The Bachelor of Fine Arts is a highly flexible degree, allowing studio practice in one area of Fine Arts, introductory courses in Art History and Theory, and courses from subjects within other degrees.
See ‘How do I plan my degree?’ above for an example degree structure diagram.
Compulsory courses
In the first year of the degree, called the Fine Arts Intermediate Year, all BFA students complete the following compulsory courses:
- FINA 101 What is Practice?
- FINA 102 Communities of Practice
- FINA 103 Studio Practice
- Two 100-level ARTH courses
During the second year, students must also complete one 200-level course in ARTH (or CINE if majoring in Film or Photography).
Fine Arts majors
UC offers five studio specialisations in the Bachelor of Fine Arts. On passing the Intermediate Year, students gain a place in one of the following majors:
Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours
Students that achieve good results during the three years of the degree may be approved for entry to the Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours programme at their fourth year.
You will need to include at least one 300-level course in ARTH (or CINE for Film and Photography students) and achieve a B grade or better in your third year courses to be eligible.
Students accepted into the BFA(Hons) will take FINA 450 Honours Research instead of the usual fourth-year courses in the BFA.
Further study
Postgraduate and graduate options at UC include:
- Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Arts
- Postgraduate Diploma in Art Curatorship
- Master of Fine Arts
A UC Fine Arts degree is accepted as an entry qualification to postgraduate studies in other tertiary institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas. UC graduates have been accepted into the best graduate programmes in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, France, Canada, the United States, and Australia.