What Will You Study
Lancaster's degree in Fine Art and Film, taught by the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts , gives you the opportunity to study art practice alongside the history and theory of film.
Your Fine Art modules will provide you with the opportunity to integrate Art Practice with Art History/Theory at a high level. Throughout your degree you will have the opportunity to develop creative and technical skills in painting, drawing, sculpture, digital art and their hybrids. We have a wide ranging view of what fine Art can be in the 21st century and have no ‘house style’. Our aim is for you to develop the practice and ideas that best reflect your aims and values as a young Fine Artist. Your tutors will be professional artists and publishing historians/theorists and the mix of academic and creative skills gained at Lancaster makes you highly attractive for postgraduate study and employers.
Film at Lancaster offers stimulating and intellectually engaging modules, which provide a framework for the close analysis of individual films. You will study cinema history and the social significance of films and will develop a detailed understanding of the techniques of film production. You will also have the opportunity to produce short films in all three years of your study. You can choose from a range of specialist courses and will develop skills that can lead to postgraduate study and careers in the media, advertising and marketing.
You will have the opportunity to spend Year 3 on a placement with a public, private or voluntary organisation in the UK or overseas. This experience should boost your employment prospects and help you to decide on your career direction and the kind of organisation in which you want to work once you graduate. You will be doing a real, responsible job – with all the satisfaction that brings.
Applying for a placement is a competitive process and our Placements Team will support you in finding and applying for a suitable placement. The preparatory modules you will complete in years one and two are designed to give you the best chance of success in both your placement applications and the placement itself.
One of the aims of the placement year is to enhance your understanding of the connections between theory and practice which could benefit your final year of study. Placements provide an exciting opportunity to build up experience and transferable skills, as well as to make contacts with potential employers, which can place you a step ahead in the graduate recruitment market.
The University will use all reasonable effort to support you to find a suitable placement for your studies. While a placement role may not be available in a field or organisation that is directly related to your academic studies or career aspirations, all placement roles offer valuable experience of working at a graduate level and gaining a range of professional skills.
If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and would continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year. The University offers a range of shorter placement and internship opportunities for which you would be welcome to apply.
Modules
Year 1
Core
Year 2
Core
Optional
Year 3
Core
Year 4
Core
Optional
Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and others which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism. We divide academic study into two sections - Part 1 (Year 1) and Part 2 (Year 2, 3 and sometimes 4). For most programmes Part 1 requires you to study 120 credits spread over at least three modules which, depending upon your programme, will be drawn from one, two or three different academic subjects. A higher degree of specialisation then develops in subsequent years. For more information about our teaching methods at Lancaster please visit our Teaching and Learning section.
The following courses do not offer modules outside of the subject area due to the structured nature of the programmes: Architecture, Law, Physics, Engineering, Medicine, Sports and Exercise Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedicine and Biomedical Science.
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research.
Entry Criteria
Grade Requirements
A Level ABB
Required Subjects A level Art and Design or one other humanities subject considered desirable but not essential
IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component. For other English language qualifications we accept, please see our English language requirements webpages.
Portfolio Applicants will typically be required to submit a portfolio before being made an offer. The department will contact applicants to request the portfolio. The portfolio should include imaginative, expressive and analytical work as well as objective drawing.
Other Qualifications
International Baccalaureate 32 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects
BTEC Distinction, Distinction, Merit
Foundation Courses Art Foundation Courses are not an essential requirement for this degree. Please note Foundation Courses are considered but not accepted in lieu of our academic entry requirements.
We welcome applications from students with a range of alternative UK and international qualifications, including combinations of qualification. Further guidance on admission to the University, including other qualifications that we accept, frequently asked questions and information on applying, can be found on our general admissions webpages.
Contact Admissions Team + 44 (0) 1524 592028 or via ugadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk
Careers
A Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts combined degree gives graduates the opportunity to develop confidence and the capability to produce work for themselves. Our graduates have become professional artists, while others have chosen to work as community artists and designers, arts administrators and managers. Film graduates have gone into TV production roles, independent film production and jobs in advertising, marketing and media production. The transferable skills gained through studying a Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts combined degree at Lancaster make our graduates extremely attractive to a wide range of employers within different creative industries, including the media. Some of our graduates pursue postgraduate vocational training in media-related professions, such as broadcast and print journalism, or take their skills into promotional and marketing roles.Many of our graduates also go on to further study often becoming academics, lecturers and teachers or further vocational training in film production, including the prestigious New York Film Academy and London Film School.
Lancaster University is dedicated to ensuring you not only gain a highly reputable degree, but that you also graduate with relevant life and work based skills. We are unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which offers you the opportunity to complete key activities such as work experience, employability/career development, campus community and social development. Visit our Employability section for full details.
Studying
Teaching and Learning Methods
At Lancaster we offer a broad range of learning environments which include the traditional lecture-tutorial , interactive workshops, laboratory and practical activities, student-led seminars and web-based delivery.
The modules which make up a programme of study are assessed using a variety of different methods, enabling students to demonstrate their capabilities in a range of ways. Typical coursework assignments include laboratory reports, essays, literature reviews, short tests, poster sessions, group work assessment and oral presentations. Formal examinations include short answer questions, essays and data analysis. Students are supported in the production of final year project reports and dissertations. Details of the assessment methods for individual modules can be accessed via the university's online module catalogue.
In addition to these learning and teaching methods we encourage independent study, meaning you take responsibility for your own learning. For more information visit our Teaching Approach page.
Assessment Methods
We offer you a variety of stimulating and effective approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. This enables you and your tutors to explore the very latest thinking within your subject and develops your skills in problem solving, analysis and critical reflection, communication, application of knowledge and modern technologies.
As a University, we commit to providing all our undergraduates with a minimum number of contact hours per week, providing you with timely feedback on your work and a maximum number of 15 students per seminar group.
Fees
Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session,
starting in the October of your year of study.
Our Undergraduate Tuition Fees for 2021/22 are:
| UK/EU |
Overseas |
| £9,250 |
£19,930 |
Tuition fees for programmes are set annually for all new and continuing students. If you are studying on a course of more than one year's duration, the fees for subsequent years of your programme are likely to increase each year. Such increases are normally calculated based on increases in the costs incurred by the institution, or in relation to UK government regulations which set the maximum fee for certain categories of student.
For the majority of undergraduate students, the most recent annual increase was 2.8%. Any change in fee rates will be communicated to students and applicants prior to the start of the academic year in question, and normally at least eight months prior to enrolment. Further details can be found in our Terms and Conditions.
Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
Some science and medicine courses have higher fees for students from
the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. You can find more details here:
Island Students.
Funding
For full details of the University's financial support packages including eligibility criteria, please visit our fees and funding page
Students will require the following basic items:
- A digital camera with removable memory card – not with internal memory.
- A pen drive with at least 1gb memory
- A Stanley knife or scalpel
- General purpose scissors
- A box of pencils, 2H to 6B inclusive
- A variety of brushes
- A padlock (we supply you with a steel locker)
- A hardback student quality sketchbook (A3 or A4)
Students will also need student grade acrylic and oil paints as well as specialist tools and materials as they begin to specialise. Please refer to the Department for more detailed information.
Students also need to consider further costs which may include books, stationery, photocopying, printing, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation it may be necessary to take out subscriptions to professional bodies and to buy business attire for job interviews.
