BA

Creative Arts

Key Facts

Code WW48

  • Typical A-level offer

    BBC with B in any subject

  • Course Length

    3 Years

Further details on entry requirements

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This unique learning experience at Aberystwyth University allows the students to follow a self-directed pathway through and across our four creative disciplines simultaneously; Fine Art, Creative Writing, Theatre, Performance and Scenography and Film & Television. Through the core modules: Interdisciplinary Practice 1 ,2 & 3 students will develop a portfolio of self - directed creative projects, they will have the opportunity to present their projects in an annual public event at the RIBA award winning Aberystwyth Arts Centre, staging their site-specific intervention projects in and around the centre, in one of the UK’s largest Arts Centre’s and ‘national flagship for the arts’ with over 70,000 visitors a year. Students will also develop key skills in professional practice through self directed research projects, giving them the opportunity to work directly within the creative industry.

Student Satisfaction and Employability Results

The School of Art is 2nd in the UK for teaching experience and 3rd in the UK for teaching quality (The Good  University Guide, The Times & Sunday Times 2018). 

School of Art: 94% student satisfaction (NSS 2018)

97% of our graduates were in work or further study within 6 months, 3% more than Creative Arts and Design graduates nationally, (HESA 2018*)

Overview

Why study Creative Arts at Aberystwyth University?

  • Benefit from one of the largest Arts Centres in the UK, Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
  • Learn from practicing artists, authors, arts administrators and performers.
  • Excel with your links with the creative industries locally, nationally and internationally.
  • Experience our once in a life time experience on our study exchange programmes with the Erasmus + throughout Europe and our International Exchange programme.
  •  A degree from the well-established department, the School of Art has history that goes back to 1917, making us one of only a few British Universities to be concerned with the Arts and Crafts Movement.
  • State-of-the-art teaching facilities; well-lit studios for painting, dark rooms, print workshops, a MAC suite, as well as lecture theatres and seminar rooms.
Our Staff

Our teaching staff are practicing professionals. As exhibiting artists, publishing researchers and curators, they provide an informed and stimulating learning environment. This ensures that the skills you learn at the School of Art are practice orientated, relevant and applicable.

For further information, visit our individual staff profiles.

Modules

Please note: The modules listed below are those currently intended for delivery during the next academic year and may be subject to change. They are included here to give an indication of how the course is structured.

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Interdisciplinary Practice 1 AR15220 20

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Contemporary Writing EN10520 20
Drawing: Extended Practice AR11320 20
Drawing: Looking, Seeing, Thinking AR11120 20
Introduction to Media Production (Semester 2) FM10520 20
Introduction to Poetry WR10420 20
Painting: Extended Practice AR11420 20
Painting: Looking, Seeing, Thinking AR11220 20
Scenography Site Project TP11720 20
Scenography Studio Project TP11620 20
Site-Specific Performance Project TP11420 20
Studio Theatre Project TP11120 20

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Interdisciplinary Practice 2 AR24240 40

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Acting: Process and Performance TP21220 20
Adaptation: Versions, Revisions and Cultural Renewal AH23120 20
Advertising FM21920 20
Art Cinema FM24420 20
Art in Europe and America: Modernism 1900-1950 AH20520 20
Art/Sound: Practice, Theory, and History (1800-2010) AH22920 20
Beginning the Novel WR20220 20
Book Illustration 1 AR21820 20
Book Illustration 2 AR21930 30
Contemporary Television Drama FM21220 20
Creative Documentary FM26520 20
Creative Fiction: Horror FM20920 20
Creative Studio FM25420 20
Digital Culture FM25520 20
Digital Journalism FM22120 20
Directors' Theatre: Staging Modern Drama TP21820 20
Documentary Screens FM20720 20
Hollywood Cinema (1967-now) FM21020 20
Life Studies 1 AR22110 10
Life Studies 2 AR22210 10
Literary Theory: Debates and Dialogues EN20120 20
Media and Society in Wales FM23220 20
New Media Performance TP23820 20
Nineteenth Century Literature EN20720 20
Painting 1 AR20120 20
Painting 2 AR20230 30
Painting 3 AR20920 20
Painting 4 AR21030 30
Photography 1 AR20720 20
Photography 2 AR20830 30
Photography 3 AR21620 20
Photography 4 AR21730 30
Photography Begins: European Genius and the Birth of a New Aesthetic AH22520 20
Place and Self EN22120 20
Postmodernism and Contemporary Art AH20620 20
Printmaking 1: Etching and Relief Printing AR22320 20
Printmaking 2: Etching and Relief Printing AR22430 30
Printmaking 3: Screenprinting, lithography & hybrid printing AR22520 20
Printmaking 4: Screenprinting, lithography & hybrid printing AR22630 30
Scenographic Composition TP22520 20
Shakespeare in Performance TP23220 20
Television Genre FM20620 20
The Image Multiplied: European Printmaking since 1400 AH21620 20
Theatre Design Project TP22620 20
Theatre and Contemporary Society TP20420 20
Writing for Film and Television FM21620 20

