- UCAS Code: W190
- Level: Undergraduate
- Starting: September 2021
- Study mode: Full Time (3 years)
- Location: Margaret Street
Our BA (Hons) Art and Design course is a highly flexible interdisciplinary degree that encourages you to identify your own individual practices, apply them to a range of real world contexts and facilitate creative responses to a range of issues.
After an initial diagnostic period, critical approaches and design methodologies will help your personal development through, external facing ‘live’ projects, collaborative working with both university and other professional organisations, diverse workshop facilities, and a team of academic and technical staff.
What's covered in the course?
This degree covers interdisciplinary approaches to practice in contemporary art, design and craft.
You will work on studio, live and collaborative projects to develop your own independent practice, whether your interest lies in photography, installation, print, digital media, sculpture, illustration, curatorial practice, textiles, drawing, sound, graphic design, public art or three-dimensional design. Working closely with academic and technical staff, you will develop new skills and approaches to projects which help you gain confidence, helping you to uncover your own strengths and interests.
At all levels, contemporary and historical contexts modules are clearly aligned with core practical modules to develop the integration of theory and practice and develop the way critical studies are embedded within the degree.
Your personal development is enhanced by regular talks and workshops from visiting experts from a range of backgrounds – such as artists, designers, curators, craftspeople, entrepreneurs, educators and project managers alongside representatives from regional and national support agencies for the creative industries. You’ll also receive the support of expert academics, like Stuart Whipps, who has recently exhibited his work in the British Art Show.
You will also be required to engage in an experiential placement in the second year of the programme to develop an understanding your potential role within the relevant professional sector. This provides an opportunity for you to develop a post-graduation roadmap including a visualisation of their ideal future, analysis of their personal capital, barriers and values and a development timeline to identify future aims and objectives.
Students have previously enjoyed experiences, like responding to the architecture of Dudley Zoological Gardens’ World Heritage Site and in particular the Zoo’s 1930s-listed animal enclosures.
Our graduates have recently showcased their work at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, MK Gallery, and also presented a collection of design ideas to Associated Architects, earning a £5,000 prize to further present their work in the West Midlands.
Why Choose Us?
- Students are satisfied with this course! We scored 93.1 per cent for overall satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2020.
- Our Faculty of Arts, Design and Media is one of the UK's largest and most prestigious institutes of art, architecture and design education.
- Work experience placements and live industry briefs give professional exposure that has led to employment with companies including BBC, Cadbury, Channel 4, Fused, Games Faction, Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA Worldwide and The Mill
- Our graduates regularly receive awards and prizes recognising their excellence
- We have links to a range of national and international institutions, including Ikon Gallery, Tate Liverpool, , and the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
- Each year the onsite project space IPS will be the hub for a series of residencies, exhibitions and events and will work with a number of local, national and international partners to deliver a range of projects with our students.
Examples of recent graduate activity include:
- A coveted place on the graduate training scheme to become a TK Maxx buyer
- External affairs Coordinator for the BBC, after exploring relevant issues in their individual and professional practice modules
- A video commission for the international property developer CBRE’s Birmingham office with the potential for more commissions for the company’s offices worldwide.
Open Days
Our Virtual Open Day for this course will take place on 22 November 2020. Book now and we will email you with a link to the Virtual Open Day for your subject area of choice.
Register your interest
This course is open to International students
Discover Birmingham School of Art
Visit our School site for more student work and extra information.
Where our students go
Our students have gone on to work in jobs such as:
- Graphic designers
- Artists
- Secondary education teaching professionals
Entry Requirements
We accept a range of qualifications, the most popular of which are detailed below.
