ART AND DESIGN FOUNDATION OPEN DAYS

*THESE ARE NOT MY PHOTOS*

*they come from the leaflet I was given by Kingston, and I edited them on "a beautiful mess" for iOs*

I just came back from the Foundation (Diploma in Art and Design) open day at Kingston University, and happy to share my findings.

This is not the first Art and Design orientated Open Day I've attended, I've also been to UAL Camberwell's MA Illustration, Goldsmiths' Fine Art, and Camberwell's Foundation event. I'm going to UCA Farnham's Foundation day on Saturday.

I've also been to an English subject masterclass at Cambridge, which was... interesting.

In case you're wondering what a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design actually entails, I'll briefly explain it.

It's one year of intense A&D, and is labelled further education by the government, not higher like other university courses that tend to last longer than a year- which means several things:

1. You pay no fees if you're under 19

2. You can't get a student loan

3. You're more likely to be working full days

4. You're expected to be IN THE STUDIO.

This has been a learning curve for me, as everyone I'm at [grammar] school with, are going to university to be Doctors, Dentists, Opticians or generally 'academic. It's pretty rare to find someone studying three Arts subjects, and be going "off to art school".

Anyways, I'm discovering that the more Universities I visit, Art in particular, the more I'm being exposed to the way art students dress. It's like there's this entire dress code you need to adhere to before they accept you as a student there.

'Uniform' seems to consist of Trench Coats, Dc. Martens, Scrunchies and Denim.

The atmosphere around the places seems really competitive, but maybe  that's just because I'm trying to work out the system.

 Goldsmith's Fine Art course didn't seem too bothered about what Foundation course you came from, which is probably a good thing considering they take 750 people's portfolios, 150 for interviews, and then 75 places. It means you'll only be stressed out once when climbing the portfolio application ladder to get there.

Camberwell Fdn. takes 1500(?)ish applicants, and offers 650 places.

Students are expected to be in three days a week, and in the studio for independent working time outside of this.

Kingston Fdn. takes around the same (1,453) but only have 170 places. Students are expected to be in 5 (sometimes 7!) days a week, and overall it seems like a more structured course, where more guidance and discipline is provided, but that's just my opinion. 

Being a smaller course, students are guaranteed to get tutor and feedback time more than just once a month. However, the downside to this is that you don't get automatic feed into UAL when you're finished like you would going to Camberwell/CSM-

-BUT, Kingston did claim a 100% success rate in "getting students into the best university right for them."

Overall, it seems like I'll be applying to all of the courses I physically can, as then it'll give me the most options for choosing where I want to study. 

Because it appears that students applying for any course are advised to "find the one right for them", I'll have to find which is right for me, and go with it.

If you are looking to apply for a foundation, and you're like me, you would have found it difficult to find a list of places that offer this all in one place. 

(My careers advisor was highly helpful).

*tadaa*

*ART AND DESIGN FOUNDATION COURSES 2014-1015*

The note at the bottom was reminding me to look at the specialisms and facilities at each of the places, so I hope it's helpful!

-all for you.