art Alevel and no gcse art or anything :redface:

Not needed.
Original post by Artsaveslife
Yeah, I think it's more important for them to have a foundation degree rather than the reputation of the uni. I see it more of an opportunity for developing my portfolio and choose a path in art. Unfortunately, I don't live in the UK so the local college doesn't work for me.
You can work during foundation year right? Foundation students can live in the campus or do you have to consider renting somewhere outside the campus?


Yes, working during the foundation year is fine and many people do. A lot of people work while doing their degree too.
You'll have to check with the individual universities to see if they provide accommodation. I think all the London ones do, and UCA is quite a major college so they probably do too.
Great, thank you HelveticaBold! :adore:
I will take my time to find the right course for me. Good luck with your degree. :smile:
Original post by Artsaveslife
Great, thank you HelveticaBold! :adore:
I will take my time to find the right course for me. Good luck with your degree. :smile:


You're very welcome. :smile:
Thanks, good luck to you too!
Hey again:biggrin:
I was wondering if anyone could give me some info about the following foundation courses/unis..
1. Foundation diploma in art and design.( Camberwell)
I liked the structure of it , I don't really understand if they have a printmaking studio though. £3.500 ( I think they have similar prices for all the foundation courses) but the accommodation is kinda expensive,but being in London I suppose I have some options.
EDIT: I read some very bad reviews... Small studios, mean tutors?! Is that really true? I don't want to spend so much money on something that has a good reputation but a poor course. Also, the area is dangerous, I don't know much about that area but I read is super dangerous . I like reading reviews but the bad ones really confuse me.like everything I read somewhere( good parts) is being denied elsewhere. I am super confused now...:s-smilie:
2. Leeds - I heard both good and bad things about this course. I liked it, I tend not to take in consideration students' work because it is not really relevant for me.
Main question: is it worth doing this? I don't really intend to do a BA at Leeds because it has different departments and I would rather have a wide variety of skills and opportunities.
3.Kingston - I don't know, I would rather study at an Art Uni?! Would I get the same experience and art community here ?
4. UCA - any campus really, though I loved Farnham.
Any other options? I chose the main ones but any suggestion would be really appreciated.
Thank you, I would really appreciate if you could answer me.
Oh, and how many art works did you put in your portfolio, I could not find any restrictions.:confused:
Thank you
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Artsaveslife
Hey again:biggrin:
I was wondering if anyone could give me some info about the following foundation courses/unis..
1. Foundation diploma in art and design.( Camberwell)
I liked the structure of it , I don't really understand if they have a printmaking studio though. £3.500 ( I think they have similar prices for all the foundation courses) but the accommodation is kinda expensive,but being in London I suppose I have some options.
EDIT: I read some very bad reviews... Small studios, mean tutors?! Is that really true? I don't want to spend so much money on something that has a good reputation but a poor course. Also, the area is dangerous, I don't know much about that area but I read is super dangerous . I like reading reviews but the bad ones really confuse me.like everything I read somewhere( good parts) is being denied elsewhere. I am super confused now...:s-smilie:
2. Leeds - I heard both good and bad things about this course. I liked it, I tend not to take in consideration students' work because it is not really relevant for me.
Main question: is it worth doing this? I don't really intend to do a BA at Leeds because it has different departments and I would rather have a wide variety of skills and opportunities.
3.Kingston - I don't know, I would rather study at an Art Uni?! Would I get the same experience and art community here ?
4. UCA - any campus really, though I loved Farnham.
Any other options? I chose the main ones but any suggestion would be really appreciated.
Thank you, I would really appreciate if you could answer me.
Oh, and how many art works did you put in your portfolio, I could not find any restrictions.:confused:
Thank you


I know some people at Camberwell who really like it there. The studios are really small though, and not just London small. I haven't heard anything about the tutors being mean, but maybe they don't have much time to be overly supportive with 100 students. I get the impression that they treat students more like BA students than Foundation students, which I think is a good thing but it wont suit everyone.
Camberwell isn't very dangerous. It's certainly no more dangerous than most places in London, and the people I know there haven't had any problems.
Goldsmiths is in pretty much the same place (it's a 10 minute drive from Camberwell college), and I have to say the things some people had said about the area really put me off at first. But when I went to an open day it turned out that the area was fine. I think it might be that Fine Art is quite a middle class subject, and people coming from small towns and some posher areas get a bit of a culture shock. However, if you think the area would make you uncomfortable than it would probably be best to look elsewhere.
Have you looked at the Central Saint Martins foundation? That's also part of UAL and it's at Kings Cross which is much more central London.

I'm afraid I don't know much about Leeds and UCA, but don't worry about whether you're going to do your BA at the same place as most people go somewhere else for their degree.

Kingston definitely has the art school feel about it, as you'd be at a campus that only does arts subjects. I went to an open day for the Fine Art BA there and they have great facilities , I would defiantly recommend them. The tutors are also really friendly and it's in a very nice area.

I don't remember how many pieces I put in my foundation portfolio, but 15-20 is usually recommended for BA courses. I think both Kingston and UAL have an online submission of a mini-portfolio first and they will give you a limit on that.

I hope that helped. :smile:
That's great, thank you for writing that long post it really makes the process easier and less overwhelming when you have another point of view.
Much appreciated thank you!:adore:
Hi there, I found your post really helpful, I was wondering if you could tell me if it's possible to apply for an art foundation with only AS results. I just finished my AS year but realised the other subjects I'm studying are irrelevant for what I want to do, so I want to focus purely on art and the go on to a graphic design course. So my question is can I switch to art foundation with AS results alone or do I have to continue with a levels?
Original post by Shammaj123
Hi there, I found your post really helpful, I was wondering if you could tell me if it's possible to apply for an art foundation with only AS results. I just finished my AS year but realised the other subjects I'm studying are irrelevant for what I want to do, so I want to focus purely on art and the go on to a graphic design course. So my question is can I switch to art foundation with AS results alone or do I have to continue with a levels?


bump as i would like to know too!

Quick Reply

Latest