Full Time Art and Design - BTEC Level 3/4 Foundation Diploma

Art and Design - BTEC Level 3/4 Foundation Diploma (Sept '10)

This course information relates to courses starting in September 2010.

Course code: B0174

Course category: Full-time

End Qualification: BTEC Foundation Diploma

Starting and ending month: September to June

Starting year: 2010

Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Course duration: 34 weeks

Time of day: All day

Formal assessment: Formal assessment required

Course location: Pelham Campus

Course aims:
The Foundation Course provides students who have identified Art & Design as a career direction, the opportunity to explore its breadth and diversity. It encourages the student to explore a range of working methodologies and make an informed choice about choosing a specialist career pathway.
The foundation course is the preferred progression route to higher education Art & Design specialised study. This course has an excellent track record of placing students at prestigious universities and art colleges throughout the UK. Early application is advised as first round applications close on Friday 11th December 2009.
If you are interested in a career in the creative industries, City College is the place to study art and design on the South Coast. Based at City Colleges Pelham Street campus in North Laine, the Colleges Visual Arts department has cultivated the type of vibrant, exciting atmosphere that you would expect from being at an Art College. There are rich and diverse opportunities across the art and design spectrum, covering fashion, textiles, graphics, illustration, games development, 3 D and mixed media - a diversity that is unmatched in local further education arts provision. Theres a big arts community at the College from Level 1 through to Foundation Degree level so its the kind of environment in which fashion textiles students are likely to rub shoulders with fine art sculpture students. This constant exchange of ideas is encouraged and supported by tutors.
The department has a wide range of full-time and sessional staff who are all practising artists and designers involved in Brightons buzzing art and design scene. Whether youre a school leaver or mature student, if you want to work in the creative industries but need guidance in finding your direction, there are staff here who will help you to focus and realise your potential.
Every year, the department stages spectacular fashion shows which not only involves collaboration amongst students from different art and design disciplines but also with students from the Colleges music and hair & beauty departments. Overseas study trips to locations such as Amsterdam have also proved inspirational to students.
Along with the sense of creative freedom that students enjoy, there is an academic underpinning to the development of skills. Curses are vocationally-focussed with pastoral care, guidance and support helping students who are making the transition from school to College. Parental consultation during courses is welcomed and valued.

Course content:
Stage One: (Exploratory)
Short project assignments and workshops will introduce you to the specialist art and design pathways we offer and help to develop a wide range of transferable art and design skills, techniques and processes. At the end of this stage all your work will be assessed by your tutor to decide which specialist pathway best suits you. The four pathways of study are:

• Fine Art
• Graphics & Illustration
• Fashion & Textiles
• 3D Design

Stage Two: (Pathway)
Having selected a specialist Art and Design pathway you will begin to develop your skills and understanding of your chosen Specialist pathway in greater depth. You will build a portfolio that will enable you to both fulfil their pathway units and apply for University. An increasing level of independence and maturity of approach is expected at this stage of the course.
Pathway study options may include:

• Fashion
• Surface Pattern
• Textiles
• Applied Arts
• Crafts
• Furniture
• Glass
• Jewellery
• Architecture / Interior Architecture
• Industrial/Product/
• Transport Design
• Theatre Design
• Graphics
• Illustration
• Typography
• Photography
• Video
• Painting
• Printmaking
• Installation
• Sculpture

Stage Three (Confirmatory)
Term three allows the opportunity to consolidate the experiences of the previous two terms. Students will undertake a self initiated final major project which culminates in an exhibition at the end of the course. At this stage the work is externally assessed.
Historical and Contextual studies run alongside studio practice during the exploratory stage and an educational visit to Europe is organised to support both the contextual studies programme and the drawing programme.

Facilities for students:
You will be based within the exciting and vibrant City College Visual Arts department where we have extensive and excellent Art & Design facilities. These include a range of practical working environments and art studios including Printmaking workshops, 3d Wood/metal workshops & Fashion studios.

