The Student Room Group

What A-Levels should I pick if I want to study Fine Art at university?

Hello, I have just finished Year 11, and I cannot pick what A-Levels will be right for me. I am determined to study Fine Art (or something similar, like Fine Art with History of Art etc) at a good university (my tops pick are UCL - Slade, any UAL colleges - probably Camberwell or Saint Martins, University of Leeds, Kingston University etc). I am expected to get a Grade 9 in Art and Design, and the rest of my grades are looking pretty good (English Lit/Lang - 8/9, Maths - 6 or 7, Triple Science - 7/7/7).
At first, I chose A-Level Geography and BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design, but then recently changed it (from advice from head of Art at my school) to A-Level Art and Design and the BTEC. My parents think I am mad picking 'Triple Art', and I am unaware what universities will prefer - having a humanities A-Level and a BTEC, or going the full hog and only studying Art for 2 years. I have tried for days at looking at Entry Requirements for different universities, but I find the web pages are very vague and I am struggling to find out the key information.

Any help would be so appreciated! Thanks so much!
https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/subjects/fine-art
You might find the link above to be useful, it breaks down what you need for a specific uni course, which unis you can go to etc. You can also find a course generator on this webiste, you put down a set of A Levels and it matches you to a course! Hope that helps a bit.
(edited 2 years ago)
Reply 2
Original post by bleeblahbleh
https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/subjects/fine-art
You might find the link above to be useful, it breaks down what you need for a specific uni course, which unis you can go to etc. You can also find a course generator on this webiste, you put down a set of A Levels and it matches you to a course! Hope that helps a bit.

Thank you so much... I am going to take a look at that now.
Original post by JackNash
Hello, I have just finished Year 11, and I cannot pick what A-Levels will be right for me. I am determined to study Fine Art (or something similar, like Fine Art with History of Art etc) at a good university (my tops pick are UCL - Slade, any UAL colleges - probably Camberwell or Saint Martins, University of Leeds, Kingston University etc). I am expected to get a Grade 9 in Art and Design, and the rest of my grades are looking pretty good (English Lit/Lang - 8/9, Maths - 6 or 7, Triple Science - 7/7/7).
At first, I chose A-Level Geography and BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design, but then recently changed it (from advice from head of Art at my school) to A-Level Art and Design and the BTEC. My parents think I am mad picking 'Triple Art', and I am unaware what universities will prefer - having a humanities A-Level and a BTEC, or going the full hog and only studying Art for 2 years. I have tried for days at looking at Entry Requirements for different universities, but I find the web pages are very vague and I am struggling to find out the key information.

Any help would be so appreciated! Thanks so much!

Hi!
I just finished my first year of A-Levels and hope to apply to study Fine Art at university later this year (similar applications actually - UCL/Camberwell and Saint Martin's/Oxford and maybe Kingston). I made up my mind to Fine Art years ago, so I can see the boat you're in.
I think most Fine Art courses are pretty open as long as you show some background in art. I know several don't even require having studied Art, as long as you can produce a decent portfolio; but for reference, I currently study A-Level Art and Design, A-Level Economics, A-Level Chemistry and A-Level English Literature, although I completed an A-Level in History of Art earlier this year. Art really is open ended, so I wouldn't worry much about it if I was you.
Art universities tend to aim towards students who have an art foundation course under their belt, you can take this as soon as you finish A-levels for free between the age of 18-19, if you take a gap year before this the course will not be free, you tend to only need one art A-Level or BTEC to get onto this course, and taking three Art courses at the same time will not leave you with a lot of time on your hands as well as other options if you were to change your mind, maybe do some more research into this option :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by StrawberryHands
Art universities tend to aim towards students who have an art foundation course under their belt, you can take this as soon as you finish A-levels for free between the age of 18-19, if you take a gap year before this the course will not be free, you tend to only need one art A-Level or BTEC to get onto this course, and taking three Art courses at the same time will not leave you with a lot of time on your hands as well as other options if you were to change your mind, maybe do some more research into this option :smile:

Thank you so much!
Reply 6
Original post by EDEM0978
Hi!
I just finished my first year of A-Levels and hope to apply to study Fine Art at university later this year (similar applications actually - UCL/Camberwell and Saint Martin's/Oxford and maybe Kingston). I made up my mind to Fine Art years ago, so I can see the boat you're in.
I think most Fine Art courses are pretty open as long as you show some background in art. I know several don't even require having studied Art, as long as you can produce a decent portfolio; but for reference, I currently study A-Level Art and Design, A-Level Economics, A-Level Chemistry and A-Level English Literature, although I completed an A-Level in History of Art earlier this year. Art really is open ended, so I wouldn't worry much about it if I was you.

