BA (Hons) Fine Art & History of Art

at Goldsmiths University of London

Program structure

Year 1 (credit level 4)

Studio Practice focuses on the acquisition of fundamental knowledge and gives you the basic practical skills necessary to initiate your research. You will gain experience of making art independently and an awareness of the interaction between the history of art and theory as it relates to your studio practice.

Your tutors assess your Studio Practice coursework continuously and your work is also assessed through an end-of-year presentation.

In Art History, you will develop an independent critical involvement with works of art and visual culture. Our first-year modules enable you to examine changing conceptions of art and the artist, historically and also in terms of context, ideas, and kinds of practice. 

Each of our first-year modules is taught by a team of four or five different teachers from the permanent faculty. In this way, first-year students soon get to know many of the Department’s core academic staff. You will therefore begin your second year with both rich insights from and a comprehensive overview of Department life as a whole.

All students take a compulsory compulsory Art History module:
 

Plus one of the following modules:
 

Your first year will introduce you to history of art as a discipline and engage you in discussion of key aspects of contemporary visual culture – including not just artefacts in museums and art galleries, but also architecture, cityscape and landscape, adverts, TV and film, websites, the body, and street style.

You must pass all components to progress to the following year.

Year 2 (credit level 5)

Studio Practice in Year 2 begins to deal with more complex issues and a selective application of acquired knowledge and practical skills. It is a period of experimentation and synthesis, expanding and deepening your practice.

Your tutors assess your Studio Practice coursework continuously and you make a presentation of selected work for a viva voce in the third term, where you will be asked to discuss your work in depth.

History of Art in Year 2 will involve you taking two option modules. These currently include: 

• Beckett & Aesthetics

• Cohabitations/Inhbitations

• Art and Technologies of the Image

• The Fact of Blackness

• Fashion as a Dialectical image

• Ornamentation & Materiality

• Museums, Galleries, Exhibitions

• Popular Modernism

• Patterns of Perception

• Postmodernities

• Radical Imagination & Speculative Voyages

You will also take the following compulsory module.
 

Year 3 (credit level 6)

Studio Practice at this level reflects an independent, self-motivated practice and your potential to work as an artist. You will demonstrate a high degree of understanding, critical awareness and independent judgement. At this level, you will have consolidated your practical and critical skills in preparation for the Final Exhibition and further independent practice.

Your tutors assess your Studio Practice coursework continuously and at the end of the year you mount an exhibition of your Studio Practice for assessment, which is then open to the public.

In History of Art you take 45 credits from a list of Special Subjects and option modules, or 15 credits from the list of Special Subjects and option modules, plus a dissertation of 8,000–10,000 words (30 credits).

You will also take the following compulsory module.
 

Special Subjects and option modules include:
 

Our entry requirements for this programme are usually:

• Successful completion of three A-levels, International Baccalaureate or an equivalent qualification

• PLUS successful completion of an Art and Design Foundation diploma

• Portfolio of work 
   

OR
 

• Successful completion of a Foundation Diploma, BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design (completed by the end of the academic year preceding entry)

• Portfolio of work

Please note, students applying directly from A-Levels who have not completed an Art and Design Foundation or BTEC Extended Diploma in Art and Design will not be eligible for this programme.

Mature students without formal qualifications who have relevant experience are also welcomed.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for degree-level study.

Annual tuition fees

These are the fees for students starting their programme in the 2022/2023 academic year.

From August 2021 EU/EEA/Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for 'Home' fee status. EU/EEA/Swiss nationals will be classified as 'International' for fee purposes.

• Home - full-time: £9250

• International - full-time: £24590

Career Opportunity

The interdisciplinary nature of the programme will enable you to work in a variety of fields (eg media, museums, education, the music business, and academia) and progress to a variety of careers, including:

• practising artist

• art historian

• arts administrator

• gallery curator

• arts journalist

• teacher

• lecturer

• writer

• conservationist

• designer