Program Overview

International Foundation Year in Arts and Media

Our International Foundation Year in Arts and Media is designed to equip you with the essential creative and English language skills needed to excel in an undergraduate degree related to creative arts or media at Teesside University.

Why Study Arts and Media at Teesside University?

Benefits include:

• Practical creative skills. Gain hands-on experience in drawing, digital art, and media production, alongside essential academic English skills.
• Dynamic learning environment. Foster your creativity in a collaborative, artistic setting with opportunities to engage in cultural and artistic activities.
• Industry connections. Learn from professionals featured in world-renowned institutions like the Tate and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, while joining a vibrant, inclusive community.
• Exclusive access to Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA). Enhance your creativity with access to MIMA, our on-campus art gallery, preparing you to graduate as industry-ready talent.
• The MIMA Great Create. Showcase your talents in this competition by submitting original art or media for a chance to be featured in a pop-up exhibition at MIMA and win exciting prizes.
• State-of-the-art facilities. Upon progressing to Teesside University, access cutting-edge film and audio studios, broadcast TV systems, and fully equipped workshops in wood, metal, print, photography, and fabric, with expert support to bring your creative visions to life.

Leading to: Fine Art BA (Hons)

Our fine art course is student-centred and practice based. You learn by working on projects in the studio alongside your peers and staff. Our experienced team of artists and academics coach you to find and grow your creative voice, building on your distinct skills and motivations, and guiding you to experiment with new formats and media to develop your ideas.

You collaborate with your peers to gain new perspectives, developing your voice and practice. Grow your resilience by producing a creative drawing and writing journal, capturing your challenges, milestones and reflections to see patterns in your thinking and linking reoccurring ideas. Alongside this, you learn how to thrive in the creative industries, from testing ideas and creative directions to understanding pitching etiquette and developing large-scale projects.

Our course is supported by our very own international contemporary art gallery MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art), a Plus Tate Museum and gallery with a permanent art collection. The gallery supports the bridge between being a student and becoming a professional artist. Through experiencing the behind-the-scenes working of a museum, you can better understand the work of artists, producers, curators, museum education officers and marketing teams. These interactions help you take the next steps in your career. You have the opportunity to put these skills into action through staging exhibitions of your work with partner galleries, and events in Teesside and beyond.