Program Overview

Fine Art (TU974)

Course Title

Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Fine Art

Course Description

The BA in Fine Art is designed for students who wish to work as cultural producers in the Fine Art sector. The course is focused primarily on acquiring the knowledge and skills that are needed to operate as a visual artist in a competitive environment, nationally and internationally.

Course Objectives

• Develop skills acquisition, creative intelligence, and conceptual and critical thinking abilities.
• Integrate modules in Critical Theory and Professional Practice.
• Realise ideas and gain an articulate, critical, and informed understanding of contemporary Fine Art, its evolution, contexts, and critical discourses.

Minimum Entry Requirements

Leaving Certificate Requirements

• Minimum Number of Subjects: 6
• Higher: 2 H5's
• Other Grade Requirements: Submission of Portfolio

QQI/FET Requirements

• QQI/FET Award Required: Any Level 5 or 6 award
• Additional Requirements: 5 DISTINCTIONS and PORTFOLIO
• QQI quotas and QQI points apply. The max QQI points awarded is 390.

Mature Applicants

• Applications from mature students (23+) are welcome.

English Language Requirements

• If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence of your English language proficiency as detailed on our website.
• A minimum IELTS (Academic Version) English Proficiency of 6 overall (or equivalent) with nothing less than 6 in each component.

Course Structure

Year One

• Semester 1:
  • Drawing Media [Mandatory]
  • Fine Art: Theories of History [Mandatory]
  • Painting media 1.1 [Mandatory]
  • Printmaking Media 1.1 [Mandatory]
  • Research as Practice 1.1. [Mandatory]
  • Research as Practice 1.2 [Mandatory]
  • Sculpture Media 1.1 [Mandatory]
• Semester 2:
  • Fine Art: Theories of History [Mandatory]
  • Painting Media 1.2 [Mandatory]
  • Printmaking Media 1.2 / Photography [Mandatory]
  • Sculpture Media 1.2 [Mandatory]
  • Professional Practice in Contemporary Art Practice [Mandatory]
  • Elective Modules:
    • Arts & Health
    • Everyday Objects
    • Exhibiting Memory: Cultures of Monuments and Museums
    • Gender and Design
    • Ireland, Film and Documentary
    • Myth Today
    • Narrative in Visual Culture
    • Ornament and Culture
    • Theories of Interpretation
    • Theory Seminar: Art & Society
    • Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?
    • Visual Cultures of Natural Sciences

Year Two

• Semester 1:
  • Contemporary Studio Practices [Mandatory]
  • FA2: The Legacies of Modernism [Mandatory]
  • New Media 2.3 [Mandatory]
  • Professional Practice 2.3 [Mandatory]
  • Elective Modules:
    • Myth Today
    • Theory Seminar: Art & Society
    • Ireland, Film and Documentary
    • Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?
    • Gender and Design
    • Ornament and Culture
• Semester 2:
  • FA2: The Legacies of Modernism [Mandatory]
  • Professional Practice 2.4 [Mandatory]
  • Interface: Introduction to Interdisciplinary Media [Mandatory]
  • Elective Modules:
    • Narrative in Visual Culture
    • Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?
    • Exhibiting Memory: Cultures of Monuments and Museums
    • Theories of Interpretation

Year Three

• Semester 1:
  • Fine Art 3: Postmodern and Contemporary Practices [Mandatory]
  • Interdisciplinary Media 3.5 [Mandatory]
  • Professional Practice 3.5 [Mandatory]
  • Elective Modules:
    • Myth Today
    • Architectural Research (ARE) 1
    • Theory Seminar: Art & Society
    • VIS COM Option Boyle Project
    • Ireland, Film and Documentary
    • Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?
    • Exhibiting Memory: Cultures of Monuments and Museums
    • Ornament and Culture
• Semester 2:
  • Interdisciplinary Media 3.6 [Mandatory]
  • Professional Practice 3.6 [Mandatory]
  • Thesis Preparation Fine Art [Mandatory]
  • Elective Modules:
    • Visual Cultures of Natural Sciences
    • Architectural Research (ARE) 1
    • Arts & Health
    • The Value of Design
    • Narrative in Visual Culture
    • Everyday Objects
    • Virtual Environments: Is one life enough?
    • Theories of Interpretation
    • Gender and Design

Year Four

• Semester 1:
  • Fine Art Media 4.8 [Mandatory]
  • Written Thesis [Mandatory]
• Semester 2:
  • Fine Art Media 4.8 [Mandatory]

Study Abroad Opportunities

• In Year 3, students are encouraged to participate in the Erasmus programme which offers exchange opportunities to study in partner institutions in continental Europe.
• The School has formal links with many of its key counterparts in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Latvia, UK, etc.
• There are also optional modules offered that involve short intensive study trips abroad.

Career Opportunities

• Graduates establish themselves as professional artists.
• Many graduates pursue postgraduate study in Ireland or abroad.
• Graduates also find employment in the cultural and community sectors working in galleries and in studios as arts officers, curators, and arts administrators, and in the teaching sector in Ireland or abroad.

Progression

• On graduation, you may proceed to postgraduate studies leading to the award of MSc, MPhil, or PhD at research institutes and universities worldwide.