Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art) (B-FAVISART)

You’re currently viewing the 2024 version of this course

Overview

Award title	Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
Year & campus	2024 — Southbank
CRICOS code	093589G
Fees information	Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date
Study level & type	Undergraduate Coursework
AQF level	7
Credit points	300 credit points
Duration	36 months full-time

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art) is a three-year degree that equips graduates with the necessary conceptual and material creative knowledge to engage and thrive in the professional contemporary art industry.

The course offers immersive, integrated and experiential practice-based studio studies and critical and theoretical studies in drawing and printmaking, painting, photography and sculpture. Students will also have a choice of subjects that allow them to explore cross-disciplinary studies, exposing them to multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills.

Embedded in the cultural capital of Australia, students will learn from internationally recognised artists, lecturers and industry professionals. Students will also have opportunities to work with visiting artists from Australia and abroad.

As graduates, they will be equipped with the skills and critical knowledge to contribute to a diverse range of contexts including professional contemporary art practice and exhibition making. They may develop future pathways into museum and curatorial professions, fashion, design, education and art therapy.

In the first year, the students engage in foundational techniques to develop and strengthen their skills base enabling creative self-expression. In the second year, the students will use their knowledge to further engage with and develop their studio practice and artistic voice.

In their the final year of study, students will have the unique opportunity to travel overseas and/or to involve themselves in research-based internal electives. The synthesis of these skills culminates in third year with the capstone experience of the Graduation Exhibition, a professionally curated and installed showcase of student art work from all disciplines, visited by national industry professionals, patrons, collectors and members of the general public.

Links to further information

This course is available in My Course Planner

My Course Planner is an interactive web application that allows you to explore your study options and decide which subjects and major(s), minors and/or specialisations are right for you.

Entry requirements

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed one of:

(a) the Victorian Certificate of Education including;
VCE Units 3 and 4 either a study score of at least 25 in English/English Language/Literature or a study score of at least 30 in English as an Additional Language;

(b) the International Baccalaureate Diploma including at least Grade 4 in English or English B (Standard Level or Higher Level);

(c) a senior secondary program, foundation studies program or equivalent approved by Academic Board including appropriate English language studies.

Applicants are also required to complete an audition, test, interview, workshop, portfolio or folio presentation, as prescribed by the Academic Board for the stream to which entry is sought.

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:

prior academic performance, and
performance in an interview, portfolio or folio presentation.

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.

4. For applicants who have not completed the Victorian Certificate of Education or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, the undergraduate English language requirements must be met.

Note. For applicants through the Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre, “middle-band” selection adjustments are made only on the basis of eligibility for Access Melbourne.

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the Course Overview, Objectives and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this course are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this course, graduates will be able to:

apply technical skills and knowledge required in the creation of artworks for professional contemporary art practice;
articulate key concepts and personal insights in the discussion of contemporary art;
implement style and character through artworks to the independent and self-driven demands of ideas and exhibition contexts;
work collaboratively within a creative process to create professional exhibition outcomes;
combine technical and analytical skills and knowledge to contribute to studio and exhibition outcomes that create pathways to prospective career paths;
create and maintain professional networks within the contemporary art industry;
employ safe work and best practices in the making and exhibition of visual art.

Generic skills

Refer to Graduate Attributes.

Graduate attributes

Graduates of the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art) will have developed the following skills and attributes that allow them to be:

Artistically Excellent:

demonstrate a flexible and innovative approach to the national and international challenges for the professional artist/practitioner in the 21 Century;
have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and of the ethics of artistic practices and scholarship;
have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s);
reach a high level of achievement in artistic practice, writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication;
be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning;
be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies.

Knowledgeable across disciplines:

critically examine, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a range of disciplines;
expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects;
have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems;
have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment.

Leaders in communities:

initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces;
have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations;
mentor future generations of learners;
engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs.

Attuned to cultural diversity:

value different cultures and their cultural forms of practice;
be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work;
have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community;
respect indigenous knowledge, cultures and values.

Active global citizens:

understand their relationship with and responsibility to their cultural environment and society;
accept social and civic responsibilities;
be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment;
have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equity and ethics.

Course structure

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art) requires the successful completion of 300 credit points.

Compulsory subjects

237.5 credit points of Compulsory subjects
- 75 credit points of Level 1 Compulsory subjects
- 75 credit points of Level 2 Compulsory subjects
- 87.5 credit points of Level 3 Compulsory subjects

Electives

12.5 credit points of Level 3 electives

Breadth

50 credit points of Breadth subjects
- a minimum of 12.5 credit points of Level 2 or Level 3 breadth subjects

Progression Rules

Completion of CREA10002 Stories of Place in the first semester of study
Completion of all Level 1 Compulsory subjects before proceeding to the next year level's Compulsory subjects
Completion of all Level 2 Compulsory subjects before proceeding to the next year level's Compulsory subjects
Note: Compulsory subjects in this program have prerequisites. Refer to individual subject entries.

For students who commenced prior to 2021

For students who commenced the Bachelor of Fine Arts prior to 2021, please click the below link to view your course structure and subject options:

Link

Subject Options

Level 1 Compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
CREA10002	Stories of Place	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank) Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	6.25

Note: All students must take Stories of Place in their first semester of commencement in this course

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
FINA10025	Studio Studies 1	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	18.75
FINA10026	Critical and Theoretical Studies 1	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FINA10032	Critical and Theoretical Studies 2	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FINA10034	Studio Studies 2	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	25

Level 2 Compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
FINA20027	Studio Studies 3	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
FINA20029	Critical and Theoretical Studies 3	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FINA20030	Studio Studies 4	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
FINA20032	Critical and Theoretical Studies 4	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5

Level 3 Compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
FINA30017	Critical and Theoretical Studies 5	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FINA30028	Studio Studies 5	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
FINA30002	Studio Studies 6	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	37.5
FINA30018	Critical and Theoretical Studies 6	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank) Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5

Level 3 electives

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
FINA30025	Studio Options	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FINA30026	Global Travelling Studio	June (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FINA30027	Travelling Studio	Not available in 2024	12.5

Breadth requirements

50 points of breadth subjects including at least 12.5 points at Level 2 or Level 3.

Find breadth subjects

Use the Handbook Search function to find subjects that can be used as breadth studies in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)

Reassessment is available in this course

Reassessment is a second attempt at passing a compulsory subject if a borderline failure in a single subject has a significant impact on the student's progression through their course. A borderline failure is usually a mark of 45% or more. Reassessment is not available if failure in the subject is a result of a finding of student academic misconduct; or a student was awarded a NH grade due to failure to participate in a component of assessment that was a hurdle requirement or failure to attend or participate in the subject as required.

Refer to Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326): https://policy.unimelb.edu.au/MPF1326

Access to studio spaces

Access to the VCA’s studio spaces and workshop facilities is only available to students who are actively enrolled in any of Studio Studies 1-6.

Last updated: 21 February 2025