Foundation Year in Arts and Creative Industries
Have you considered a four year study option to include a foundation year? This additional year will give you the opportunity to enrich your creativity, develop a strong skills base, build confidence and discover the BA directions available as you explore your own individual career pathway.
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Viewing course details for 2025-26 year of entry
- Attendance
- Full-time
- Start
- September 2025
- Fees
- £9,535* (UK) | £16,600 (INT)
- Duration
- 1 year full-time
- Course Leader
- Beverley Speight
- Study mode
- On campus
- Location
- Hendon campus
- Entry Requirements
- 56-64 UCAS points
- School / Department
- School of Art and Design
Why choose a Foundation Year in Arts and Creative Industries at Middlesex?
Have you got a passion for animation, or feel like exploring photography? Are you a film maker? Fancy writing scripts for TV? Is illustration your thing, or do you crave the freedom of a fine artist? Want to devise your own fashion brand? Interested in graphics or advertising, or are you captivated by the world of interiors? Can you build gaming worlds, imagine characters or create stories? Join us to discover you own creative pathway on our exciting and flexible year of study that forms part of your 4 year degree programme.
This programme welcomes students from all different life stages: post A-level (or equivalent) students, mature students returning to education, practising creatives ready to refresh their practice, and individuals exploring a change of career - all wishing to discover their creative direction and prepare for BA study.
What you will gain
The foundation year is an essential part of the learning process. You will be encouraged to apply an investigative and individual approach to all aspects of your work through specially designed projects requiring visual and academic research. Given the freedom to experiment and explore new, different and challenging ways of working you will have the opportunity to experience the value of making mistakes without the pressure of being numerically graded, thereby encouraging you to freely develop your talents. This programme will provide a strong skills base and creative outlook in preparation for your next years of study and future career.
What you will learn
- During this foundation year you will build a broad range of transferable skills taught through project based workshops and explore our world class facilities, experimenting with different techniques and mediums.
- Through a series of specially designed creative projects we will introduce you to the creative process method of working and help you understand the importance of research to inspire and enrich your practice.
- Industry inspired specialist projects will develop your creativity and help you define your direction of study.
- You will learn how to present your work produced throughout the year in a professional digital portfolio and display your work for exhibition.
- Explore creative London through a series of visits to galleries, exhibitions, museums, and studio sessions and reflect on your experiences, recording and capturing your journey in a visual diary.
Choosing a foundation programme
The foundation is a flexible year. Apply by choosing the programme direction of your choice with the freedom to change direction during the foundation year. Apply via UCAS using the appropriate code below.
- BA Animation with Foundation Year: 135WF16
- BA Illustration with Foundation Year: 135WF2Y
- BA Graphics with Foundation Year: 135WF25
- BA Photography with Foundation Year: 135WF64
- BA Fine Art with Foundation Year: 135WF10
- BA 3D Animation for Games & Film with Foundation Year: 135W611
- BA Interior Design with Foundation Year: 135WF23
- BA Interior Architecture with Foundation Year: 135KF12
- BA Fashion with Foundation Year: 135W2B2
- BA Fashion, Communication & Styling with Foundation Year: 135W23V
- BA Film with Foundation Year: 135W60F
- BA Advertising, Public Relations & Branding with Foundation Year: 135N56F
- BA Game & Level Design with Foundation Year: 135W247
- BSc Games Design & Development with Foundation Year: 144W247
Arts and Creative Industries Lookbook
Take a closer look at an inspiring collection of artwork created by MDX BA Foundation students.
5 great reasons to pick this course
About your course
The Foundation year is an essential part of the learning process. The Arts and Creative Industries Foundation year is a contemporary and inspirational multidisciplinary programme, carefully compiled of four modules, that encourages students to explore the aspects of different creative directions. With a diagnostic approach, and in preparation for BA study, this programme aims to: expand creative thinking, develop a strong base of essential and transferable skills and techniques, clarify industry careers for future focus, build confidence, and help students choose a suitable direction in the creative industries and clarify career opportunities.
