This two year degree is awarded by the University of the West of England and is delivered in partnership with Filton College in Bristol. This is a new programme and offers students an exciting opportunity to study an art & design specialism while also preparing for a potential role in the wider creative industries.

The programme incorporates four named pathways: Fashion, Fine Art, Graphic Design and Photography.

Students are focused on a pathway that is addressed through specific modules that develop specialist skills and provide an ‘identity’ from which to develop an individual direction. Students are encouraged to look increasingly outwards from their chosen specialism, developing their understanding of the wider contexts of their practice. This promotes the development of an informed point of view to support an individual approach to practical work.

The programme includes core modules that are shared between the specialist pathways. These core modules directly address the students’ needs to be able to understand issues and problems which are common to all creative practitioners, and to develop skills which all creative practitioners need.

The emphasis is on the development of conceptual skills, the ability to understand problems, to work with ideas, to think in a critical, questioning, and creative way, and to be able to analyse visual forms. They offer opportunities for collaborative learning, including working with students from other pathways, which mirror professional working practices in the creative industries.

Assignments are open and flexible so that they can be used to develop an individual approach to practical work, whether the student wants to focus directly on a particular specialism or is interested in working ‘across the boundaries’ of different subjects or media

FdA students also have access to facilities, including libraries, at Filton’s three campuses and those of the University of the West of England.