University of Reading

Course Details

BA Art and Film

Course Description

Discover film from the late 19th century to the modern day while developing your professional practice under the guidance of internationally renowned artists and curators at one of the UK's top ten art departments. Explore both the practical and theoretical sides of art and film and investigate how each discipline has influenced the other. You will join a lively and creative community, explore a vast range of media, experiment with emerging art forms and develop as an artist. Your art will be complemented with modules in "Contemporary art theory" and the "History of art". You will have your own dedicated space, accessible 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and a studio tutor who will help you develop your individual and professional practice. The studios are a busy place with events, screenings, performances and exhibitions happening regularly. There are regular trips to museums and art galleries to prompt thoughts on how art is displayed and received. You will gain professional experience throughout your degree by taking part in your own exhibitions, public art commissions and events. In Film, you will choose from a range of modules covering world cinema, avant-garde, experimental film-making, new forms of digital entertainment and video art and the cinema of classical and contemporary Hollywood, such as musicals, melodrama, action cinema and the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Practical work complements your critical and theoretical study allowing you to apply what you learn through practice, drawing on the market-leading facilities of the £11.4 million Minghella building, including a film and television studio, cutting rooms and audio post-production facilities, three theatre spaces, and a digital cinema. Placements and collaborations are actively encouraged and there is also the chance to experience life in another country by studying abroad. Opportunities for work-based learning and personal development complement your core learning.

Course Duration

NumberDuration
4year

Career outcomes

Studying Art and Film at Reading opens up a variety of career paths across the creative industries. The department has produced a number of notable artists including Turner Prize nominees Cornelia Parker, Richard Wilson and Mike Nelson. Others work across the cultural field as curators, in museum and gallery education. In film, theatre and television industries, as well as in art therapy or as art teachers, theatre directors, actors and playwrights, film and theatre producers and directors; special effects artists and cinematographers; radio producers and presenters. Employers of our recent Art graduates range from Tate, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Burlington Magazine, and Christie's to Microsoft, BBC, ITV and local secondary schools, demonstrating a breadth of career paths. Career development and professional practice is part of all the programmes in art, allowing you to examine your ambitions and develop appropriate skills. We host a Careers Day as part of your second year module in conjunction with the University's award winning Careers Service. The day allows you to map your future and identify transferable skills you may need to acquire during the remaining time of your degree. We host a panel of past students and current staff who share their respective experiences working within the cultural industry. There are a number of established internships and work experience placements available with galleries, magazines and artists' studios, which form an intrinsic part of career development. Our undergraduate courses are also a good preparation for more specialised postgraduate study and many of our graduates go on to do MA courses and PhD degrees.




BA Art and Film University of Reading