BA (Hons) History of Art (with a Foundation Year)
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Arts
- UCAS Course Code
- V35F
- Typical Offer
- CCC
- Contextual Offer
- CDD
- Course Length
- 4 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2027
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9th
In the UK for History of Art, Architecture and Design
The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023Course Overview
Why BA History of Art with a Foundation Year at UEA?
Get ready for your desirable degree with our History of Art with a Foundation Year. Receive support as you gain expert knowledge.
Why choose UEA
- Supportive culture: Collaborate with lecturers celebrated for their guidance and student wellbeing support
- Prepare for your future: Enhance your analytical and visual interpretation skills to excel in your History of Art degree
- Art, history, and culture on campus: Expand your love for art and deepen your knowledge of its historical and cultural context with a world-class, globally diverse collection located on UEA’s campus
What is BA History of Art with a Foundation Year?
The History of Art Foundation Year is your platform on which to build a toolkit of essential academic skills. By forming your own goals and objectives you’ll have the know-how to engage confidently with the Humanities at degree level. Your learning is in your own hands.
Make connections between different disciplines, understanding how a country’s art and culture intersects with its history, politics and literature. Spark your curiosity by visiting the amazing Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts right on your doorstep. Be inspired by the 350-acres of parkland housing an exceptional range of art and architecture.
Careers
Career Pathways
With a degree in History of Art, you could launch a career as:
- Communications officer: Manage communications and public messaging for organisations in the cultural, arts or public sectors
- Journalist: Write, research and edit arts-focused reports for a variety of print and digital media
- Teacher: Teach the Arts and Humanities in a range of educational institutions and organisations
- Museum and gallery curator: Work with collections, exhibitions, and interpretation across public and private institutions
- Heritage project management: Contribute and manage the process of preservation, curation of, and public engagement with, cultural and historical organisations
Career Support
During your foundation year, you’ll begin exploring the path toward your future career. We’ll help you see how your interests and strengths can connect to real job opportunities.
You’ll be able to take part in networking events, workshops, and one-to-one meetings where you can ask questions and get advice. No matter how sure you are about your future plans, you’ll have support along the way.
UEA’s award-winning careers support service will support you during your degree and after you graduate. They help you with writing your CV, making job or university applications, finding internships, and building skills for your future career.
Discover more on our Careers webpages.
After the Course
After successfully completing your foundation year, you’ll progress straight onto the BA History of Art degree. You can also request to study another undergraduate course within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. This may be subject to taking certain required prerequisite modules.
You may wish to transfer onto a degree with Creative Writing. In that case, you’ll need to submit a sample of your writing (c. five pages) for approval by the creative writing team. Your academic adviser will support you along the way. During your History of Art with a Foundation Year degree, you’ll develop your own set of unique academic interests and passions, allowing you to be well-placed to progress onto the degree that’s the best fit for you. Use the foundation year as a springboard to the degree of your choice and take control of your future studies.
Study and Modules
Structure
In your foundation year, you'll study a mix of core modules and optional topics. This means you can shape your learning around the subjects that interest you most. By the end of the year, you'll have built the knowledge, skills, and confidence you need to succeed in the rest of your degree.
You’ll develop important skills such as critical thinking and analysis. Alongside your lecturers and classmates, you'll explore key ideas from the Arts and Humanities. You’ll learn how these ideas connect to real-world issues such as history, politics, society, and culture.
Some topics you might explore include myths and ideology, postcolonial studies, gender and sexuality, and power in society.
You’ll also practise essential academic skills. For example, you’ll learn how to research information, write strong essays, and reference sources correctly. You’ll also discover how to use the many study tools and support services available at UEA to help you succeed.
A big part of the foundation year is understanding how new ideas and knowledge are created in humanities. During the course, you'll have the chance to design your own small research project based on your interests.
With support from your lecturers, you’ll learn how to break a large project into smaller steps, plan your work, carry out research, and solve problems. These skills are important for your degree and will also help you in many future careers.
By working through each stage of the project, you'll grow in confidence and see how different ideas connect together. This process will help you become a creative, independent, and resilient learner.
Throughout the foundation year, you’ll be able to choose from different subject areas. You might focus on history, literature, visual arts and culture, or politics. You may also decide to study a language.
Combining different subjects allows you to explore your future degree from several angles. It also gives you the chance to deepen your knowledge in areas linked to your course or try something completely new.
For information on subsequent years, please see the full BA History of Art course.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 20)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning, and Assessment
Teaching and Learning
We’ll provide a supportive and rewarding learning environment where you’ll study with dedicated lecturers from UEA’s Interdisciplinary Institute for the Humanities. This will shallow out the curve between your previous learning experiences and your future degree programme. Modules are delivered through a variety of methods, with a range of study tasks to prepare you for the different types of learning and teaching you’ll meet later on.
Through seminars, interactive training sessions and supportive feedback, you’ll develop key skills in areas such as essay writing, research, and understanding and critically evaluating scholarly arguments. Your Foundation Year will be taught by award-winning lecturers who are specialists in their fields. Our teaching is informed by cutting-edge subject research and a strong commitment to innovative and engaging teaching practice.
Your foundation year will be an intensive course. You’ll need to work independently between classes to make sure you’re fully prepared for seminars, workshops, and assessments. We’ll help you to make the most of the resources and facilities available to you at UEA. We’ll support you as you develop your ability to study independently, cultivating skills that will be of great benefit in your degree, and your later career.
Assessment
During your Arts and Humanities Foundation Year, you’ll be assessed in a variety of ways. This might include essays, posters, reflective work, and source-based analyses. This will allow you to explore different learning styles and become familiar with the format and expectations of degree-level assessment.
We use innovative methods to enable you to learn from your peers as well as from teaching staff. This will help you to build confidence in your abilities and develop into a more independent learner. You’ll receive feedback, allowing you to continue to develop, hone and improve your written work over the year.
You’ll also benefit from the support of one of the course lecturers as an adviser. You’ll attend individual tutorials to ensure you’re progressing well and are achieving your full potential.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK fee-paying students only. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
In place of Mathematics GCSE we can also consider Functional Skills Level 2 Mathematics.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies(opens in a new window) page.
- Contextual Offers
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes(opens in a new window).
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
A Levels
CCC
Contextual offer: CDD
BTEC
Level 3 Extended Diploma: MMM
Contextual offer: MMP
Access to HE Diploma
Access to Humanities & Social Sciences pathway. Pass the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
T Levels
Obtain an overall Pass
- Further Examples of Typical Entry Requirements
We welcome applications from students with non-traditional academic backgrounds. If you have been out of study for the last three years and you do not have the entry grades for our three year degree, we will consider your educational and employment history, along with your personal statement and reference to gain a holistic view of your suitability for the course. You will still need to meet our GCSE English Language and Mathematics requirements.
International Baccalaureate
28 points overall
Irish Leaving Certificate
6 subjects at H4
Scottish Highers
BBCCC
Scottish Advanced Highers
DDD A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
-
IELTS: 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies(opens in a new window) for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
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- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- Progression
Once enrolled onto a course at UEA, your progression and continuation (which may include eligibility for study abroad, overseas experience, placement or year in industry opportunities) is contingent on meeting the assessment requirements which are relevant to the course on which you are enrolled.
Progression from a Foundation Year may also be dependent on meeting the prerequisite module requirements of the course you wish to progress to. Please note subsequent changes to study or course can affect your tuition fee liability and the amount you are required to pay.
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Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2027/28 are:
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UK Students: £5,760
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International Students: £24,250
We estimate living expenses at £1,171 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here(opens in a new window).
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships(opens in a new window) for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information: