Program Overview

Got a passion for creative design? Not quite ready to undertake a full honours degree? Solent University’s Design Foundation Programme is perfectly suited to students who may not be from an art-related background or whose qualifications do not meet the admissions requirements for BA (Hons) Fine Art.

To help get you up to speed, the one-year foundation course provides all the creative, technical and study skills needed for entry onto BA (Hons) Fine Art here at Solent.

The foundation year begins with a five-week group project. This enables students to mix with like-minded peers and helps them to settle in quickly. This project also helps students to decide which area they might like to follow at a later stage.

This course embraces all possible ways of making and thinking about fine art practice. You will be taught new skills and techniques and will learn how to use a variety of mediums in order to produce art to a very high standard. You will have the opportunity to pursue the mediums, ideas and processes that you are most passionate about.

We will nurture what is particular about you and your practice to support you to cultivate your artistic talent and grow into confident and original thinkers and makers.

Our dedicated fine art studios are equipped to enable you to reach your full potential. You will be allocated your own studio space and will have full access to a range of dedicated technical workshops, including a sculpture workshop with metalwork, welding, woodworking and casting equipment; a print-making workshop with intaglio, dry point, etching, silkscreen, woodcut and letterpress facilities; a digital print workshop with high-quality large-scale print facilities, high-end scanners and the latest software; and photography darkrooms and studios.

You will also have the opportunity to use our media academy facilities, boasting Mac suites with the latest design software, as well as a media store containing high-definition cameras, video cameras and sound equipment.

The course has strong industry and community links and you will be given the opportunity to engage in an ambitious programme of professional development alongside your own individual artistic practice. You will create an online profile and curate and show your work in group exhibitions at professional galleries within the city.