Philosophy, Politics, Art BA(Hons)

Course in brief

Is politics as much a war of images as a struggle between competing interests? How is art complicit in manipulating appearances to frame our view of the world?

These are just two of the questions you’ll examine on this course combining three disciplines: history of art and design, the politics of art, and philosophical aesthetics.

You will critically engage with artistic, political and philosophical ideas developed by individual thinkers and schools of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, applying these to real-world problems. You will develop your own understanding of how art and art making intersect with political movements.

Studying at Brighton, you’ll be immersed in a lively culture of artistic practice, exhibition and critique – and our active student community is diverse and friendly.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Grand Parade

UCAS code D2SC

Full-time 3 years

Book your open day place

Apply now with UCAS

Start in 2018: how to apply

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

A-levels or BTEC
Entry requirements are in the range of A-level BCC–CCC (104–96 UCAS Tariff points), or BTEC Extended Diploma DMM–MMM. Our conditional offers typically fall within this range.

We will generally make you an offer if your predicted grades are at the top of this range. If your predicted grades are towards the lower end of this range we may still make you an offer if you have a good GCSE (or equivalent) profile or relevant non-academic achievements.

International Baccalaureate
27 points.

Access to HE Diploma
Pass with 60 credits overall. Humanities, history or politics diploma preferred. At least 45 credits at level 3.

GCSE (minimum grade C or grade 4)
At least English language and maths.

Studied before or got relevant experience?
A qualification, HE credits or relevant experience may count towards your course at Brighton, and could mean that you do not have to take some elements of the course or can start in year 2 or 3.

For non-native speakers of English
IELTS 6.0 overall, with 6.0 in writing and a minimum of 5.5 in the other elements.

International equivalencies

International equivalencies by country

Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma (Myanmar)
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian National Authority
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visit our language institute

For English language preparation courses.

Visit our International College

For academic preparation courses.

Course in detail

Why study with us?

You have a unique opportunity to combine study of three interrelated disciplines in your pursuit of an innovative, exploratory and intellectually rigorous course.

You will critically engage with a range of artistic, political and philosophical ideas developed by individual thinkers and schools of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The course addresses art-historical and aesthetic themes such as formalism and realism, expression and engagement, landscape and power against a backdrop of art making including performance art, paint, collage, sculpture, installations and inventions.

You’ll be immersed in a lively culture of artistic practice, exhibition and critique at the University of Brighton, recognised for its strengths in art-making and art theory.

You will be taught by academics integrating their research with your learning and bringing their experience as historians, artists and curators to your study.

You will develop important transferable skills including the management of independent research, oral and written communications, and informed decision making.

This degree encourages you to challenge received opinions and as such is good grounding for many different industries including publishing, journalism, gallery work or even political lobbying. Many students stay for further study or research.
Opportunities for activity outside of the curriculum include international conferences with world leading experts; publication in the student blog, and in student publications, and participation in Humanities Society events.

Year 1

You start your study with a grounding in the key disciplinary areas, learning how best to benefit from lectures, small-group seminar discussions and debates, and from individual tutorials.

Modules

Art, Culture and Commerce
Art, Design and Modern Life
Philosophical Inquiry
Approaching Narratives
Art: Philosophy and the Politics of Representation
Introducing Themes in History of Art and Design

Our courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis in order to make sure that what you learn with us is relevant and that your course enables you to develop appropriate skills. When you apply to study with us, we will inform you of any new developments in your chosen programme through our applicant portal.

Year 2

Modules

Modernism, Ideology and the Avant-garde in the Twentieth Century
After Modernism: Postmodernism and Beyond
Dare to Know: Enlightenment and Social Change for Philosophy, Politics and Art
Modernity: Interrogation and Representation
Art, Politics and Philosophy from Modernism to Postmodernism

Options*

Post-Enlightenment Dilemmas for Philosophy, Politics and Art
College option

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability

Final year

In your final year you develop your individual research project with one-to-one supervision on a topic in which you become an expert. This can take a variety of forms (academic dissertation or a catalogue of a virtual exhibition, for instance) and may involve a placement in a professional studio, gallery, exhibition or conference.

Modules

Art, Politics, Philosophy: Representation and Engagement after Postmodernism
Project Preparation and Research
Special Subject
Project Completion and Presentations

Facilities

In addition to our excellent library facilities, you will have access to:

world-class design archives
excellent art and design library
Screen Archives South East
textile and dress collection.

On occasion, we offer a studio-based option with access to the following facilities:

Photography studios
Darkroom
Screen printing and digital printing
Laser cutters
Letter-press
Access to Mac suites
Adobe Suite Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere

Staff profiles

Tom Hickey Joint course leader

Tom is interested in aspects of political and artistic representation, and their interaction, on historiographical theory and the scientific method, on the theorisation of the contemporary world order, and on new developments in critical theory.