Compulsory
Explore London as a creative centre of art, design, and media through a series of visits to galleries, exhibitions, museums, and studio sessions. Our contextual studies team share their expert knowledge through these informative field trips, seminars, and talks, providing knowledge of contexts and issues that will inform and inspire your developing practice. Visual diary with 1500 words embedded.
Build your skills and explore our world class facilities with the support of our experienced technical team. Experiment with different techniques and mediums through a series of introductory project-based workshops, and creative day projects, designed to introduce you to the creative process method of working and help you understand the importance of research to inspire and enrich your practice. A combination of project-based workshops, diagnostic projects and Industry week.
Through a series of specially designed creative briefs, each student will develop their own personal style and recognise their strengths and preferred direction. This flexible programme allows students to test different directions as our Industry-based tutor team support creative investigation, and offer specialist guidance to prepare students for the creative pathway ahead. 2 x 3-week specialist projects.
The final module focuses on a major project in your chosen direction. A longer and more involved project challenges students to put into practice what they have learned throughout the programme. You will also have the opportunity to build an extensive portfolio of work showcasing your best works from the year.
Explore London as a creative centre of art, design, and media through a series of visits to galleries, exhibitions, museums, and studio sessions. Our contextual studies team share their expert knowledge through these informative field trips, seminars, and talks, providing knowledge of contexts and issues that will inform and inspire your developing practice. Visual diary with 1500 words embedded.
Build your skills and explore our world class facilities with the support of our experienced technical team. Experiment with different techniques and mediums through a series of introductory project-based workshops, and creative day projects, designed to introduce you to the creative process method of working and help you understand the importance of research to inspire and enrich your practice. A combination of project-based workshops, diagnostic projects and Industry week.
Through a series of specially designed creative briefs, each student will develop their own personal style and recognise their strengths and preferred direction. This flexible programme allows students to test different directions as our Industry-based tutor team support creative investigation, and offer specialist guidance to prepare students for the creative pathway ahead. 2 x 3-week specialist projects.
The final module focuses on a major project in your chosen direction. A longer and more involved project challenges students to put into practice what they have learned throughout the programme. You will also have the opportunity to build an extensive portfolio of work showcasing your best works from the year.
For more details about this course, please download the Arts and Creative Industries Foundation Year course specification (PDF).
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Teaching
The foundation year is a full-time programme where you have access to the foundation studio 5 days a week plus evening and weekends if they wish. We split the group into manageable teaching cohorts with 3 focused teaching days throughout the week to deliver a mix of 1-1 feedback, briefing, seminars, workshops, project reflection. The rest of the week the you will be either working on your projects independently in the studio, workshops or off campus. If you have a have part-time job to support your studies, the flexibility of these allocated focused teaching days ensures that you will not miss any important studio/workshop sessions, allowing you to work independently in your own time to meet the deadlines outside of these specified teaching days.
You will be based in our exclusive foundation studio in the Ritterman Building at our Hendon campus where you have dedicated space to work on your creative projects. We believe that working alongside other students studying different disciplines enriches the learning process and strengthens the artistic outcomes.
Timetable
Your course timetable will balance your study commitments on campus with time for work, life commitments and independent study.
We aim to make timetables available to students at least 2 weeks before the start of term. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.
Our excellent teaching and support teams will help you develop your skills from research and practical skills to critical thinking. And we offer free 24-hour laptop loans with full desktop software, free printing and Wi-Fi to use on or off campus.
The foundation year is assessed on 100% coursework with no exams.