Essential Requirements
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112 UCAS tariff points from A/AS Level with a minimum of 2 A Levels. |
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| LEVEL 2 QUALIFICATIONS | ||
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| IELTS | Minimum overall score of 6.0, with 6.0 in writing and no less than 5.5 in the remaining three skills. | |
| LEVEL 3 (and above) QUALIFICATIONS | ||
| A Level and Advanced VCE |
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| AS and AS VCE | Considered with a maximum of 3 other Level 3 qualifications (AS Levels must be in different subject to A-Levels) to obtain 112 pts | |
| Access to HE Diploma |
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DMM | |
| Foundation Studies (Art and Design, and Art, Design & Media) |
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| IBO Certificate in Higher Level |
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| International Baccalaureate Diploma |
Obtain a minimum of 28 points overall |
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| Irish Leaving Certificate (Highers) | Pass the Irish Leaving Certificate with a minimum of 112 tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects. | |
| OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma | DMM | |
| Scottish Advanced Higher |
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| T-Levels |
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| UAL Extended Diploma in Art & Design | Merit overall | |
| UAL Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production & Technology | Merit overall | |
| UAL Extended Diploma in Performing and Production Arts | Merit overall | |
| Other qualifications | ||
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If you have a qualification that is not listed in the table please refer to our full entry requirements on UCAS. Further guidance on tariff points can be found on the UCAS website. |
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Additional information for EU/International students
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In addition to qualifications, applicants will also need to submit a good digital portfolio. Please see your country page for further details on the equivalent qualifications we accept. In addition to the academic entry requirements listed above, international and EU students will also require the qualifications detailed in this table. |
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| EU/Non-EU (International) Qualifications | Requirements 2018/19 | |
| IELTS |
6.0 overall with 5.5 minimum in all bands. If you do not meet the required IELTS score, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English courses. Please note that you must have a Secure English Language Test (SELT) to study on the pre-sessional English course. More information. |
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| International Baccalaureate Diploma (or equivalent, including internationally accredited Foundation courses). | ||
International students who cannot meet the direct entry requirements can begin their degree studies at Birmingham City University International College (BCUIC).
Mature Applicants
Applications from mature students (21+) with alternative qualifications and/or considerable work experience will be considered on their merits.
From A/AS Level with a minimum of 2 A Levels
Don’t meet our entry requirements?
You could apply for a foundation course or a course at our International College. These routes have lower entry requirements and act as the bridge to a full degree. To find out more, please select your status:
- UK students
- International students
Award: BA (Hons)
Starting: Sep 2021
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 3 years
- £9,250 per year
- Apply via UCAS
Award: BA (Hons)
Starting: Sep 2021
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 3 years
- £13,200 per year
If you're unable to use the online form for any reason, you can complete our PDF application form and equal opportunities PDF form instead. The University reserves the right to increase fees in line with inflation based on the Retail Prices Index or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament up to a maximum of five per cent.
Guidance for UK students
UK students applying for most undergraduate degree courses in the UK will need to apply through UCAS.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK organisation responsible for managing applications to university and college.
Applying through UCAS
Register with UCAS
Login to UCAS
Complete your details
Select your course
Write a personal statement
Get a reference
Pay your application fee
Send UCAS your application
International students
There are three ways to apply:
1) Direct to the University
You will need to complete our International Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form, and submit them together with scan copies of your original academic transcripts and certificates.
2) Through a country representative
Our in-country representatives can help you make your application and apply for a visa. They can also offer advice on travel, living in the UK and studying abroad.
3) Through UCAS
If you are applying for an undergraduate degree or a Higher National Diploma (HND), you can apply through the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
You can request a printed form from your school or nearest British Council office. You will be charged for applying through UCAS. Birmingham City University’s UCAS code is B25 BCITY.
Portfolio Guidance
If your application is progressed, you will be asked to submit a portfolio of your creative work. Your portfolio is your opportunity to show us examples of your work and creative interests to support your application.
If you are a UK home-based student this can be submitted digitally or you can physically bring it in. Please see our portfolio guidance page for tips and advice on putting your portfolio together.
If you are an EU or International student you will be asked to submit a digital portfolio as part of your application. Please see our international portfolio guidance page for guidance on how to create and submit your portfolio.
Personal statement
UK / EU students are required to submit a personal statement as part of their application for this course.*
The personal statement gives you a crucial opportunity to say why you’re applying and why the institution should accept you.
Here are the key areas you’ll need to address:
Course choice
Why does this course appeal? What areas are of particular interest?
Career plans
If you have a specific career in mind, say how your chosen course will help you pursue this goal.
Work experience
Mention any work that is relevant to your subject, highlighting the skills and experience gained.
School or college experience
Highlight skills gained at school/college, eg summer schools or mentoring activities.
Non-accredited skills or achievement
eg Duke of Edinburgh Award, Young Enterprise scheme.
You should also mention your future plans – if you’re planning to take a year out, don't forget to give your reasons. Talk about any subjects you’re studying that don’t have a formal assessment and any sponsorships or placements you’ve applied for. And don't be scared to add in details about your social, sports or leisure interests.
Get more information on writing personal statements.
*Non-EU students are not required to submit a personal statement when applying for this course.
