Course summary

If you want to pursue a creative degree at Arts University Plymouth but feel you have yet to acquire the experience and range of skills necessary, our Extended BA programme will prepare you for entry to one of our BA (Hons) undergraduate courses. What is Extended BA? Our Extended BA (Hons) Degrees offers a unique four-year route for students aiming to delve into the diverse realm of art, design, and media. This programme provides an initial exploratory year, where you'll cultivate insight into various creative skills and approaches, laying a robust foundation before advancing to a specialised degree of your choice. Whether you're returning to education after a hiatus or entering without formal qualifications, our Extended BA equips you with the requisite skills, knowledge, and experience to secure a place in our full undergraduate program. Our Intensive Extended Degree program is a dynamic blend of lectures, workshops, and practical studio sessions designed to challenge and inspire. Our diverse student body spans from fresh-faced eighteen-year-olds to seasoned creatives in their seventies, fostering a rich collaborative environment. With the freedom to take risks and experiment, you'll develop a diverse skill set through hands-on experimentation with materials, processes, and methodologies. This transformative journey hones critical skills essential for degree-level study, expanding your proficiency in drawing, visual research, contextual studies, digital imaging, and design methods. Gain invaluable experience in a supportive atmosphere that encourages creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Why Choose BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing and Printmaking? This course is designed to immerse you in a wide range of traditional and contemporary techniques, students on this course will simultaneously develop a distinct creative voice as a contemporary professional artist. Nestled in expansive, open-plan studios designed with airy lofted ceilings and strategically positioned windows to harness the natural light, you'll be inspired to cultivate an ambitious working ethos whilst immersed in all three disciplines of painting, drawing, and printmaking. Embark on a transformative journey and explore a rich tapestry of traditional, contemporary, and hybrid artistic skills, nurturing your creativity and unique voice. This course equips you with mastery over the six visual languages of line, form, space, movement, tone, and colour. Whilst studying this course, you will have the chance to show your work right from the beginning of your first year, in a professional exhibition open to the public, organised, curated and produced by your group. Our tutors are all practising artists who bring unique, independent experience to the classroom and studio teaching. The course specialises in the embodied practice of painting, with the synergy of drawing and fine print together with colour as a conceptual practice. Throughout the intensive three-year period of focused study, an extensive array of technical workshops and material demonstrations serve as a cornerstone of the curriculum, nurturing a hands-on, profound material knowledge that directly shapes the concepts, techniques, and nuances of your developing studio practice. Whilst studying with us, you’ll be able to take advantage of numerous cultural and community-based institutions in and around Plymouth, providing you with opportunities to see and participate in exhibitions that will expand your knowledge of the contemporary art world. On successful completion of your Extended Degree year, you will be guaranteed a place on one of our full undergraduate BA (Hons) programmes. Many of our past students have gone on to achieve high grades in their degrees, including a large number with First Class Honours.