Fine Art (BA)

Please contact our enquiries team if you're not sure that you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000

You’ll study 6 studio practice modules which form the heart of the course. You'll also study modules that frame the context for your developing practice in terms of history, theory and professional application.

Want more detail? See all the modules in the course.

The learning activities for this course include the following:

• lectures
• classes and tutorials

Course time

How you'll spend your course time:

Course leader

John Gillett is the course leader.

As a graduate of our fine art degree, you’ll have proven yourself to be a self-motivated, flexible, and highly creative individual. Our graduates have succeeded in a diverse range of fields, including:

• fine art
• film
• music
• TV
• publishing
• museums
• galleries
• teaching
• art therapy

We are a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022). Our Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise team will support you. This support includes:

• work experience schemes
• CV and interview skills and workshops
• networking events
• careers fairs attended by top employers
• a wealth of volunteering opportunities
• study abroad and summer school opportunities

We have a vibrant entrepreneurship culture and our dedicated start-up supporter, Futureworlds, is open to every student.

What your fees pay for

Your tuition fees pay for the full cost of tuition and standard exams.

Find out how to:

• pay your tuition fees
• calculate your student finances

Accommodation and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees. There may also be extra costs for retake and professional exams.

Explore:

• accommodation costs
• living costs
• budgeting advice
• fees, charges, and expenses regulations 

If you're a UK or EU student and your household income is under £25,000 a year, you may be able to get a University of Southampton bursary to help with your living costs. Find out about bursaries and other funding we offer at Southampton.

If you're a care leaver or estranged from your parents, you may be able to get a specific bursary.

Get in touch for advice about student money matters.

You may be able to get a scholarship or grant to help fund your studies.

We award scholarships and grants for travel, academic excellence, or to students from under-represented backgrounds.

The Student Hub offers support and advice on money to students. You may be able to access our Student Support fund and other sources of financial support during your course.

Funding for EU and international students

Find out about funding you could get as an international student.

When you apply use:

• UCAS course code: W190
• UCAS institution code: S27

Apply for this course

Applicants will receive an invitation to submit their portfolio whilst their academic qualifications are being reviewed. 

Portfolio guidance

Your portfolio is one of the most important parts of your application. It is your opportunity to show us your work, and our opportunity to find out more about you. You may not have presented your work before, so here is some guidance with preparing your portfolio.

What do you want to see in my portfolio?

Your portfolio is a chance to show us your work and tell us more about yourself, so make sure it demonstrates a lively, inventive approach to the development of course projects and personally directed work.

Sketchbooks are an important means of showing the development and range of your ideas. A sketchbook should be filled with ideas, even if they are not all fully‐developed. Where appropriate, sketchbooks can show the development of ideas from initial notes and sketches to finished pieces. Your statement should also include evidence of exhibitions visited and your thoughts about them. 

We are interested in your understanding of contemporary art and artists in the context of the wider art world. You can include a small number of sketches and drawings of exhibitions in your digital portfolio.

The work in your portfolio should be carefully selected. Try to order your work so that ideas flow from one piece to the next as this will show us your critical ability. A portfolio should demonstrate independent thinking and the ability to explore personal interests, even when responding to set briefs. A range of work and approaches is important, as it shows a lively and experimental approach. 

How many pieces should I include?

We would suggest a maximum of 25 pieces of work, including sketchbooks.  A well‐edited selection of your work can often tell a more coherent story than trying to include everything. We will need to see evidence of course projects and self‐directed artwork. Your work should have been produced within the past twelve months. Earlier work can be included if it is particularly relevant to your interests and development.

Information for Mature students

We understand that mature students may not have work that is structured in the same way as A-Level or Foundation students. We are, however, still interested in seeing self-initiated work, including sketchbooks and finished pieces. We also understand that some applicants may wish to include work that is over a year old – but make sure that you include as much recent work as possible in your portfolio.

Top tip

Tailor your portfolio to the course you are applying to. Investigate the Fine Art programme thoroughly before making your selection for your portfolio. Remember that courses with the same name at different universities can vary greatly.

We treat and select everyone in line with our Equality and Diversity Statement.

Please contact our enquiries team if you're not sure that you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000