Bachelor of Arts (Hons)

FINE ART

Looking to find your specialist subject and extend your knowledge and skills to develop your practice towards a future as an artist or a career in the arts and creative industries? Our BA (Hons) in Fine Art could be the course for you.

You’ll have the opportunity to explore art practices as a multidisciplinary subject, and the course has been designed as a space to fuel creativity and experimentation. Discover the freedom to define your artistic practice and research methodologies as you find best expresses your creative vision.



Why study this subject?

If you live and breathe art, this course may be for you. Turn your passion into a future career, inspire others with your ideas and creations, change how we see the world, and help mould the future through your artistic practice.

Whether you have a keen interest in ceramics, woodwork, metalwork, sculpture, photography, video or painting and drawing, or any other medium, you can use your degree to create thought-provoking pieces that transcend individual media. As an artist, you should thrive on collaborative projects with your peers, and engage with the community and external bodies to grow and disseminate your practice.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

It is a new and innovative Fine Art Course in a university with a successful past. With a history of delivering expert craft, art and design education for more than 130 years, Buckinghamshire New University is the perfect place to start your creative career.

Led by BNU's dedicated and supportive course team, you will have the freedom to explore fine art as a multidisciplinary subject. During your time with Buckinghamshier New Universty you’ll engage with their dynamic programme of visiting lectures and can benefit from live project briefs, master classes, and plenty of networking opportunities.

They are immensely proud of our resources. You’ll have access to a range of our state-of-the-art facilities where they have their specialist workshops and equipment, from wood and metal work to 3D printing, dye labs, and screen printing; there are many ways for you to express your creativity.

With London only a short journey away, you can take the opportunity to visit some of the world’s best exhibitions, galleries and museums for inspiration.

What facilities can you use?

Fine Art students will have their dedicated studio spaces to work in, where you will set up a ‘home away from home’, a critical and developmental space for you to make your work and grow your practice. You will also have access to Art & Design resources.

You’ll be able to benefit from BNU Fashion and Textile workshops, which homes their textiles and fashion, screen printing and letterpress equipment. As well as this you’ll also have access to 3D design workshops where you can experiment with mixed media, ceramics, metalwork and woodwork.

You'll also be supported to develop your photographic as well as moving image techniques in their industry-standard Photography studios and wet darkroom, and edit any videowork with the latest Adobe Creative software either in our dedicated Mac/digital media suites in the Gateway building, or access software remotely through our BucksAnywhere platform. You will also have the opportunity to test your creative practice using new technologies.

In BNU's workshops, you’ll receive small group and one-to-one teaching, working closely with lecturers, specialist technicians and alongside fellow students.

What will you study?

This course offers you the opportunity to engage with cutting edge approaches to material and visual practices, as well as those that challenge the boundaries of the field. This is done through conceptual, theoretical, cultural and ethical frameworks that underpin the contemporary arts, through practical workshops, studio-based practice and self-managed projects.

The curriculum for this course has been designed to help you develop your knowledge of Fine Art through experimentation, investigation, interdisciplinary practices, collaboration, socially-engaged practice, and draw from the intersections between analogue and digital approaches to making.

How will you be taught and assessed?

BNU's experienced teaching team of practicing artists, art professionals and researchers, provides a supportive environment to help you reach your full potential during this formative stage of your career and boost your confidence.

During your time with them you’ll benefit from a close-knit community with your fellow students, as well as tutors who are made up of practicing artists and researchers.

Your lecturers will provide you with current insight into the subject, as well as develop your learning through research, collaborative projects, industry briefs and external opportunities. This will help you refine your new skills, methods and knowledge to become critically engaged with your practice.

There will be clear emphasis on arts-based practice, where you will develop projects from concept to exhibition outcomes and be encouraged to adopt experimental approaches and methods. Exhibiting, networking and developing as a practicing artist is central to the course. Alongside this, you will be offered access to networks and opportunities for collaboration in a range of contexts, in order to develop transferable and entrepreneurial skills and experience of a range of environments, further extending your career options.

As well as this, due to the University’s connections with local and regional arts and cultural organisations, you will have access to involvement with projects in collaboration with some of the county’s galleries and museums, as well as other creative opportunities.

What are your career prospects? 

Throughout your time with Buckinghamshier New University they’ll support you on the route to your chosen career. They will help you to develop crucial skills, encouraging you to become enterprising, employable and good leaders. BNU also help you find employment after graduation. 

On graduating from the BA (Hons) Fine Art degree, you will be equipped to apply for jobs that demand well-developed creative skills across the arts and creative industries, or become self-employed/freelance and undertake work across a range of specialisms including:

• Visual artist
• Interdisciplinary arts practitioner
• Illustrator
• Photographer
• Digital artist
• Animator
• Printmaker
• Designer
• Artworker
• Image researcher
• Visual Consultant
• Technician
• Curation
• Exhibition designer

You may also wish to stay on at Buckinghamshire New University and study at postgraduate level.