Coursework is assessed against project brief requirements and learning outcomes for each module. These are delivered/specified at the beginning of each project and made available on MyLearning. All four modules are assessed individually as completed within the timeline specified. There is a pass or fail is given for each module accompanied by written and verbal feedback. Module_1 is the contextual studies module, where a maximum of 1500 words is required and embedded within a visual diary to reflect the visits and tasks set throughout the module. Modules 2-4 are project-based and should follow the creative process. All completed projects journeys, from initial ideas to final outcomes are documented and delivered digitally by each student for assessment to meet the deadlines specified.
To help you achieve the best results, we will provide regular feedback.
Facilities and support
The facilities, studios and workshops at our £18 million purpose-built Arts and Creative Industries teaching spaces are recognised as amongst the best in the country.
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Foundation students have full access to all the facilities to help support and develop their ideas.
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We have one of London's biggest and best university campuses with everything you need in one place.
Our facilitiesStudent support
We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health, and disability support.
Additional needs
We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.
Wellness
Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.
Work while you study
Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.
Financial support
You can apply for scholarships and bursaries and our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.
We have also reduced the costs of studying with free laptop loans, free learning resources and discounts to save money on everyday things. Check out our guide to student life on a budget.
Entry requirements
At Middlesex, we're proud of how we recognise the potential of future students like you. We make fair and aspirational offers because we want you to aim high, and we’ll support you all the way.
Qualifications
- UCAS points
- 56-64 UCAS points
- Access requirements
- Overall pass: must include 45 credits at level 3, of which all 45 must be at Merit or higher
- Combinations
- A combination of A-Level, BTEC and other accepted qualifications that total 56 - 64 UCAS Tariff points
We'll accept T Levels for entry onto this course (and our extended courses with a foundation year) with GCSEs in line with UCAS tariff calculation.
We'll always be as flexible as possible and take into consideration any barriers you may have faced in your learning. And, if you don't quite get the grades you hoped for, we'll also look at more than your qualifications. Things like your work experience, other achievements and your personal statement.
If you have entry requirements, we may be able to count this towards your entry requirements.
Our relevant qualifications or work experience page outlines how we make offers.
Portfolio
Entry onto this course requires a creative portfolio review.
For any questions around portfolio submissions, please email Course Leader Beverly Speight.
Personal Statement
Find out how to make an effective personal statement.
Mature students (over 21)
We welcome applications from mature candidates, including those without formal qualifications, provided you can demonstrate relevant experience and ability.
You can apply now via UCAS using the code ???.
Need help with your application? Check out our undergraduate application page.
Fees and funding
The fees below are for the 2025/26 academic year:
UK students1
Full-time: £9,535*
Part-time: £79 per taught credit
*Subject to the government’s proposed increase in the tuition fee cap receiving Parliamentary approval3
As a part of our commitment to an excellent student offer at Middlesex University, we pledge to invest the additional money from tuition fee increases into the student experience, and we are consulting at present on what these improvements will be and will follow up with further details
International students2
Full-time: £16,600
Additional costs
The following course-related costs are included in the fees:
- Free access to the resources, learning materials and software you need to succeed on your course
- Free laptop loans for up to 24 hours
- Free printing for academic paperwork
- Free online training with LinkedIn Learning
- Audio-visual equipment available for loan, including digital stills cameras, digital video recorders, digital audio recorders.
Scholarships and bursaries
To help make uni affordable, we do everything we can to support you including our:
- MDX Excellence Scholarship offers grants of up to £2,000 per year for UK students
- Regional or International Merit Awards which reward International students with up to £2,000 towards course fees
- Our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.
Find out more about undergraduate funding and all of our scholarships and bursaries.
Fees disclaimers
1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
Based on the current fee, for a typical three-year degree, the total costs for your studies will be £28,605.
2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
3. Depending on the duration of your study, your tuition fees for subsequent academic years may be subject to further inflationary increases (most recently, the UK government has suggested that increases may be linked to the All-Items Retail Prices Index – RPIX) in line with any additional rise in the tuition fee cap set by the UK government. Any annual increase in tuition fees will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.
Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.
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Student Testimonial
Chat with our students about life at Middlesex
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We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.