Tutors:
The course is delivered by both full and part-time specialist teachers and practising artists and designers within a studio or workshop environment. A range of teaching and learning methods are employed to introduce students to individual and group work, research, design work, problem solving, critical discussion and evaluation etc.

Assessment: Assessment in Art and Design is ongoing and takes a variety of forms, both Formative and Summative:
Day-to-Day informal assessment through one to one and group seminars with tutors in the form of Critiques and Reviews of student work. These are held during a project and/or at the end of project assignments.
Portfolio review undertaken prior to students opting for their specialist pathway, prior to the start of the confirmatory stage and when students are preparing their portfolios for progression interviews. Lecturing staff will help students to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their portfolio.
Formal assessment: These take place at the end of each phase of the course i.e. at the end of Exploratory stage, Pathway stage and Confirmatory stage.

UCAS Tariff: Pass: 165; Merit: 225; Distinction: 285

Awarding Body: Edexcel

Entry Requirements:
You should have a minimum of at least 5 GCSEs at Grade A*-C and at least one A Level or a BTEC Award in a relevant subject; you must have a good portfolio of recent artwork; applications welcomed from mature students with relevant work experience and evidence of academic and creative ability; If you do not meet the academic requirements but demonstrate exceptional ability, you will be considered.
Applicants will require a high level of commitment, enthusiasm and self-motivation.
Pre-Entry Preparation:
Applicants will be required to submit a portfolio of recent art and design work for a portfolio review. Usually, that would be all the work undertaken on AS/A2 (or equivalent) programmes of study and any work that has been undertaken independently.
What we are looking for:

• Evidence of good drawing skills and a sound understanding of the formal elements; line, tone, colour, texture, pattern composition etc..
• Ability to handle different media, techniques and process
• Inventiveness and experimentation
• Ability to generate ideas and develop ideas from concept through to realisation.
• Evidence of work that has involved students in design decisions and problem solving e.g. fashion, jewellery, textiles, costume, stage sets, prints, 3D design

Sketchbooks and notebooks demonstrating a students ability to research, experiment and explore ideas through both visual and written approaches

• An interest in Historical and contemporary aspects of Art , Design and general cultural issues
• Energy, self motivation, commitment and a genuine enthusiasm for the subject

Students that are accepted onto the Foundation course are sent a project brief over the summer holiday period to undertake prior to the start of the course in September.

Interview for entry: Interview required

Pre-entry preparation:
You should familiarise yourself with a range of contemporary and historical aspects of art & design. Below are some of the commonly read texts which should be available in your local library. These would be useful starting points. You would not be expected to have read them all.
The Story of Modern Art (Norbert Lynton)
Ways of Seeing (John Berger)
The Shock of the New (Robert Hughes)
Blimey and It Hurts (Matthew Collings)
Design (Thomas Haufe)
Design in Context (Penny Sparke)
Objects of Desire (Adrian Forty)
Design for the real world (Victor Papenek)
The Elements of Colour (Johannes Itten)
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (Betty Edwards)
Experimental Drawing (Robert Kaupelis)
You also should familiarise yourself with and read magazines to explore future career directions. Magazines like Freize, ArtForum, Crafts, Blueprint, Domus, Creative review, IconEye International Textiles

Progression and links:
The foundation course is the preferred progression route to higher education Art & Design specialised study. This course has an excellent track record of placing students at prestigious universities and art colleges throughout the UK.
The majority of students use this course as a stepping stone into Higher Education. Employment in the Art & Design industry normally requires applicants to have studied at FDA or Degree level.

Work experience opportunities:
No formal work experience is part of the course although many students organise work experience independently during the holiday periods.

Academic Centre:
CVSA - Visual Arts

Costs of your Course:
There are five parts to the cost of your course:

• Tuition Fees
• College registration
• Awarding Body registration
• Resource Fee
• Exam / Assessment Fees

Tuition fees

How much will the Tuition Fees cost?

Below are the fees for 09/10.