Education and Design or Fine Art
The BA in Education and Design or Fine Art is a Joint Honours award. That means you follow the full degree course in Fine Art or Design as well as taking a dedicated teacher education programme as a professional qualification.
Year 1
In Year 1, your course of study will be largely focused on the development of your capacities in Fine Art or Design. In semester 1, this will involve focusing on interdisciplinary Art and Design research, observation and analysis. As part of your education professional practice in semester 1 you will be introduced to theoretical aspects of education studies such as inclusion, differentiation and sociology and philosophy of education. In semester 2 will undertake preparation for a short placement in a primary school for one day a week for four weeks. At the end of semester 2 you will prepare for a special educational needs placement which takes place at the start Year 2. If you choose to study Education and Design, during semester 2 you will work on a project in collaboration with students from across the areas in the Design School in the first half of the semester, and then spend the second half of the semester developing work and skills that are relevant to your particular design specialism. If you choose to study Education and Fine Art, during semester 2 you will undertake 6 weeks of workshops spent in two different pathways chosen from Ceramics and Glass, Media, Painting, Print, Sculpture and Expanded Practice, and Textile Art and Artefact. In the second half of the semester, you will work in a particular pathway exploring differ-ent kinds of approaches, materials and processes and new skills that are part of the language of contemporary art.
Year 2
In Year 2 you will continue to follow the degree programme you have chosen in Fine Art or Design but you will also follow certain modules that will introduce you to aspects of education and begin to prepare you for teaching in various settings. Semester 1 will include a two-week placement in a Special Educational Needs setting. Semester 2 will involve a short placement in a second-level school for one day per week.
Years 3 & 4
Third and fourth year are split between studio practice and school placement, with a focus on the integration of your role as a teacher in the second level classroom with that of the artist or designer developing an art or design practice in the studio. You will have two extended five week placements in a second-level school where you will be supported in learning the role and functions of a teacher. There will be some college-based work as well, providing you with a theoretical base for your teaching. In fourth year you will re-focus on your studio practice in Fine Art or Design, and will bring your studies to a conclusion with your final end-of-year exhibition of work.
How will I be assessed?
Assessment throughout the course, in both your studio practice and in education studies, will be on a continuous basis, usually taking place over each semester (half-year). Formal assessment results will be issued at the end of each academic year. Modes of assessment will include practical and written assignments, supervision of school placements, oral and visual presentations, and some written examinations.
Opportunities after graduation
Most Education and Design or Fine Art graduates go on to teach in secondary, vocational or community and comprehensive schools. The teaching qualification is validated by the Teaching Council and is recognised internationally, and some graduates choose to travel abroad to find employment in other countries. Art teachers work in a variety of settings – in second-level schools, in further education, with very young children, with adults, in museums and galleries, in prisons and in many other places where education takes place. Many Education graduates choose to continue their specialist art or design area of work, through further study or employment in those disciplinary areas. In some cases, they might decide to return to teaching at a later stage in their lives, knowing that their professional qualification will still be valid. Art teachers can pursue a range of higher education awards at graduate level, including masters awards in various aspects of art or education, such as visual art education, special needs, educational management and other aspects of education. Similarly, Joint Honours Education students may choose to develop their art or design studio practice through MFA work in those disciplines.