Additional costs
Our courses include activities such as performance, exhibitions, field trips and production of works or artefacts which may require you to purchase specific equipment, instruments, books, materials, hire of venues and accommodation, or other items.
Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £50 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials. All our students are provided with 100 free pages of printing each year to a maximum total value of £15.
Accommodation and living costs
The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.
Worried about personal statements?
If you've got no idea where to start or just want to check you're on the right track, we’ve got expert advice and real examples from our students to help you nail your personal statement. You can even download our ultimate personal statement guide for free.
Financial Support
We offer further information on possible undergraduate financial support. This includes the type of loans, grants and scholarships available both from the government and from Birmingham City University.
Year one
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Year two
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 80 credits) |
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete at least 40 credits from the following list of OPTIONAL modules: |
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Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.
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Year three
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits) |
First year
Teaching focuses on the acquisition of research and practical skills. This includes workshop induction, a broad range of projects and an understanding of the course focus on responsive practices both in the studio and beyond. It is important that students gain an understanding of a range of working methodologies in the studio and beyond. This is supported by an introduction to research and writing skills, with all students learning to develop their ideas through practice and research.
Second year
Second year involves the application of collaborative, live and experiential modules, which promote breadth and potential career research. In this year, students have recently worked collaboratively with Associated Architects, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Eastside Projects, Birmingham Central Library and Dudley Zoo. Students have also used the Professional Practice modules in this year to explore potential future careers, set up their own business or study abroad.
Final year
You will explore the synthesis of skills in a broad variety of media, applied to real and public contexts. Recent projects have included students working in a prison with issues of creativity and confinement, explorations into the demolition of Birmingham’s old central library and a fashion shoot/pop-up shop for the RSPCA in Birmingham City Centre.
Study and work abroad
If you are interested in undertaking part of your studies abroad, the Erasmus scheme may be of interest to you. It allows higher education students to study for part of their degree in another European country.
It is open to undergraduates in their second year (or above) and offers a unique opportunity to enhance your CV and experience new cultures. If you study with us you will have access to an Erasmus co-ordinator, who can provide information about which institutions we have links with.
Further Study
You could progress onto a range of postgraduate studies, including an MA or PGCE. You could also potentially go straight to doctoral research study.
The MA Fine Art programme at Margaret Street is a popular choice among graduating students.
For further information on courses call +44 (0)121 331 5595 or go direct to the courses section of the website.
Trips and visits
Some of the students recently visited the Venice Biennale at the beginning of their Level Five studies, and this had a profound effect on their personal practices. Other visits/trips include Berlin, New York, London and Barcelona.
Enhancing employability skills
You will learn of range of skills which will be key to enhancing your future employability.
Specifically you will learn to:
- Develop your own practice and how to analyse this in relation to future employment options.
- Identify the relationship of theory to practice and how this can be used to develop your own individual identity.
- Negotiate, plan exhibit and present to a professional standard.
- Work independently and collaboratively.
- Be a self-motivated, organised, effective learner.
You will also learn skills in a range of workshop practices in relation to individual development, including photography, casting, woodwork, metalwork, silk screen, etching, 3D printing, laser cutting, and printed and constructed textiles.
Professional practice guidance will teach you a range of skills such as CV writing; the use of social media and other platforms for self-promotion, presenting yourself and your work in a professional framework using a range of appropriate communication skills, such as video and various types of presentation software.
Placements
All students take up a placement during their second year. Recent placements include:
- London Fashion Week
- Ikon Gallery
- Nottingham Contemporary Art Gallery
- Clusta Design Consultancy
- Flatpack Festival
- ‘Doctors’ (BBC TV show)
- Regional Starbucks stores
- The New Art Gallery Walsall
- Orphans.co.uk
- Story Museum
- Eastside Projects
- REP Workshop
- Municipal Bank
- Lordswood Girls' School
OpportUNIty
OpportUNIty: Student Jobs on Campus ensures that our students are given a first opportunity to fill many part-time temporary positions within the University. This allows you to work while you study with us, fitting the job around your course commitments. By taking part in the scheme, you will gain valuable experiences and employability skills, enhancing your prospects in the job market.
It will also allow you to become more involved in University life by delivering, leading and supporting many aspects of the learning experience, from administration to research and mentoring roles.
Links to industry
Birmingham School of Art has a wide array of links with partner organisations regionally, nationally and internationally. These partnerships will provide work experience opportunities for you and contribute to your learning and teaching activities. Our overseas partnerships often result in opportunities for you to mix with students from different countries and gain different perspectives, as well as opportunities to undertake a period of study overseas.
