L3 Dip Creative Practice: Art, Design and Communication - No L3 Entitlement

Mode of study

Full Time

Start date

08/09/2025

Entry requirements

A minimum of 4 GCSEs grade 9 - 4 including maths and English or a full Level 2 with a merit profile and grades 9 - 4 in English & maths.

Teaching staff

You will be taught across the subjects within Art and Design by eight or more tutors, all of whom are highly qualified within their individual specialisms. All the tutors have in the past or are currently working in the world of Art and Design. Working artists and guest speakers from Universities are invited in to the college to talk to students on a regular basis.

Course Code

DP3ATA1F/1

Duration

1-Year

Location

St Albans Campus

Awarding body

University of the Arts London

Assessment

All work is internally assessed throughout both years at college assessment weeks. Your work will be assessed by the relevant subject staff, but your personal tutor will keep a record of your progress on a portfolio index. An external moderator visits the department once a year to ensure that we are marking to the correct standard.

About the course

Art and Design Practice is a broad based course. In the first year you will undertake the National Diploma and will be introduced to a range of specialist workshops across the following subjects: Graphic Design, 3D Design, Textiles, Ceramics, Photography, Painting and Drawing, Printmaking and Contextual studies. In your second year you will undertake the Extended Diploma where you will choose two specialist subjects to study in preparation for your personal career path into HE or Employment. These could be a combination of Graphics and Photography, Fine Art and Print, Ceramics and 3D Design or Fashion and Textiles, as Fashion is offered as a specialism in the second year. Throughout your course you will have the support of a personal tutor to help you through the assignments and to give you guidance in your future career.

Career options

This course prepares you for employment and provides an excellent grounding for more advanced courses at colleges and Universities. Career paths are many and varied; some examples are: Graphic Design, Illustration, Advertising, Set/Theatre Design, Special Effects, Car Design, Interior Architecture, Textiles and Applied Arts, Fine Art, Ceramics, Jewellery Design, Window Display, Fashion and Fashion Promotion and Marketing, Journalistic Photography, Fine Art Photography, Animation.

All of our Art, Fashion & Design courses prepare you for an exciting career within the creative industries, with many students going on to study degrees at prestigious universities.

Potential careers:

Animator
Costume Designer
Ceramicist
Fashion/ Clothing Designer
Fashion Illustrator
Fine Artist
Games Designer
Graphic Designer
Illustrator
Interactive Web Designer
Jewellery Designer
Model Maker/ Special Effects
Photographer
Product Designer
Stage/Set Designer
Technical Illustrator
Textile Designer

Course Content - What will I learn?

You will learn how to use a variety of different materials across a broad range of techniques and processes, some will be familiar to you, some will be new. You will learn new practical skills, but also how to develop your ideas through the design cycle from concept to finished outcome. You will learn how to research and talk about other artists work and how looking at others work can help you develop your own ideas. We will encourage you to become an independent creative thinker who can also be part of a team. Presentation skills are an important part of becoming a designer or artist so regular critiques are held in all classes. In the second year you will have an hours portfolio building a week, in addition to your tutorial.

All learners at Oaklands College take part in an initial assessment for Maths and English, to help us ensure that everyone reaches their full potential and has the appropriate supporting skills to enable access to University or relevant employment. In year one there is an additionality of L2 Award in print and in year two City and Guilds L2 Life drawing.

Please contact us to find out if you require any specific equipment for this particular course.

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