Visual Culture BA(Hons)

Course in brief

We live in an image-led and image-conscious society where we are expected to decipher visual cues designed to sell, to celebrate and to represent.

Studying Visual Culture enables you to explore these forms of visual communication and their history equipping you with a critical understanding of the society in which we live.

Addressing art, culture and media history the course considers the broad spectrum of visual creativity that permeates contemporary life. You will explore everything from the history and theory of painting and sculpture to print, photography, film, advertising and fashion, developing your skills in written, visual and verbal presentation and research.

Small group teaching encourages discussion in an environment where every student can be heard. Brighton is an ideal location to study the visual, offering a rich history of popular culture.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Grand Parade

UCAS code V350

Full-time 3 years

Our next open day for this course will take place in the autumn. Register your interest now and we will let you know when you can book your 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 courses 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?

Brighton is a creative, digital hub, jam-packed with museums, galleries and street art and the location for England’s leading art festival. It has a significant role in contemporary visual culture, from picture postcards, to films like Brighton Rock and Quadrophenia, to books such as Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman.

You’ll get to grips with the theories from art, film and photography, while understanding the social and historical backgrounds that inform the culture around us.

You’ll build core visual culture knowledge through seminars, team-based and individual research projects while developing your own specialist areas of interest by choosing from a range of options.

On-site at the university, you will have access to our world-class Design Archives, an excellent art and design library, the Screen Archive South East and our Dress and Textiles Teaching collection. You can view the Design Archives blog for insight into our conservation work.

You’ll develop your capacity for critical inquiry and analysis and gain hands-on placement experience, equipping you with transferable, relevant skills and giving you a competitive edge when you graduate.

A thriving and international research culture ensures that you will learn from a wide range of academics and visiting makers, researchers and writers.

You’ll be part of our lively student community studying History of Art and Design courses at Brighton. Check out the History of Art and Design blog and Twitter feed for an insight.

Poster advertising Brighton – early twentieth century. Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove.

Year 1

The first year of the Visual Culture degree familiarises you with good study practices and introduces you to the different kinds of assessment used on the course, including essays, seminar presentations, display projects and exams. Much of the teaching will take place in small groups of around 12 students with one tutor.

Modules

Art, Culture and Commerce
Art and Design History in Brighton: Places and processes
Critical Approaches: Core concepts in history of art and design
Art, Design and Modern Life
Analysing Art and Design
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

You can apply to spend the first semester of year 2 at the University of Oslo, which offers teaching in English on subjects related to visual culture. The exchange is organised through the EU Erasmus programme.

Alternatively, you can go on a five-day trip to a European city to study art, design and visual culture in context, with possible destinations including Paris and Berlin. The trip is optional and costs around £300.

Modules

Modernism, Ideology and the Avant-garde in the Twentieth Century
After Modernism: Postmodernism and Beyond
Constructing Histories: Research methods and professional practice in history of art and design

Options*

Image Object Text
A Trip to Europe
Considering Debates
Behind the Scenes: Arts and heritage placements
Option module from across our humanities and arts subjects

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

Final year

The final year sees you execute independent but closely supervised research projects, including your own dissertation, a group display project and a visual display of your dissertation research, which is shown as part of the arts and humanities graduate show. In these projects you are supported by one-to-one or small group supervision as well as peer support.

Modules

Eye And Mind
Dissertation in the History of Art and Design
Communicating Research
Special Subject

Options*

Real World Research in Art and Design History
Professional Paths in Art and Design History

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

Facilities

World-class Design Archives
Excellent art and design library
Screen Archive South East
Dress and Textiles Teaching Collection

Staff profile

Annebelle Pollen – Course leader

Find out about our other staff: Harriet Atkinson, Verity Clarkson, Angelica Groom, Anna Vaughan Kett, Yunah Lee, Charlotte Nicklas, Louise Purbrick, Megha Rajguru, Dr Glenn Ward.

Student views

Lizzie Lewis

"I decided to study Visual Culture as I was interested in art history, but also wanted to learn about design, photography and architecture. The course stood out for me, as it includes the study of both historical and contemporary arts. I have found myself drawn to realism in art, and have enjoyed exploring this material in depth, through presentations and essays. I have also studied the architecture and design of the British country house. A study trip to Paris was a brilliant experience, and our group spent five days visiting exhibitions, and developing our perceptions of Parisian culture.

"Although there is a lot of hard work, it is manageable, and you can usually tailor your assignments to suit you, as there is a lot of freedom in choosing areas of focus. Your tutors will guide you along the right path, and there is a wide collection of material at the library for you to use. There is also a diverse range of modules to choose from, and I would advise you to choose ones that interest you most, not necessarily subjects you know the most about."

Placements

Overview

The placement option module is intended to provide direct experience and insight into aspects of museum, gallery and archival working practices, both for those students who may be considering pursuing a career in this field, and for those who wish to deepen their understanding of cultural institutions.

The module is based around student placements in a range of local museums, galleries, archives and creative services. Students work closely with professionals on focused tasks such as curating, cataloguing, collections management, publications and other areas of cultural practice.

FAQs

When will I do my placement?
Year 2, semester 2.

Can I choose where to go?
Students and placements are paired up carefully depending on individual interests.

How long is it?
40 hours split over an agreed number of weeks.

How will it count towards my degree?
It is an assessed module and directly contributes to your degree award. Assessment includes a logbook, presentation and essay.

Will I get paid?
It is not salaried but the university pay for train travel.

Where will I go?
To a museum, gallery, archive or other creative service within the Sussex area.

What kind of companies can I go to?
Placements undertaken include: Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Design Archives, Worthing Museum, Ditchling Arts and Crafts Museum, The Keep, Phoenix Gallery.

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

The course has a healthy employment record; many of our graduates take up careers in museums, galleries, arts administration, auction houses, journalism, publishing and education. Others study for further professional qualifications or postgraduate degrees, including our own History of Design and Material Culture MA.

Fees and funding

Your fees

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

International (full-time) 12,900 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

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Our next open day for this course will take place in the autumn. Register your interest now and we will let you know when you can book your place.

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If you have a question about this course, our enquiries team will be happy to help.

01273 644644

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