Regional - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Ikon Gallery, Eastside Projects, Midlands Art Centre, New Walsall Gallery, The Mead Gallery, VIVID, Capsule, Grand Union, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Library of Birmingham, and primary and secondary schools across the region.
National - Arts Council England, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool.
International - Established links with other significant institutions both in Europe and the USA, as well as in Canada, Russia and Japan.
These include: The Sorbonne, the Metz/Pompidou (France); Studio for Electronic Instrumental Music, The Hague (Netherland); Ars Electronica (Austria); University of Cologne, Free University of Berlin, Leipzig Academy of Art (Germany); University of Ljubljana (Slovenia); MIT List Visual Arts Center, Massachusetts College of Art, California Institute of the Arts, University of California (USA); Pacific Centre for Technology and Culture (Canada); Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences (Japan); The Laboratorium (Russia).
Graduate stories: Megan Morrall
Recent graduates include Megan Morrall, who is currently working as an external affairs coordinator for the BBC after exploring relevant issues in her individual and professional practice modules.
BCU Graduate+
Through our courses we give you the skills and experience needed to get a head start when applying for jobs. But we offer something extra too – Graduate+.
Our unique programme gives you the chance to develop valuable skills outside of the more formal classroom learning. We award points for Graduate+ activities (including firewalking!) and these can be put towards a final Graduate+ award.
More about Graduate+
Graduate jobs
Recent graduates have progressed to various careers and roles including design, management consultancy, community arts officers, teaching, education assistants, curators in museums, galleries and art centres, exhibition design and interpretation, fashion and styling, display design, video production, web design and contemporary retail.
Our Graduates
Billy Plante has just completed a large video commission for the international property developer CBRE’s Birmingham office, with the potential for more commissions for the companies offices worldwide.
A small group of students started the Clusta Design Consultancy, which has grown to incorporate offices in London, New York, Paris and Los Angeles.
Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.
The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.
Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:
- Explore some of the good reasons why you should study here.
- Find out how to improve your language skills before starting your studies.
- Find all the information relevant to applicants from your country.
- Learn where to find financial support for your studies.
Our international students
Our School is particularly popular with students from China, Hong Kong, Israel and Singapore.
Our International Office in Shanghai was established in 2007 and we work hard to develop strong working relationships with countries in Asia.
We provide prospective students with a professional and efficient application and student service, and maintain close relationships with former students living in China.
We are the UK’s most successful recruiter for art and design in China and Malaysia, and we run courses in Hong Kong and Thailand.
The course provides the ability to study in one of the UK’s oldest art schools. You will learn to develop your own creative practice in a thriving creative community in the heart of the UK’s second city on a course which mixes traditional surroundings with current international debates.
The ability to develop your own individual practices alongside a range of local institutions and industries will give a unique insight into the culture and markets of the UK.
Birmingham City University International College (BCUIC)
International students who have a serious interest in studying with us but who perhaps cannot meet the direct entry requirements, academic or English, or who have been out of education for some time, can enter Birmingham City University International College (BCUIC) and begin their degree studies.
BCUIC is part of the global Navitas Group, an internationally recognised education provider, and the partnership allows students to access the University’s facilities and services and move seamlessly through to achieving a Bachelor’s degree from Birmingham City University.
Our Facilities
We are constantly investing in our estate and are currently in the process of spending £340 million on new learning facilities.
Birmingham School of Art (an impressive purpose built Grade 1 listed example of Venetian Gothic architecture) was the first major renovation project undertaken by the university (£5.5m refurbishment). The School provides an incredible resource for the production of art and its associated fields of study. The building has a range of facilities available including studios, workshops, specialist art and design library, bookable spaces and lecture/seminar rooms.
Our staff
The staff are from a wide variety of specialisms including digital media, photography, textiles, critical design and fine art. Stuart Whipps has recently exhibited at the British Art Show and Demitrios Kargotis is currently engaged in Gaming A Better Tomorrow in partnership with Somerset House London.
Stuart Whipps
Lecturer BA Art and Design
Stuart was born in 1979 and lives and works in Birmingham. His practice uses and interrogates photography in its broadest definition. He is interested in the relationship between the photographic image and object, the slippery nature of archives, and the relationship between photography and narrative.
Stuart creates installations and books that tease complex narratives out of historic artefacts and moments. Recent bodies of work have utilised diverse material such as the collected speeches, interviews and statements of Margaret Thatcher, collected pieces of Scottish shale and found negatives from redundant South African photographic labs.