Thanks so much for your insight... I am wishing you the best of luck when you apply!
Original post by JackNash
Hello, I have just finished Year 11, and I cannot pick what A-Levels will be right for me. I am determined to study Fine Art (or something similar, like Fine Art with History of Art etc) at a good university (my tops pick are UCL - Slade, any UAL colleges - probably Camberwell or Saint Martins, University of Leeds, Kingston University etc). I am expected to get a Grade 9 in Art and Design, and the rest of my grades are looking pretty good (English Lit/Lang - 8/9, Maths - 6 or 7, Triple Science - 7/7/7).
At first, I chose A-Level Geography and BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design, but then recently changed it (from advice from head of Art at my school) to A-Level Art and Design and the BTEC. My parents think I am mad picking 'Triple Art', and I am unaware what universities will prefer - having a humanities A-Level and a BTEC, or going the full hog and only studying Art for 2 years. I have tried for days at looking at Entry Requirements for different universities, but I find the web pages are very vague and I am struggling to find out the key information.

Any help would be so appreciated! Thanks so much!

Hi @JackNash

I just thought I'd jump in here and give you some advice as you mentioned that you were struggling to find the key information about entry requirements. At UAL, for our degree courses, most of them would normally require an art foundation or equivalent such as a BTEC, with the exception of courses at London College of Communication who also take applications directly from A levels, or things like Fashion Business studies. You can find all the entry requirements on each of our course pages, so for example this is the entry requirements for BA (Hons) Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts:

The standard minimum entry requirements for this course are one or a combination of the following qualifications:
Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (Level 3 or 4)
2 A Levels at grade C or above
Merit, Pass, Pass (MPP) at BTEC Extended Diploma
Pass at UAL Extended Diploma
Access to Higher Education Diploma
Or equivalent EU/International qualifications, such as International Baccalaureate Diploma
And 3 GCSE passes at grade 4 or above (grade A*-C)
Entry to this course will also be determined by the quality of your application, looking primarily at your portfolio of work, personal statement and reference.


As others have said, having other things like humanities might help to keep your options open and can also help inform your creative practice but students who apply to UAL come with a range of different experiences, so there's no definite route you have to follow. We are looking for students who have potential to thrive on our courses and this is demonstrated by their personal statement and portfolios. We have some wonderful resources on our website that you might help you in your research.

I hope that's helpful - you can also speak with our students via Unibuddy who might have more advice for you.

Sian
UK Student Recruitment Team
Reply 8
Original post by University of the Arts London
Hi @JackNash

I just thought I'd jump in here and give you some advice as you mentioned that you were struggling to find the key information about entry requirements. At UAL, for our degree courses, most of them would normally require an art foundation or equivalent such as a BTEC, with the exception of courses at London College of Communication who also take applications directly from A levels, or things like Fashion Business studies. You can find all the entry requirements on each of our course pages, so for example this is the entry requirements for BA (Hons) Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts:

The standard minimum entry requirements for this course are one or a combination of the following qualifications:
Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (Level 3 or 4)
2 A Levels at grade C or above
Merit, Pass, Pass (MPP) at BTEC Extended Diploma
Pass at UAL Extended Diploma
Access to Higher Education Diploma
Or equivalent EU/International qualifications, such as International Baccalaureate Diploma
And 3 GCSE passes at grade 4 or above (grade A*-C)
Entry to this course will also be determined by the quality of your application, looking primarily at your portfolio of work, personal statement and reference.


As others have said, having other things like humanities might help to keep your options open and can also help inform your creative practice but students who apply to UAL come with a range of different experiences, so there's no definite route you have to follow. We are looking for students who have potential to thrive on our courses and this is demonstrated by their personal statement and portfolios. We have some wonderful resources on our website that you might help you in your research.

I hope that's helpful - you can also speak with our students via Unibuddy who might have more advice for you.

Sian
UK Student Recruitment Team

Sian, I cannot thank you enough for providing me with this key information. I have been finding it really difficult for weeks finding entry requirement information, and finding out what path would be best suited to me! Once again, your information is incredibly useful (thanks for showing me Unibuddy... it looks like a great tool)!
Thanks very much,
Jack.
Reply 9
hi! not sure if you still need help but i've just finished my 1st year doing fine art at chelsea (ual) and thought maybe it would be helpful to hear? for my a-levels i did art, sociology, and psychology. then i did a foundation at kingston and the entry requirement was to have passed one a-level and also they'd have a look at your portfolio + interview you. when i interviewed for chelsea they definitely focused more on the portfolio i developed and hearing what i had to say than anything else.

good luck with your choices if you haven't done them already!

Quick Reply

Latest