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do i need an arts foundation course to be able to do an Art and Design course at uni?

I really want to go do an Art and Design course at Uni, and iv been told by various people i will need an arts foundation course to get in. Now looking on the university websites they just give me UCAS points that i will need to have and don't really say anything about needing this course. But i'm so confused! I have also been looking into courses such as Interior architecture and design, contemporary lens media, graphic design etc. Will any of these need an art foundation course?

Public Comments

1. When I studied my degree it was the norm to do a foundation course before the degree. Some places did a 4 year course that incorporated the foundation course, but not sure if this still happens. You get to try loads of different aspects of Art on the foundation course (I did 3D design, fashion, photography, woodwork and metalwork, as well as painting and sculpture) so it's really handy to help give you a better idea of what degree to do. Having said all that, the main part of the interview involves showing your portfolio, so if you can show them how brilliant you are they might accept you without the foundation!! Good luck xx
2. Some of them require it, but less unis do now so you don't necessarily need to do it. Some courses like AVCE or BTec in art and design are similar, so if you are doing one of those then you probably won't need the foundation course. But if you are doing A levels then to go to a good uni you might need to do it, just because you learn an awful lot and you build up your portfolio, which you don't really have the chance to do at A level unless you do a lot of work in your spare time. Pick a few random unis with different reputations and ring them up so that you can talk to them directly and get proper answers. Also, when you do a foundation course you do a rotation in the first term where you get experience in lots of different areas, and then you choose one to specialise in for the rest of the year, so any art or design based subject use this course, whether it's graphics, interiors, etc. I did this course and then at uni found out that some people on my course hadn't done it, so even though it was great and I learned a lot and I'm glad I did it, I was still pretty annoyed that I'd done a year that I didn't need to!