Fine Art with Foundation Year

Discover your artistic potential on a course at the forefront of contemporary fine art practice.

Join us to work with leading artists and educators in developing your creativity through experimentation with media, materials and ideas to emerge as a confident practising artist. You will develop your individual artistic practice in our outstanding modern studios, working within and across a wide range of artistic disciplines. Our tutors are highly respected and internationally renowned artists, researchers and educators who will inspire and enthuse you. We will equip you with the professional skills to fulfil your ambitions as a practising artist or to pursue careers in fields ranging from community arts to curation. 

*Rebecca Cuff with work from her ‘Plastica’ series which combined acetate, paint, photography and a lightbox. Read about Rebecca's experience as a mature student exploring new ways of working in art.

Students Amy Vallance, Daniel Cranage and Nikki Romanik.

Watch our students create interactive sculptures in Ilam park near Ashbourne.

All students engage in creating conceptually challenging art that pushes the boundaries of personal expression.  What makes our programme unique is the emphasis we place on ‘making’ skills in developing a studio practice regardless of the discipline engaged in. A key strength of the programme is having an intake of 30 students per year in order to ensure we have a close-knit community of art students that can be fully supported. It is because of this close support that we have excellent retention, high numbers of good degrees, and positive student feedback.

A significant part of this course is spent in our modern studios where you explore your own individual ideas and experiment with different working methods, materials and processes. We provide you with your own dedicated and permanent studio space from which you will work throughout your time on the course.  

The wide-ranging facilities on offer encourage you to explore a variety of paths in your artistic practice – everything from painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture and installation to sound, film and video, digital media and performance. You have access to resources such as our industry standard Apple Mac suite, a large printmaking studio, darkrooms, music studios, and workshops for large-scale projects involving plaster, ceramics, wood and metal.  

We offer an outstanding specialist Art and Design Library, a print bureau for professional fine art printing, and a digital media equipment centre from which you can borrow industry-level video, film and photography equipment.

Visiting Professor Yan Wang gives a demonstration of Chinese portrait painting with BA Fine Art student Richard as a model.

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

• One of the strengths of Fine Art at Derby is the limit on the number of places, which enables us to focus on the needs of each individual in a smaller cohort where everyone is devoted to working as an artist.  ‌
• You learn through studio workshops, group and individual tutorials, seminars and lectures. These are supported by a vibrant and diverse programme of visiting artists who will update you on latest developments within the cultural industries.
• Each year of the course, you will have the chance to visit a cultural centre in Europe or the USA, as well as national galleries and museums. You could also undertake site-specific projects, including residentials, in the nearby Derbyshire Peak District. 
• Throughout the course, there is ample opportunity to exhibit your work or take part in prestigious competitions. Our students are regularly offered artist residencies at home and abroad and have gained coveted places at events such as the Students’ International Biennale.
• The culmination of your degree will be a major public exhibition where you can showcase your work to influential figures from the art world, prospective employers and the wider public.  
• You will be assessed on your studio work through exhibitions, formal presentations of developmental and resolved work, and your contributions to individual tutorials, group critiques and seminars. There will be some assignments and essay work to submit for your theoretical studies.   

We will nurture your artistic and creative independence, ensuring that you graduate as a self-motivated, resourceful and versatile fine art practitioner. Many of our students go on to become long-term practising artists – undertaking residencies, opening studios, exhibiting nationally and internationally, and lecturing.  

The skills you develop will be valuable across the creative economy so – apart from furthering your development as a practising artist – you could progress to careers in areas such as curatorship, art therapy, community arts or teaching. 

Our graduates also regularly choose to advance their knowledge on Masters programmes nationally and internationally, including the MA Arts at Derby.  

Fine Artist Paul Cummins is a University of Derby graduate who has gone on to curate one of the most memorable WWI exhibitions, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.

2025 entry

These are the typical qualification requirements for September 2025 entry.

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

Offers will be made initially based on your application, including predicted grades and/or grades you have already achieved. You may be given the opportunity, within your offer letter, to submit a portfolio. If you submit a strong portfolio we will make you an unconditional offer, to reflect the quality of your work and your potential.

Additional entry requirements

• Portfolio: Recommended - view portfolio details

2025/26

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to.

Additional costs and optional extras

Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Course updates

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.