Program Overview

Studio Practice (Fine Art) (top-up) at UCA

UCA'S one-year BA (Hons) Studio Practice top-up degree in Fine Art provides you with the opportunity to bring together your thinking and developing ideas with the aim of consolidating your contemporary artistic practice.

This course allows you to devise and follow your own individual work program in the guise of a Final Major Project, where you demonstrate your professional attitude and commitment, capacity for self-evaluation and effective synthesis of your ideas.

In the first half of the year, you will be asked to develop a body of research and practice in order to generate a critical piece of writing that begins to articulate key themes and directions of interest as well as a look forward to the work you want to make and how you will develop these ideas for the final major project. The second half of the year involves the production of a major project which is exhibited as a final Degree Show and Portfolio that you will take from the course to form the basis of your professional body of work as newly graduated and as an emerging Fine Artist.

Across the course you'll also have access to professional practice seminars and guidance to help you create your portfolio in preparation for graduation.

Course Entry Options

• BA (Hons) (top-up)
  • Equivalent to the final year of an undergraduate degree, this course enables you to build upon an existing qualification such as a foundation degree or an HND.
  • Institution code: C93
  • UCAS code: W408
  • Campus: Canterbury
  • Start date(s): September 2025, September 2026
  • Duration: 1 year full-time
  • Entry requirements:
    • 240 credits from a relevant degree
    • International equivalent qualifications

What You'll Study

Units Include:

• Studio Development
  • This unit prepares you for the culmination of Degree Show and anticipates potential approaches in studio practice. You will produce a body of work, an artist statement and developmental work. With the support of tutors and peers, you are asked to recognise strategies to work towards a critically informed practice that advances the trajectory of your work. Running in parallel with the Contextual Development unit, this unit encourages you to consider what you intend to create for the Degree Show unit and the shape of your future.
• Degree Show: Final Major Project
  • This final unit requires demonstration of an independent and critically informed practice. Refining an approach to presenting work under exhibition conditions is a key aspect of this unit. The research skills and criticality developed through past units are designed to support your practice in this final stage of the course. This unit is supported by a series of seminars and workshops on the professional practice of Fine Art, including postgraduate options. Your artist statement will form part of your professional portfolio outlining the ideas and influences that inform your work, refined from previous attempts in order to reflect your final public studio submission.
• Contextual Development
  • Building on earlier theoretical study, this unit enables students to continue engagement with research and practical interests. Students are asked to develop a methodological approach, appropriate to their chosen subject area and working with academic conventions to produce a written work alongside an optional artefact.

Fees & Financial Support

• Tuition Fees - 2025/26
  • UK: £9,535
  • EU: £9,535 (see fee discount information)
  • International: £17,500
• UCA Scholarships and Fee Discounts
  • At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.
• Financial Support
  • There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.
• Additional Course Costs
  • In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

Facilities & Equipment

• There are large purpose-built studios for each year of the course, used for group tutorials and personal working and a 3D workshop with machines for working in wood, metals, plastics and ceramics.
• There are also workshops for plaster and rubber casting, glass casting, slumping, fusing and enamelling (kiln), ceramic bisque and gloss firing, low melt metal casting, and carving (wood, stone and polystyrene).
• Finally, there are printmaking studios for relief and block printing, intaglio and screen-printing.

Entry & Portfolio Requirements

• UK
  • BA (Hons) course (top-up)
    • The standard entry requirements for this course are:
      • 240 credits from a relevant degree (120 credits at level 4 and 120 credits at level 5), with a minimum of 55% overall
      • Foundation Degree in a relevant subject
      • Higher National Diploma in a relevant subject
    • And/or Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)
    • In recognition that you may already have a relevant professional qualification, or appropriate working experience in the relevant industries, APEL may be accepted for entry on to the course. This will be based on the partnership articulations and will be assessed on a case by case basis.
    • Other relevant and equivalent UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.
  • Portfolio Requirements
    • For this courses, we’ll need to see your portfolio for review. We’ll invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person, meet the course team and learn more about your course. Further information will be provided once you have applied. View more portfolio advice
• International and EU
  • BA (Hons) course (top-up)
    • The entry requirements for these courses will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:
      • Non-UK equivalent qualifications
    • Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.
  • Portfolio Requirements
    • You will be required to submit an online portfolio for review. Further information on specific portfolio requirements and how to submit your portfolio will be sent to you after we have reviewed your application. View more portfolio advice
  • English Language Requirements
    • To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. And so, to make sure you meet the requirements of your course, we ask for evidence of your English language ability, please check the level of English language required:
      • English language requirements