Dr Lara Perry Joint course leader

An international authority on British art, Lara is interested in the interactions between artists and art institutions. She is a specialist in nineteenth century England, and explores how art practice responded to its specific historical contours in terms of national identity, history and gender.

Find out about our other staff: Harriet Atkinson, Cathy Bergin, Thomas Bunyard, Verity Clarkson, Jonathan Gilhooly, Tom Hickey, Anthony Leaker, Yunah Lee, Charlotte Nicklas, Annebella Pollen, Louise Purbrick, Megha Rajguru, Anna Vaughan Kett.

Dr Lara Perry

Course statistics

Unistats and key information sets

Unistats enable you to compare information when choosing a UK university course. All UK universities publish Unistats data on their website.

Programme specification

The programme specification is the approved description of each course. They are updated following course changes, and give a detailed breakdown of the content and structure of the course.

Programme specification

These charts give an indication of how much time you will spend on different activities at each level of the course, and an indication of the balance of assessment by coursework, and written and practical exams. For courses with option modules, actual proportions will depend on the modules you choose.

Find out more about how the academic year and degree courses are organised, and about learning and assessment activities you might get to grips with at Brighton. More specific information about this course is detailed in the programme specification (linked above). You can find out also about the range of support we offer to help you adjust to university life.

Overall workload

Assessments

Careers and employability

This course is designed primarily as an academic experience but will also give sound preparation for the following careers:

arts administration
curatorship
critical writing
publishing
catalogue preparation
art appreciation
gallery and museum management
broadcasting
arts-based political activism
journalism
TV and film production
teaching
arts funding
fundraising.

For those who want to progress further, there are four Masters degrees onto which graduates with a 2.1 or first class qualification from this degree secure automatic entry. All Philosophy, Politics and Art graduates are guaranteed an interview. They are:

Fees and funding

Your fees

UK/EU (full-time) 9,250 GBP

International (full-time) 14,040 GBP

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2018–19.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full- or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Location and living here

Location

About Brighton

Forward-thinking and welcoming, the city of Brighton & Hove is a community of creative and diverse people who share values like sustainability and inclusivity – just like its university.

Miles of pebble beaches, hundreds of bars, restaurants and clubs, a packed calendar of culture, music and sport and great independent and high street shopping attract visitors from all over the world. By the end of your course you’ll still be finding new things to enjoy about the city.

The Brighton Festival, England’s largest arts festival, takes place every May – as does the Great Escape Europe’s leading industry showcase for new music, 300 bands perform over three days at venues across the city. Major events celebrate Pride, digital culture, cinema, photography, food and the winter solstice. Our own Brighton Graduate show is a highlight, turning the university into the largest exhibition space in the south east as we celebrate the outstanding creativity of our students.

As a student here you’ll have a unique opportunity to experience what the city has to offer. Volunteering and placement opportunities enable you to play your part in the events, organisations and communities that make Brighton such a compelling place to be.

Campus where this course is taught

Grand Parade campus

Our Grand Parade campus is in the heart of Brighton, across the road from the Royal Pavilion and a five-minute walk from the beach. After your lectures you’ll be right in the city centre, close to all the best pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes that Brighton has to offer.

The campus is home to a creative community of arts and humanities students, specialising in everything from fashion and textiles to politics and philosophy. It is also the location of the University of Brighton Gallery and Sallis Benney Theatre, which host events throughout the festival season and beyond.

The world-renowned University of Brighton Design Archives are in the basement of Grand Parade and offer extensive resources for the study of British design in the twentieth century. St Peters House, the campus library, is also nearby and houses a specialist collection of arts books and journals.

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Accommodation

Brighton

Our Brighton halls of residence are located across the city in Grand Parade, Moulsecoomb, Varley Park and Falmer.

Grand Parade is in central Brighton and has one hall of residence, Phoenix Brewery, within walking distance.
Moulsecoomb is two miles from the city centre and also has one hall of residence, Moulsecoomb Place, on campus.
Varley Park offers the biggest choice of student accommodation with ten halls of residence.
Falmer campus has two halls of residence: Great Wilkins and Paddock Field.
Varley Park and Falmer are around four miles from Brighton centre; there are good public transport services nearby.

Aside from halls, you have the option of Unihomes, which we let out to our students on behalf of private landlords. We recommend Unihomes and House Share when you’re balancing learning with placements, shifts and other commitments, because they give you more choice and flexibility.

You can also choose to join the many students who live away from campus in private rented accommodation. We have a list of high-quality, university-endorsed private sector accommodation and can help you find housemates to move in with.

Find out more on our accommodation webpages and if you have any questions, our accommodation team will be happy to help. You can contact them by email at accommodation@brighton.ac.uk or by telephone on 01273 644100.

Paddock Field

Moulsecoomb Place

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Grand Parade campus map

Find out more

History of art and design news

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