Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Duration
1 year
Institution code
L28
Validated by:
University of the Arts, London
&w=3840&q=75)
Indy Appleton-Gregg / 3D pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Evie Ballaam / Fashion and Textiles pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Amy Bowen / Fashion and Textiles pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Edie Brunt / Fine Art pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Lewis Collin / Graphic Communication pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Oliver Davies / Fine Art pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Molly Dunn / Graphic Communication pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Alice Hardman / 3D Design pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Grace Le / Fine Art pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
James Marsden / Fashion and Textiles pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Ifigeneia Osagiede / Graphic Communication pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Edith Pettler / Fashion and Textiles pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Seb Rea / 3D Design pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Milo Timlin / Fine Art pathway
&w=3840&q=75)
Emily Walton / 3D Design pathway
The Course
Originally developed at the University in the 1950s, the Foundation Diploma is a well-respected and nationally recognised qualification. This intensive one-year course challenges your preconceptions and stretches your art and design practices through problem-solving, idea generation, and critical thinking.
This course will push you outside your usual comfort zone and ask you to take creative risks. You will learn through playful experimentation and develop lateral-thinking strategies to approach problems from new perspectives. The course gradually moves from wide-ranging staff-led projects to a position of independence, culminating in a significant individual project in the final stage.
The ability to draw is one of our most valuable creative tools— that is why drawing, in its many forms, underpins all course elements. Within this highly creative environment, you’ll be helped to become more inventive and experimental. You will develop your understanding of the work of contemporary practitioners, and the work developed by your peers.
You will be based at the University’s Vernon Street site and taught by experienced staff, including practising creatives, who have experience across a breadth of disciplines. They will support you through the UCAS application process and help you find the most appropriate degree course. Our students’ diverse experience and innovative portfolios lead to a range of prestigious, highly competitive degree courses, including those at Leeds Arts University.
The Structure
Based at the University’s Vernon Street site, the course begins with a range of short projects. These develop your understanding of visual ‘languages’ through a wide range of media. You will also develop your technical knowledge across a range of processes.
The Pathways
For us design is not just a way to make things; it is a way to understand and engage with the world. It’s about making sense of the world and ultimately creating a change. It is about playful experimentation, challenging the current. Within this pathway we explore our physical experience and emotional connection – with our objects and spaces.
Design could be about changing an experience, a form, a structure, a way of doing things. It could be about changing something personal to you, or a small number of people, or it might be for anyone.
With 3D Design being such a broad area, the pathway is kept quite open, focusing on design attitudes and thinking. The course aims to equip you with the skills and confidence to construct a career in a wide range of professions. Stage Two is dynamic, with various different briefs and projects to help keep you on your toes. Some will be quick, whilst some you will extend independently, to allow you to both generate ideas quickly, and take the opportunity to develop and refine them. You will be working in your notebooks, and beyond, developing a portfolio to address the subject 'what is my work and what is the point of it?' You will have access to workshops and facilities to enable you to work with a variety of materials, researching and testing ideas, and creating objects; gaining confidence in your own ability to change things. You might work with all the senses, encompassing practical skills in a critical and creative environment.
Course Facilities
Further education students have access to resources based at our Vernon Street campus all run by experienced instructors. Students are introduced to a wide range of materials and processes that assist their studies depending on their course specialties. These include:
Computer suites housing networks of Apple Mac computers, with regularly updated, creative software.
A specialist art library with print and online resources to support studies in the creative arts, and a not-for-profit shop selling a wide range of materials.
Print workshop which includes extensive facilities for screen-printing, traditional printmaking and bookbinding.
Photography resource with a range of equipment for loan including digital and film cameras for still and moving image and a range of support equipment for use in the dedicated lighting studio or off-site.
Photography facilities with black-and-white film processing and printing.
Wood, metal & casting workshop equipped with industrial-standard machinery, supplemented by hand- and power-tools.
&w=3840&q=75)
Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Virtual Tour
Further Education careers guidance (pre-degree)
At Leeds Arts University, our further education courses are designed to help you grow not just as an artist or designer but as a confident and adaptable individual ready for progression in the creative sector. Guided by the Gatsby Benchmarks, our study programme combines personalised career guidance, personal development, specialist skills training and industry insights, alongside employability skills.
The programme equips you for your next steps—whether that’s university, an apprenticeship, or entering employment. It blends hands-on learning, expert advice, and opportunities to develop the skills you need for the creative sector.
We tailor your study programme through an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) to meet your goals. Your ILP is informed by your progression aims, assessments, and regular tutorials with experienced tutors or external careers advisors.
Programme highlights:
• Specialist Careers Programme: Receive personalised, ongoing support to help you make informed decisions about your career in the creative sector.
• Internal/External Careers Services: Access both internal and external impartial career coaching and developmental workshops that offer opportunities to grow your professional skills.
• Industry Insights: Gain a deeper understanding of the job market through specialist tutors, alumni talks and interactions with industry professionals.
• Live Briefs and Competitions: Work on real-world projects and specially designed briefs that replicate industry standards. Showcase your work at exhibitions and sell your creations at our art market. Access competitions and job opportunities through our VLE/careers portal and sign up for a regular newsletter with opportunities based on your own interests.
• Workshops and Portfolio Building: Develop specialist skills through workshops and tailored portfolio development.
• CV, UCAS, and Application Support: Get personal guidance for applications — whether for university, apprenticeships or employment.
• Personal Development: Grow as an individual by building skills and confidence and by looking after your well-being. This includes:
Time Management and Organisation: Learn to balance responsibilities and meet deadlines.
Presentation and Problem-Solving Skills: Gain confidence in sharing your ideas and tackling challenges creatively.
Financial Skills: Develop budgeting and money management, from navigating student finance to pricing your work for sale in opportunities like the art market.
Where next?
Our students go on to study creative courses at degree level and then on to careers across a wide range of disciplines. The nature of the course means that many make lifelong friends who become important members of their creative network. The course has a ‘family’ ethos and former students come back and visit to share their knowledge and experience with current students.
Course News
Student Stories
&w=3840&q=75)
Academic Staff
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)
&w=3840&q=75)