The Student Room Group

Is A Level Photography Valued for Art-Based Degrees??

Hi,
So next year I start college but I’m not too sure what I want to do after that. I’m split between doing a science based degree (a biology one, to be precise) or an art based one (mainly surrounding fashion communication , creative direction or graphic design ..but I don’t want to cut off any other options as such..). I’ve already submitted my choices for the taster day ,although I can still email the college and ask them to change one if necessary.
As I’m only taking one art based subject, it being photography, I’m now wondering wether it will be regarded as a substantial art subject and enough for me to get into an art and design foundation diploma( as it could maximise my chances of getting onto the art degree of my choice). Would it be better for me to do fine art a level or is photography a level with an art based ‘artefact’ EPQ and an art-based enrichment enough? Help...
P.S if anyone’s currently studying art & design or similar courses to the ones listed above,, particularly at UAL , Falmouth, UCA or NTU please help out??
Reply 1
Original post by xY.mpj.Tx
Hi,
So next year I start college but I’m not too sure what I want to do after that. I’m split between doing a science based degree (a biology one, to be precise) or an art based one (mainly surrounding fashion communication , creative direction or graphic design ..but I don’t want to cut off any other options as such..). I’ve already submitted my choices for the taster day ,although I can still email the college and ask them to change one if necessary.
As I’m only taking one art based subject, it being photography, I’m now wondering wether it will be regarded as a substantial art subject and enough for me to get into an art and design foundation diploma( as it could maximise my chances of getting onto the art degree of my choice). Would it be better for me to do fine art a level or is photography a level with an art based ‘artefact’ EPQ and an art-based enrichment enough? Help...
P.S if anyone’s currently studying art & design or similar courses to the ones listed above,, particularly at UAL , Falmouth, UCA or NTU please help out??


hi there! UAL tend to focus on portfolios, they will most likely as you for 2 portfolios during your application process (for graphic design they may only ask for 1)
yes, it is very beneficial for you to do an art based subject whether that is textiles or fine art however that doesn't mean your photography subject is not useful (especially for courses like graphic design)
what i would strongly suggest is building your own personal portfolio at home or outside of school, include sketches/drawings, paintings and other pieces that would typically be in an a-level art sketchbook & also include your photography
once you've built a strong portfolio you should mention those skills in your personal statement
Reply 2
Original post by mari6m
hi there! UAL tend to focus on portfolios, they will most likely as you for 2 portfolios during your application process (for graphic design they may only ask for 1)
yes, it is very beneficial for you to do an art based subject whether that is textiles or fine art however that doesn't mean your photography subject is not useful (especially for courses like graphic design)
what i would strongly suggest is building your own personal portfolio at home or outside of school, include sketches/drawings, paintings and other pieces that would typically be in an a-level art sketchbook & also include your photography
once you've built a strong portfolio you should mention those skills in your personal statement


Oh ok thank you!
Just confused as to why they’d ask for 2 tho. And does that apply to foundation art & design courses as well as I’m planning on doing that before a degree as the art career I want to pursue is still unclear to me but I’ve got a rough idea of the style of work I like doing and I’ve heard foundation courses with diagnostics pathways are helpful in exploring that. :smile:
I think it would depend on the "art-based" degree you want to do.

For something like illustration or fine art, it's quite possible they'll want to see appropriate development using traditional media (particularly drawing from life). You won't necessarily need to do A-level Art for this (although it might help you develop those skills in more structured environment) but you won't develop this from photography. Things to do with e.g. composition etc, however could well be developed by A-level Photography, and the technical background you get from it might also be useful for related time-based media courses like film or animation.

The main thing for either applying to foundation courses or to degrees directly would probably be to develop appropriate breadth in your portfolio, which most courses would probably like to see some drawing from life at least, if not some exploration of other media outside of your "primary" area perhaps. You can do this in various ways, and you don't need to take A-level Art to do so (but it might help). Arguably for design based courses (as opposed to fine art courses) A-level Art might not be any better than photography.

@PQ may be able to advise in more depth (and accuracy, no doubt), as well as correct any of my misconceptions above though!
Reply 4
Original post by xY.mpj.Tx
Oh ok thank you!
Just confused as to why they’d ask for 2 tho. And does that apply to foundation art & design courses as well as I’m planning on doing that before a degree as the art career I want to pursue is still unclear to me but I’ve got a rough idea of the style of work I like doing and I’ve heard foundation courses with diagnostics pathways are helpful in exploring that. :smile:

diagnostic mode sounds great!

the 1st portfolio is uploaded to UAL's online portal & if they like what they see they'll ask for another portfolio, the second portfolio is usually in person.
for foundation courses at UAL they're obviously not expecting fully developed portfolios and so on, but for their selection criteria you need to demonstrate some sort of skill/work in order to get on the foundation course
each course might have slightly different things they'd expect from you
Reply 5
Original post by artful_lounger
I think it would depend on the "art-based" degree you want to do.

For something like illustration or fine art, it's quite possible they'll want to see appropriate development using traditional media (particularly drawing from life). You won't necessarily need to do A-level Art for this (although it might help you develop those skills in more structured environment) but you won't develop this from photography. Things to do with e.g. composition etc, however could well be developed by A-level Photography, and the technical background you get from it might also be useful for related time-based media courses like film or animation.

The main thing for either applying to foundation courses or to degrees directly would probably be to develop appropriate breadth in your portfolio, which most courses would probably like to see some drawing from life at least, if not some exploration of other media outside of your "primary" area perhaps. You can do this in various ways, and you don't need to take A-level Art to do so (but it might help). Arguably for design based courses (as opposed to fine art courses) A-level Art might not be any better than photography.

@PQ may be able to advise in more depth (and accuracy, no doubt), as well as correct any of my misconceptions above though!


Yes Im thinking of doing something heavy on composition (like creative/art direction maybe) and maybe mixed media work. Hence I was going to do a foundation course to build a portfolio and explore which degree my skills cater towards.
Thanks anyway :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by mari6m
diagnostic mode sounds great!

the 1st portfolio is uploaded to UAL's online portal & if they like what they see they'll ask for another portfolio, the second portfolio is usually in person.
for foundation courses at UAL they're obviously not expecting fully developed portfolios and so on, but for their selection criteria you need to demonstrate some sort of skill/work in order to get on the foundation course
each course might have slightly different things they'd expect from you


So I’d have to produce two different portfolios?
Reply 7
Original post by xY.mpj.Tx
So I’d have to produce two different portfolios?


not necessarily,
the online portfolio is merely a fragment of what you can produce, you'd need to condense everything down to maybe 5-6 pieces
in person you can bring what you've shown online, plus more work/sketchbook/portfolios
sorry! should've made that more clear
Reply 8
Original post by mari6m
not necessarily,
the online portfolio is merely a fragment of what you can produce, you'd need to condense everything down to maybe 5-6 pieces
in person you can bring what you've shown online, plus more work/sketchbook/portfolios
sorry! should've made that more clear


Ok thanks for the info!
I guess ill just bring in my actual school coursework and maybe things I’ve done on the side all organised :smile:

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