Extended BA (Hons) Degree

Entry requirements

This entry year programme is year one of a four-year degree and is designed as a preparatory year to ready you for the transition to the full degree programme of your choice. It provides an opportunity to develop your portfolio and technical skills in a specialist subject area.

We offer places to students who have at least five GCSEs, grades 9 - 4 (A* - C), including English Language and a combination of AS and A-level qualifications or equivalent (with one in a creative subject). We also welcome applications from mature students who may not have the qualification profile but have other experience and knowledge. All applicants will be required to show a portfolio of creative work.

Although many of our students do come in with top grades and high UCAS points, these aren’t necessarily essential for entry. For most of our undergraduate degrees, we typically ask for between 104 - 120 UCAS points, but we understand that talented artists, designers and makers can have a wide range of relevant strengths and skills beyond formal qualifications. We’re just as interested in exploring your portfolio and discussing your creative experiences as we are in seeing your grades.

We recognise the value of a variety of qualifications and relevant experience and welcome applications from students who have followed less traditional routes. We also accept a range of international qualifications and will look at each application individually.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Prepare for Success with Our Extended BA Programme

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.

Why choose this course at Arts University Plymouth?

• Immerse yourself in experimental and intense learning experiences that open up new avenues of exploration and discovery – this is done through research, making practical work, lively discussion and self-reflection.
• You will embark on a challenging, creative academic and practical journey giving you the freedom to take risks, generate ideas and experiment with a variety of analogue and digital methods and materials.
• Transformative and exploratory year that increases knowledge, curiosity and confidence and is fantastic preparation for the following three years of degree level study.

I started the course wanting to be an artist. I left the course as an artist. This has been the most amazing formative year of my creative journey so far, I wish I had done it sooner.

JOANNE NUDD, EXTENDED BA TEXTILE DESIGN GRADUATE

What is an Extended BA?

Our Extended BA (Hons) Degree offers a unique four-year route for students aiming to delve into the diverse realm of art, design, and media. This program 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.

The year I spent on the Extended BA is one that I wish I could repeat again and again. To say that the year was transformative is a considerable understatement. I came onto the course feeling slightly imposter-like and I left the course an artist, excited for my future.

- MICHELE AZZOPARDI, EXTENDED BA (HONS) DEGREE

Harnessing Your Creative Voice

Throughout this dynamic and supportive journey, you'll embark on a personal exploration, discovering your unique passions and strengths within the creative arts. Through lectures, workshops, studios, seminars, and tutorials, you'll engage in an intensive and challenging curriculum designed to foster academic confidence, purpose, and direction. This immersive experience culminates in a specialised personal investigation module, allowing you to delve deep into your chosen degree subject, gaining firsthand experience and refining your creative identity.

“The Extended Degree is an excellent chance to experiment with everything the university has to offer. The support from staff and use of the facilities helped me to determine the direction in which I wanted to take my career, as well as giving me a broad knowledge of art across a wide range of practices.”

TAYLOR HARFORD, EXTENDED BA (HONS) COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOR FASHION, ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL

Undergraduate Courses

The Extended BA year primes you to become a confident, independent, and creative artist, designer, or maker, setting you on the path to excel in the next steps of your degree course.

There’s never been a more exciting time to join our university, as we develop our existing curriculum with the input of our students, alumni, and expert academics. Through close consultation with industry professionals, we can ensure that what you learn with us will prepare you for a dynamic and ever-changing future job market.

If you're applying to study with us this Autumn please visit UCAS and refer to the codes below. For more information or support with your application please contact admissions@aup.ac.uk.

Thinking & Making

Study with us and you’ll expand your critical approach alongside developing skills in research and analysis. Our academically robust and intellectually stimulating degree programmes are delivered by our team of academics, technical demonstrators and invited experts who together deliver excellence in learning, teaching and assessment. Our programmes encourage diversity in thinking and making - from practical applications through to reflective, analytical writing.

We provide a dynamic, stimulating learning environment from which to test new models of practice, while investing in the rich relationship between practice and theory - based on the potential in material and visual exploration, collaborative working, cross-fertilisation of ideas, and the exploration of histories and contemporary contexts.

Fees and funding