Fine art or psychology

Hi, I am doing art, psychology and maths A levels and I'll be doing an art foundation course next year but I don't know whether to carry on with a fine art degree after that or do psychology. I'm worried that a fine art degree will be looked down on because it's not academic, and for future job opportunities (don't know what I want to do), psychology might be a safer bet? I enjoy both subjects

Hi, I am doing art, psychology and maths A levels and I'll be doing an art foundation course next year but I don't know whether to carry on with a fine art degree after that or do psychology. I'm worried that a fine art degree will be looked down on because it's not academic, and for future job opportunities (don't know what I want to do), psychology might be a safer bet? I enjoy both subjects

Have you looked into other creative degrees beyond fine art? Some will have a closer match to specific careers (illustration, creative direction, communication design etc etc).
What is it about fine art specifically as a creative degree that appeals?

Hi,
I hope you are well!😊
I'm currently in my third year studying Social Science, and chose A-level Psychology at Sixth form, alongside Criminology and Sociology. I thought I'd hop on here because I really enjoyed Psychology at A-level! I wasn't too sure what I wanted to do after my A-levels, but enjoyed all of my subjects so much that I decided to study them further at university.
My best piece of advice would be to choose the course which you find most interesting, and the course which is best for you. I know you said you like both subjects, but it's important to consider which course you are going to enjoy the most, and get the most out of. Considering the types of assessments, teaching styles, graduate job prospects, potential careers, placements, opportunities, and the university the course is delivered at, etc is important, because you might like Psychology, but prefer the assessments and learning styles of a course like Fine Art, or vice versa. University is a big commitment, and it's important to be interested in the course and have it fit your needs!😊
It might be a good idea to have a look at potential careers in both of these subject areas. There are some suggestions here for Fine Art, and Psychology, from a website called Prospects- I find it really helpful and informative, and it gives some career options too for lots of different subjects. While people change jobs lots of times in their lives, and many pursue a career in a different area to the degree they studied, and while there's no pressure to know what you want to do for the rest of your life, it might be helpful to have a look thorough some careers, to see if any take your interest. You won't want to do a degree in Psychology for example, if you don't like any of the careers, and similarly for Fine Art. Talking to teachers and a careers advisor (if you have one at your school) is a good way to get some insights into potential careers, and it might help you to make your decision as to what to study at uni.
In regards to your worry that Fine Art will be looked down upon, I'm not too sure about this. I think there are lots of transferrable skills from an arts degree, such as creativity, and the ability to communicate ideas through different mediums. In addition, they say that 'degrees open doors', so the skills you learn in Fine Arts would be transferrable to lots of different careers.
Just looking at the Prospects website, there are lots of skills which can be acquired through a Fine Arts degree:
"As well as developing practical and creative techniques in a range of media, a fine art degree gives you skills in using different types of equipment and processes from hand tools and welding gear to digitisation.
Employers also value the transferable skills you acquire, including:

Perhaps you could mention this to a teacher, or careers advisor? And see what they think about a Fine Arts degree and your worry that it is not academic. A Fine Arts degree would certainly not be looked down upon if you wanted a career in producing Fine Art, teaching art at a school, or a career in art therapy for example. However, if you wanted to be a Clinical Psychologist for example, then a Psychology degree would be required.
I hope this helps! I'm sorry its not a straightforward answer!🙂 But I think it would be helpful to explore some potential careers, as this might help you to decide if you would like to study Fine Art or Psychology, depending on what you would like to do with the degree in the future.
Best wishes,
Josie
Uni of Kent Student Rep🎓️

You don't have to make this decision until this time next year, so no need to stress.
Just be aware that the majority of Psych grads do not become Clinical Psychologists or even work in a connected career area. That doesn't mean its not worth doing - any degree will give you essential career/life skills that employers want, and if its area that interests you, thats a perfectly sensible reason to do a degree in it.
What can I do with a psychology degree? | Prospects.ac.uk
What can I do with a fine art degree? | Prospects.ac.uk
Art therapist job profile | Prospects.ac.uk

Hello,
I'm a student rep at UAL and my advice would be to make your decision based off of what you enjoy and are good at. Try exploring possible career paths you would be interested in and work your way backwards to identify what course would equip you with the necessary skills.
Even though fine art and psychology are quite different, you could always consider the transferable skills you can learn from each that you can use when applying for future employment.

That's the problem, I have NO IDEA what I want to do. I know I don't want to be a psychologist and I know very few people make a living as an artist. I also know I don't want to work in a museum, for example, or be a teacher

There are many ways of becoming or working as an artist - and if you have watched something like BBC Portrait Artist of the Year you will realise that many of those hugely talented people do not have a degree in Fine Art. And, on the other side, I can give you the example of a young friend who did a Photography degree, but quickly realised they could never make a living via this, completed their degree but is now taking a 2-year Law Masters with the aim of specialising in law surrounding copyright / AI images.
The point I'm making is that you may need to think slightly wider than 'can I immediately earn £xx a year when I graduate with a Fine Art degree because I have a degree', and actually why you want to study Fine Art for 3 years at a University, exactly what you think that is going to give you. You have made the sensible decision to do a FAD and that will give you time to explore a variety of art forms and techniques, and think calmly about a way forward. Focus on that for the moment, the bigger decision can wait.

Remember that if you're already planning to do a FAD course, you don't need to make this decision until this time next year. You might find after doing art "full time" for a few months in your FAD course that you definitely don't want to continue with that - or you realise you couldn't bear to not do it!
If you want to have a degree that balances the creative side of fine art with a more academic side of things, you may want to explore options for fine art degrees that are offered jointly with history of art or include a significant academic component in that vein, such as the Slade BA or ECA MA in fine art (both of which are courses in fine art but include fair proportions of academic history of art components as I understand it?).
Note if you wanted to potentially pursue a career as a psychologist later even if you did a fine art degree, it would in principle be possible to do a BPS accredited conversion masters in psychology after your undergraduate degree. Not the quickest/cheapest route but it remains an option.

thank you for taking the time to reply, this is all very useful. Lots to think about!

Hi, I am doing art, psychology and maths A levels and I'll be doing an art foundation course next year but I don't know whether to carry on with a fine art degree after that or do psychology. I'm worried that a fine art degree will be looked down on because it's not academic, and for future job opportunities (don't know what I want to do), psychology might be a safer bet? I enjoy both subjects

Hi, I am doing art, psychology and maths A levels and I'll be doing an art foundation course next year but I don't know whether to carry on with a fine art degree after that or do psychology. I'm worried that a fine art degree will be looked down on because it's not academic, and for future job opportunities (don't know what I want to do), psychology might be a safer bet? I enjoy both subjects

Hi, I am doing art, psychology and maths A levels and I'll be doing an art foundation course next year but I don't know whether to carry on with a fine art degree after that or do psychology. I'm worried that a fine art degree will be looked down on because it's not academic, and for future job opportunities (don't know what I want to do), psychology might be a safer bet? I enjoy both subjects

Hi, I’m a current y13 applying for fine art. I absolutely was certain at the start of y12 that I wanted to do philosophy but then decided to chose fine art ! Don’t worry about deciding yet you have more than a year before you even need to think about it and enjoy year 12!