Selected solo exhibitions include:
- PCS, Ithuba Arts Gallery, Johannesburg, 2015.
- Invites, Zabludowicz Collection, London, 2014.
- Birth Sprins, Death Falls, Flat Time House, London. 2013.
- Why Contribute to The Spread of Ugliness? , Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, 2011.
- New Wooabbeleri, Focal Point Gallery, Southend-On-Sea, 2010.
Selected group exhibitions include:
- British Art Show, 2015 - 2017.
- Relatively Absolute, Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridgeshire, 2013.
- Community Without Propinquity, MK Gallery, Milton Keynes, 2011.
- East International, Norwich, 2009.
In 2005 he won the Observer Hodge Photography Prize and in 2009 he was the joint recipient of the East International prize.
Steve Bulcock
Head of Undergraduate Studies
Steve Bulcock works across a range of digital media including animation, motion graphics and digital drawing systems. He is Head of Undergraduate Studies at Birmingham School of Art. His research interests are concerned with challenging the notions and expectations people have in relation to their interactions with digital technology. Recent work has involved collaborations with artist Sean O’Keeffe as part of an interdisciplinary research programme at Vivid in Birmingham, which also toured the UK with the Jerwood Drawing Prize exhibition.
He is currently studying for his PhD, which seeks to investigate notions of the algorithmic surface, computer interface design and authorship in the creative drawing process.
Gareth Proskourine-Barnett
Lecturer and Level 4 Co-ordinator
Gareth Proskourine-Barnett is an artist, researcher and lecturer. His multi-disciplinary practice investigates our relationship to place, documenting landscapes and environments altered by human intervention. Since graduating with an MA in Communication Design from Central Saint Martins in 2011 he has worked on a range of self-initiated and commissioned projects, taken part in artist residencies and delivered workshops internationally. Alongside his personal practice Gareth collaborates with other designers and writers on publishing projects under the name Tombstone Press. His work has been exhibited at museums and galleries in the UK, Russia, India, Thailand and the USA. Gareth has given guest lectures about his work at institutes including the Royal College of Art, Brighton University of the Arts and Silpakorn University in Bangkok.
Gareth is currently working towards a PhD at the Royal Collage of Art in the department of Critical and Historical Studies. His practice-led research looks to cyberspace to provide a territory in which the ruins of Brutalist Architecture can be excavated and (re)imagined to (re)claim and (re)locate the utopian ambition of past gestures.
Lee Hewett
Lecturer and Module Leader
Lee is an artist, designer, researcher and lecturer who works across a range of disciplines including sculpture, books/publications, web technologies, photography and moving image. Lee has worked on a range of funded research projects, edited journals and also has teaching experience covering a broad range of levels and subject areas including Fine Art, Art and Design and MA modules. He is currently undertaking a practice-led PhD at the Royal College of Art.
Demitrios Kargotis
Course Leader: MA Art and Design Interdisciplinary Practices
Demitrios Kargotis works as part of the design action group Dash n’ Dem. Since 2010, their wide-ranging participatory projects centre on popular education and critical and creative citizenship participation. The open-ended, collaborative structure of their practice explores how co-creation can act as a form of activism that empowers different audiences to confront and reimagine reality.
Dash n’ Dem make work that aims to make politics more assessable and engaging. For instance, providing a group of teenagers at the South London Gallery with a David Cameron lookalike to take over and create their own party political broadcast in the run up to the 2015 UK general election. Or, revisiting an 80’s post-punk compilation cassette Dump it on Parliament produced in opposition to a proposed nuclear waste dump in Bedfordshire, inviting emerging bands today to develop cover versions and write new songs of protest.
Demitrios is also a founding member of Post Workers Theatre (PWT), a collective of designers and artists who produce projects that consider what politically engaged performance could be, utilising democratic forms of production to co-author creative outcomes with a variety of community and educational groups. Their creative goal is to reconsider the history and function of worker’s theatre of the past, and the current conditions for workers today through political, technological and social lenses. The aim is produce projects that can highlight future facing issues of social equality and alternative ways to discuss important issues.
Cathy Wade
Course Leader MA Arts and Education Practices
Cathy is an artist, writer and academic whose work is concerned with how art can be created and distributed in collaborative partnerships and through the creation of commons. Her work seeks to understand the experience of contemporary conditions through social practice and is realised as digital video, print, installation, public art, publication, text, drawing, performance and participatory works.