Foundation Diploma in Art & Design

Preparing for Foundation Diploma in Art&Design 

So i decided to write a post about the process of preparing and applying for a Foundation Degree in Art and Design because it is slightly different from applying for "Normal" University. 

What is a Foundation Degree ? 

 I get asked this question ALOT! 

A foundation Diploma in Art and Design is basically a one year course which prepares you for a BA in an Art Univerisity. The course covers all the basics you need to know, for example Photography, Fashion, Animation etc. 

A Foundation Diploma is normally worth around 300 ucas points. 

It is free for anyone under 19 

Application !

One thing to remember is that you DO NOT APPLY THROUGH UCAS! 

On the Univerisity website they will clearly show the link to the application websity or you have to download their application fill out sheet. 

It is really simple to fill out, normally they ask for your GCSE, AS and A2 subjects/results. Your nationality, passport details, address etc. 

They also ask for a short personal statement which is around 300 to 500 words. 

Inwhich you have to include your inspirations, reasons why you want to apply etc. 

Over the summer holidays i attended an Art and Design short course in Central St Martins and in December i attended a Fashion Mix short course. These courses really helped me write my statement and portfolio. 

You also need a reference from your school ! 

One thing to remember is that the deadline is different to the UCAS deadline, each university/College has their own deadline so make sure you check so you dont miss it. Or it could result in your application being rejected! 

(Different for every university/College)

Make sure you check their website for the requirements. 

Course Structure

The course begins with weeks/days in each design subject, then you start to specialise in a particular area. The course structure differs from university to university but basically you go through 3 stages. 

Stage 1: Try outs in all design subjects- experimenting and learning new skills

Stage 2: Starting to Specialise - you pick your chosen area in which you want to      continue with. 

Stage 3: The Final project - inwhich you get a final grade in 

Portfolio 

This is probably the MOST IMPORTANT step of the application. Your portfolio is the main thing the admissions tutor will look in. It must be a representation of you as an artist, your passion and creativity. 

My advice would be to pick out your best work, show a wide range of skills, technique, experimentations, drawings etc. They (Admission tutors) love to see how you work and how you think as an artist. So include your experimentations, final pieces and developments.

The portfolio must show who you are as an artist and person. 

Check on the University website for the exact requirements they want, again can be different for every university/college. 

My personal advice and path.

So i am a Textiles student aiming to study for Fashion Design: Womanswear. I am in my last year of A levels, currently applying for Sept 2015 to 2016. 

My advice would be start reseaching early and attend as many open days and undergraduate shows as possible when you are in Year 12. DON'T LEAVE IT TO THE LAST MINUTE! Try to get all of this done when you are in Year 12 because Year 13 is stressful enough, going to Uni open days should be the last thing on your list. 

Try to get a first draft written over the summer holidays, a lot of people in my year left their personal statements to the last minute and that really stressed us out. Also try to start filling out the application as early as possible because it is a seperate application for each university. If you are applying for 4 Foundation Diplomas like I did, you have four apllications to fill out. Which is pretty time consuming when you have a lot of work from school. 

Moreover, drawing is a main key in the portfolio. After attending to numerous talks and open days i found out that they also look for the work you do outside of lessons. Since i do textiles i am lacking in the drawing department, therefore i do a lot of drawing in my spare time. Im not really a fan of drawing fruit, nature etc. I much prefer to draw clothes. So what i did was i collected a lot of fashion magazines and univeristy brochures which had photographed graduates work, and I sketched them. 

Draw what you love. This is what Art and Design is about, expanding your creativity and being inspired! 

i have to admit the road was defiantly not a smooth one, there would be times when i would cry myself to sleep because i thought i made a bad decision of taking a gap year and not immediatly applying for a BA. Also my friends around me were already getting offers from univerisities when my application was still in my hands, not ready to be sent off. I didnt get much help from school regarding this course since 99% of my year was going through UCAS, this also increased the amount of stress and worry. 

The universities im applying to are: 

Kingston Univesity 

Central St. Martins

University of Creative Arts ( Epsom) 

Univesity of Creative Arts   ( Rochester) 

Another thing that stressed me out was that Kingston and CSM are the most competive for the Diploma, i thought i didnt stand a chance. Since Kingston only accept around 55 out of the thousands and CSM is highly competitive in general. It was a pretty terrifying process. 

Not to stress you out or scare you but having a Foundation Diploma on your UCAS is probably your golden ticket to your chosen university. 

To end this post on a more happier note, if you take my advice then im sure the road will be easier. 

Smile and stay positive :D 

Sammy xx