Creative Arts and Design Practice Foundation Degree

The foundation degree is a direct response to the recognition that creativity is an increasingly valued skill actively sought by employers in the modern workplace. The programme in Creative Arts and Design Practice is flexible, allowing students to explore a broad range of creative disciplines whilst supporting individual creative pathways. The aim is to create a professional working environment to boost student confidence in their abilities and ensure our graduates are ‘industry ready’ and prepared for the real world.

Typically, the full-time programme will be delivered over three days a week and the part-time programme over one and a half days a week. On successful completion you will be awarded a Foundation Degree (Arts) in Creative Arts and Design Practice from Oxford Brookes University.

Programme content

Please note that as programmes are reviewed regularly, the module list may vary from that shown here:

Level 4
• Cultural and Contextual Studies
• Mixed Media Practice
• Processing Ideas
• Professional Practice
• Live Group Project

Level 5
• Critical Studies
• Work-related Practice
• Creative Competitions
• Final Major Project

Teaching and learning experience

Throughout the programme, you will:
• Participate in lectures, seminars and workshops which will develop your knowledge and understanding of issues related to your role in the creative arts environment
• Work in groups to examine and discuss issues
• Compile portfolios
• Work with a wide range of practical resources, including appropriate computer hardware and software, and
• Undertake projects to benefit your own professional development

Resources

You will be provided with a suitably equipped place to work when attending College that will include access to specialist staff, IT facilities and other learning resources which will be appropriate for the nature of work you will be required to undertake. Additionally, the College offers a wide range of other resources and facilities including additional learning support, which will be available to you, further details of which can found in the Higher Education Student Handbook.

As well as being enrolled at Banbury and Bicester College you will also be enrolled with Oxford Brookes University and so will benefit from the same facilities and services as on-campus students. These include: use of Brookes’ libraries, Centre for Sport and Students’ Union, study support and mentoring and professional advice and information from Brookes’ Career and Employment Centre.

Study support

If you do not have a recognised disability or specific learning difficulty, but feel that you require additional support with your studies, you may be eligible to access some discrete sessions in one of the following areas:
• Assistive software training
• IT upskilling
• Essay planning and structure
• Proof reading and editing written work
• Bibliographies and referencing
• Time management and personal organisation
• Revision and exam tips
• Presentation techniques

N.B. Your eligibility for any of the above support will be reviewed with your course tutors and a member of the study support team on your campus.

Why choose this programme?

On the programme you will experience a broad range of creative, communicative, theoretical and technical processes that will allow you to operate and sustain a career within the creative arts sector. You will be able to develop your own practice whilst responding to live commissions and collaborative projects.

Work-related opportunities

An essential aspect of this qualification is to facilitate professional development experiences that are appropriate to your individual creative pathways. The programme will enable you to develop your practice within the context of the workplace, or/and generate and identify new contexts for yourself and your chosen area of study. This will be particularly relevant as part of the Work-related Practice module but will also be a strong component within the programme.
Assessment methods

The modules are delivered through a variety of techniques to suit all learning styles. The teaching and learning strategies will include: practical sessions, workshop programmes, presentations, student-led seminars and peer criticisms. The assessment you undergo will be both formative and summative:

Formative - designed to provide you with feedback on your progress and inform you of your ongoing development. Formative assessments, such as in-class discussions, presentations, activities, do not form part of your grade. You will receive verbal and/or written feedback after the formative assessments and it is very important that you reflect on both the feedback and your performance at the formative stage.

Summative - designed to provide a measure of your achievement in respect of your performance in relation to the intended learning outcomes of your programme of study. Summative marks help to indicate your performance for the whole module and will determine your progression on the course.

Entry requirements

Entrants to the programme should normally possess the following:

Either:
• a minimum of two years’ relevant work experience and a current role in an appropriate workplace setting, and
• a line manager’s letter of support and recommendation

Or:
• a minimum of one pass at A-level or 6-unit Vocational A-level, plus three passes at GCSE (grades A–C), or O-level (grades A–C) normally including Mathematics and English Language
• a National Certificate or Diploma or other equivalent qualifications, such as GNVQ/NVQ or other Level 3 vocational qualifications
• Access to Higher Education Diploma in Art and Design, Foundation Course in Art and Design

Admission with credit

Applicants with prior certificated or experiential learning may be admitted with credit for up to a maximum of 120 credits at level 4.

English language requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English must also demonstrate that their level of English is acceptable, by achieving a score in a recognised test such as:
• British Council IELTS: normally minimum level 6.0 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in the reading and writing components
• TOEFL minimum score of 550 paper-based or 213 computer-based or 80 internet-based

What you can progress to

Upon successful completion of the programme, you will have a number of opportunities for progression:
• Into employment within the creative industry
• The College is also developing a BA (Hons) Creative Arts and Design Practice programme for September 2014 (subject to validation), which will enable successful graduates of the Foundation degree to top up their qualification to an honours degree though one more year of study.
• Self-employment

Destination of graduates

As this is a new programme, there are no available destination statistics; however, it is expected that students will use the programme to enable them to enter employment in a relevant specialist area and/or progress onto a university or college that enables them to top up their foundation diploma to a full BA (Hons) degree.