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Interdisciplinary Practice 3 AR33340 40

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Adaptation: Versions, Revisions and Cultural Renewal AH33120 20
Advanced Scenographic Project TP35940 40
Advanced Studio Practice (scenography) TP31240 40
Art/Sound: Practice, Theory, and History (1800-2010) AH32920 20
Book Illustration 3 AR32330 30
Book Illustration 4 AR32440 40
Contemporary British and Irish Drama TP30820 20
Cult Cinema: Texts, Histories and Audiences FM38220 20
Documentary Production FM33740 40
Ensemble Performance Project TP35520 20
Exhibition 1: Graduation Show AR30130 30
Exhibition 2: Graduation Show AR32540 40
Experimental Cinema FM34520 20
Experimental Media Production FM33540 40
Fiction Film Production FM34240 40
Gender and the Media FM38320 20
Haunting Texts EN30820 20
Independent Research Project TP36040 40
Life Studies 3 AR31610 10
Media Law FM36720 20
Media Semiotics FM34120 20
Musical Theatre Dramaturgies TP39020 20
Painting 5 - Paint Directed Practice AR31730 30
Painting 6 Paint Directed Practice AR31840 40
Photography 5 - Photo Directed Practice AR32130 30
Photography 6 - Photo Directed Practice AR32240 40
Photography Begins: European Genius and the Birth of a New Aesthetic AH32520 20
Place, Space and Landscape TP32820 20
Playwriting TP34640 40
Pre-Raphaelitism and Its Contexts AH33020 20
Printmaking 5 - Print Directed Practice AR31930 30
Printmaking 6 - Print Directed Practice AR32040 40
Reading Theory / Reading Text EN30120 20
Romantic Eroticism EN30520 20
Stardom and Celebrity FM31320 20
Studying Videogames FM38420 20
Textual Interventions WR30120 20
The Image Multiplied: European Printmaking since 1400 AH30620 20
The Surveillance Society FM32420 20
Theatre, Gender and Sexuality TP33120 20
Twentieth Century Welsh Writing in English EN30420 20
Undergraduate Dissertation EN30040 40
Victorian Childhoods EN30320 20
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy WR32220 20
Writing and Place WR32120 20

Employability

What career opportunities are the for me on completion of this degree?

Our graduates have moved on to become employees in the following:

  • Design Council
  • Arts Council
  • Tate Gallery
  • Royal Academy
  • Carlton Television
  • The Observer
  • Saachi Gallery
  • Damien Hirst
  • BBC

Some of our graduates are currently:

  • Secondary School teachers
  • Art Gallery Managers and Curators
  • Children’s book illustrators
  • Photographers
  • Graphic designers
  • Art directors in publishing
  • Medical Illustrators

How does the degree prepare me for my career?

You will gain skills that are highly valued by employers:

  • Conceive creative solutions for specific problems
  • Research, evaluate and organise information
  • Clear communication both written and spoken
  • Work independently and with others
  • Time organisation
  • Self-motivation and discipline

What work experience opportunities exist whilst studying? 

Click here to find out about the various opportunities that our Aberystwyth University Careers team offer. 

Enhance your employability prospects with GO Wales and YES (Year in Employment Scheme) managed by our Careers department. 

Teaching & Learning

What will I learn?

The breakdown below will provide you with an illustration of what you may study during the three year degree scheme.

In your first year you may discover:

  • Art practice
  • Theatre
  • Scenography
  • Fiction and Creative writing
  • Anthology

In your second year, you will explore:

  • Fine Art
  • Film and Television Production
  • Theatre production
  • Creative writing
  • Cultural Contexts of Art

In your third year you will study:

  • Print, Photo and Paint
  • Documentary or Film production
  • Advance Studio practice
  • Playwriting
  • The creation of texts in different genres
  • Art History
  • Your independent research project

How will I be taught? 

Our programme is delivered through workshops, demonstrations, practicals, lectures, crits, tutorials and filed trips.

Assessment if by course work – portfolio, film, performance.

You will also be assigned a personal tutor to whom you may turn for guidance and help, academic-related or pastoral. You should feel free to contact them at any time for help and advice. 

Typical Entry Requirements

A Levels BBC with B in any subject

GCSE requirements (grade C min):
English or Welsh

BTEC National Diploma:
DMM

International Baccalaureate:
30 points overall

European Baccalaureate:
65% overall

The University operates an inclusive admissions policy and our offers can vary. Please refer to our country-specific pages for details of the international qualifications we accept. For further information, contact ug-admissions@aber.ac.uk

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