Course may be subject to change.
This course is aimed for people aged 19 years or over.
This Access to Higher Education Art and Design Diploma is widely recognised by universities and colleges, throughout the country, as an entry qualification for degrees and many professional courses. If you do not have the formal qualifications required for degree level study then this course can help you reach your goals.
The Access to Higher Education Health pathway provides the entry criteria for a variety of art and design based degrees including Fine Art, Graphics, Animation and Computer Game Design
Entry Criteria
Ideally, you will hold GCSE qualifications, or Level 2 equivalent, in English and maths. You must hold one of these qualifications before starting the Access to HE diploma.
There is the option to study English or maths alongside the Access Diploma throughout the week – this requires a separate application.
What are the next steps?
You will be invited to meet the tutor. Please bring evidence of your relevant qualifications, including GCSE Maths and English and a portfolio of art and design work.
Study Aims
This course aims to provide you with the skills and entry qualifications needed to confidently, competently and successfully progress to study Higher Education.
Modules Studied
The course consists of graded and ungraded Diploma units.
These include ungraded study skills units to ease you back into education and graded units including ones developing fine art skills, research, graphical skills and printmaking.
Times of Delivery
2 days a week/10 hours. Any times indicated are based on current courses and may be subject to change in future years. Full timetables will be confirmed prior to the start of the course. If maths or English qualifications are needed, these will be timetabled separately.
Any times indicated are based on current courses and may be subject to change in future years. Full timetables will be confirmed at the start of each course.
Teaching and Assessment
You will study a total of 60 credits on the programme, taught in class. The course is taught by experienced lecturers, many who teach these subjects at A-Level or in Higher Education. You will be assessed through reports, in class assessments, practical experiments and presentations. You will also be expected to study independently - your lecturers will also suggest reading or research tasks or will set reading lists.
Maths and English
See entry requirements.
What else?
We always receive excellent external moderation reports praising the quality of our Access to HE programme. Additionally national statistics show that students who study with us are twice as likely to receive distinction grades in Access to HE which puts them in an excellent position to gain a place on a higher education degree.
Recent graduates of our Access course have progressed to over 40 different degree programmes at 15 different universities. 92% of our students gain their first choice degree programme.
You could progress to a creative course at New College Durham, such as FdA Visual Arts or FdA Graphic Design, or a relevant Fine Art, Games Design, Fashion or Animation course at university.
