BA (Hons) Fine Art and Design (Placement Year)

Lancaster's Fine Art and Design degree gives you the opportunity to study fine art practice alongside the practices of contemporary design.Fine Art at Lancaster gives you the opportunity to integrate Fine Art Practice with Art History/Theory at a high level. From the first through to the final year of 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 emphasis is on Fine Art practice and Fine Art thinking. Students work across painting, drawing, sculpture, digital, live art and their hybrids. Our aim is for you to develop the practice and ideas that best reflect your aims and values as a young Fine Artist.Lancaster’s approach to design reflects a department that is actively seeking new and innovative ways to apply design. The degree is taught by leading design researchers, and it moves beyond the scope of traditional disciplines such as graphic or product design. Instead you will be given the opportunity to develop the skills to solve complex cultural and social problems by combining design thinking with innovation, technology, business and research. This will equip you for a range of exciting careers in new and emerging industries. The Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts also has a range of interdisciplinary modules available to you to give you the opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and understanding that is relevant across both art and design.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.