A Level ART or Foundation in ART? (Online studies)

I'm torn between A level Art & Design and Level 3 Foundation in Art & Design. Also, I haven't done Art in GCSE or As level, although I have a very solid Art portfolio.

My high school does not provide Art at all and it's very tricky to find another school or exam centre to host my A level Art exams.

So would a Foundation in Art & Design be a good substitute? I'm going to study this online and have found some websites (these will be intensive 1 year courses completed by next Summer):

University of Hertfordshire
http://idesigni.co.uk/courses/art-design/art-and-design-foundation

Central Saint Martins
http://www.arts.ac.uk/csm/courses/foundation/art-and-design-portfolio-course-for-foundation-online/

Online College of Art and Design (OCAD)
http://artcoursework.com/courses/foundation/index.html

I've seen quite a few more sites and it would really help out if anyone could reccomend a site.

And does anyone have experience and knowledge regarding a foundation diploma in Art? What should I expect?

Reply 1

PQ

Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Original post by Thou Art

I'm torn between A level Art & Design and Level 3 Foundation in Art & Design. Also, I haven't done Art in GCSE or As level, although I have a very solid Art portfolio.

My high school does not provide Art at all and it's very tricky to find another school or exam centre to host my A level Art exams.

So would a Foundation in Art & Design be a good substitute? I'm going to study this online and have found some websites (these will be intensive 1 year courses completed by next Summer):

University of Hertfordshire
http://idesigni.co.uk/courses/art-design/art-and-design-foundation

Central Saint Martins
http://www.arts.ac.uk/csm/courses/foundation/art-and-design-portfolio-course-for-foundation-online/

Online College of Art and Design (OCAD)
http://artcoursework.com/courses/foundation/index.html

I've seen quite a few more sites and it would really help out if anyone could reccomend a site.

And does anyone have experience and knowledge regarding a foundation diploma in Art? What should I expect?

If you want to study an art or design degree then an art foundation is the best preparation - HOWEVER it is a full time one year course and generally equivalent in work to 2+ A levels in a single year. I'd be wary of committing to too much studying distance learning for a FAD (foundation in art and design diploma) alongside your other A levels. For most foundation courses that means full time attendance for 3-5 days a week - that's a substantial commitment to replicate via distance learning.

Of the courses you've linked to the CSM course is actually a portfolio preparation course to help you APPLY to a foundation diploma...not an actual diploma course. The other 2 do lead to an ABC accredited FAD qualification.

Reply 2

Thou Art

OP

2

Original post by PQ

If you want to study an art or design degree then an art foundation is the best preparation - HOWEVER it is a full time one year course and generally equivalent in work to 2+ A levels in a single year. I'd be wary of committing to too much studying distance learning for a FAD (foundation in art and design diploma) alongside your other A levels. For most foundation courses that means full time attendance for 3-5 days a week - that's a substantial commitment to replicate via distance learning.

Of the courses you've linked to the CSM course is actually a portfolio preparation course to help you APPLY to a foundation diploma...not an actual diploma course. The other 2 do lead to an ABC accredited FAD qualification.

Thank you so so much for your help @PQ !!
I can handle the workload but the university I want to apply to (not in the UK) does not have ABC awards in their qualifications guideline. They do accept BTEC foundation diplomas so I'll just have to wait for their reply. :/

And I hope you have a great day : )

Reply 3

Zaiz

1

The ABC Awards qualification is the same as the BTEC, up to 112 UCAS points and a specialist portfolio. It will get you into any University. Many Universities simply ask for an access to higher education diploma and the ABC Awards is just one of many including the BTEC. I studied the Foundation Dip 20 years ago and have taught it too. It's probably the best art course I ever studied in terms of what I was actually taught. Lots of new experiences and new skills are discovered. The course is essentially an opportunity to learn new skills, often in art disciplines, you have had little or no experience with. It's a great course for answering the 'what course do I want to study at Uni?' question, I had no idea what creative pathway to study; Fine art, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Fashion, Animation, Film, Textiles, Illustration, Games Design, Architecture etc. The course (BTEC and ABC Awards) is divided into 3 stages; Exploratory, Pathway and Confirmatory stages. The Exploratory involves trying lots of different pathways. and usually, constitutes about a third of the overall course. After trying out different pathways you then choose one or two to pursue further in the pathway stage. In the final third of the course, the Confirmatory stage your commit to a single pathway and make your final major project. All of the work produced on the course provides Universities and employers with a really good insight into what you can do and what kind of creative you are.With regard to the links you provide, they all seem like good options. You can't go wrong with courses offered by the University as they generally offer BA places to their own Foundation Dip. students. CSM is undoubtedly one of the world's top programmes of course but this means competition for places is fierce. Online courses are growing in popularity and offer a real alternative for students who have work and family commitments or find going to a conventional college challenging. Be careful though when choosing online courses as there are some pretenders out there. Make sure the course is Ofqual accredited and that it attracts UCAS points as Universities will require these. Your Online College of Art and Design (OCAD) does offer this and has lots of great reviews from students so seems like a good bet.Have a great time on your course, I know I did and it changed my life for the better :smile:

A Level ART or Foundation in ART? (Online studies)

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