Art and Technology BA
London, Stratford (UCL East)
Art and Technology BA (2024)
The Art & Technology BA is a course for a new generation of artists to create art connected to emerging and disruptive technologies. It is a practice-based, interdisciplinary programme focused on the interconnections between art, humanities and science.
Study mode
Duration
UK tuition fees (2024/25)
Overseas tuition fees (2024/25)
Programme starts
September 2025Application deadline
29 Jan 2025UCAS course code
Entry requirements
- Grades
- ABB
- Subjects
- No specific subjects, but a portfolio of work is required. At least two A level subjects should be taken from UCL's list of preferred A level subjects.
- GCSEs
- English Language and Mathematics at grade C or 4.
Contextual offer information
-
Contextual offers are typically one to two grades lower than the standard offer. Grade and subject requirements for contextual offers for this programme will be published in Summer 2024.
- Points
- 34
- Subjects
- A total of 16 points in three higher level subjects, with no higher level score below 5, plus a portfolio.
Contextual offer
-
Contextual offers are typically one to two grade boundaries (equivalent to A levels) lower than the standard offer. IB Diploma grade and subject requirements for contextual offers for this programme will be published in Summer 2024.
UK applicants qualifications
For entry requirements with other UK qualifications accepted by UCL, choose your qualification from the list below:
Equivalent qualification
Pass in Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 30 credits at Distinction, 12 credits at Merit and 3 credits at Pass, all from Level 3 units. Plus a portfolio of work required.
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (QCF) or BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (RQF - teaching from 2016) with Distinction, Distinction, Distinction. Plus a portfolio of work required.
D3,M1,M1 in three Cambridge Pre-U Principal Subjects. A portfolio of work is required.
ABB at Advanced Highers (or AB at Advanced Higher and BBB at Higher). A portfolio of work is required.
Not acceptable for entrance to this programme.
Not acceptable for entrance to this programme.
Successful completion of the WBQ Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate plus 2 GCE A levels at grades ABB. A portfolio of work is required.
International applications
Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.
Access and widening participation
UCL is committed to widening access to higher education. If you are eligible for Access UCL you do not need to do anything in addition to the standard UCAS application. Your application will be automatically flagged when we receive it.Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates
The Undergraduate Preparatory Certificates (UPC) prepare international students for a UCL undergraduate degree who don’t have the qualifications to enter directly. These intensive one-year foundation courses are taught on our central London campus.
Typical UPC students will be high achievers in a 12-year school system which does not meet the standard required for direct entry to UCL.
For more information see: ucl.ac.uk/upc.
English language requirements
The English language level for this programme is: Level 1
-
Information about the evidence required, acceptable qualifications and test providers can be found on our English language requirements page.
A variety of English language programmes are offered at the UCL Centre for Languages & International Education.
Course overview
This degree provides you with the chance to explore the power of creative, critical and computational thinking.
All elements of the course are connected to art practice and theory. Our programme is practice-based to help you develop your practical and working knowledge of online and digital experiences and technologies. This includes areas such as creative coding, artificial intelligence, robotic technologies, sensing practices, gaming design, computational publishing and immersive environments.
Our programme also explores how technology is not neutral in its impact or design and how this relates to its use and production in the world. We explore how power dynamics are structured by and embedded within technologies and how art practice might be used to critically investigate and challenge this.
We look at art practice and theory, and question how certain histories and technologies become accepted as standard ("the canon"), focussing on issues of class, gender and race.
As an Art and Technology BA student, you will be part of the UCL Slade School of Fine Art. You will be based at UCL East, joining a community of students studying interdisciplinary degrees across new intersections of arts, humanities, social sciences and science.
What this course will give you
You will learn skills in the following art and technology areas:
- Creative coding
- Artificial intelligence
- Robotic technologies
- Sensing practices
- Gaming design
- Computational publishing
- Immersive environments – virtual (VR), mixed, augmented or extended reality
You will benefit from world-class teaching and research across the arts and humanities at UCL, ranked 6th in the world for these disciplines (THE World University Rankings 2024 by subject), as well as from creative practitioners working in different fields.
You will have access to both the creative cultural hub of east London, East Bank, and many of London's galleries, museums, libraries and theatres, which are close to the Slade School of Fine Art in Bloomsbury.
You will be supported in career readiness through support from UCL Careers and the School for the Creative and Cultural Industries (SCCI) based at UCL East.
Teaching and learning
In each year of your degree you will take a number of individual modules, normally valued at 15 or 30 credits, adding up to a total of 120 credits for the year. Modules are assessed in the academic year in which they are taken. The balance of compulsory and optional modules varies from programme to programme and year to year. A 30-credit module is considered equivalent to 15 credits in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).
Modules
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.
-
The Art and Technology BA is a three-year degree programme. Each year is structured thematically around theory, practice and presentation. These thematic areas are interconnected and designed to enable students to develop an integrated interdisciplinary understanding, as well as art practice through technology, informed by history and theory, experimentation, imagination and research-oriented arts practice.
In each year, an extended module of 45-60 credits is included which spans all three terms, enabling you to engage in extended art practice and creating art through peer-supported learning (collaborative projects, groups critiques, seminars), negotiated study (tutorials, workshops), and class-based learning (artist talks, focused technical teaching).
Year 1
In Year 1, there are six compulsory modules, including a longer compulsory practice module covering history and theory of art. Your focus in Year 1 is on gaining a foundation in the skills, methods, processes and exploration of art and technology and their intersections.
Year 2
You will take five compulsory modules. Your focus in Year 2 is on establishing and consolidating professional practice interests and territory as an artist. This is also a time when you begin to develop a particular pathway regarding technological skills, tools and methods at your disposal. A module on work experience will complement this process.
Year 3
In Year 3, there are five compulsory modules. There is also an opportunity to collaborate with professional practitioners and academics to create a published public engagement activity with real world significance.
Compulsory modules
Compulsory modules
Compulsory modules
Your learning
You will learn through a mix of art practice, theory and skills-based learning approaches designed to empower you as an artist. Art practice is developed through practice-based learning with an emphasis on self-initiated work. You will be supported to develop this through one to one and group tutorials, seminars, critiques (crits), contemporary art lectures, workshops and one-to-one technical support.
In each year of the degree, you will take a number of individual modules, normally valued at 15 credits and 45 or 60 credits for Art Practice, totalling 120 credits for each year.
Learning hours are made up across a variety of formats and each module is different. Formats include: lectures, seminars, tutorials, e-learning, student-led contact, independent learning and studio time.
Approximately 25% of your time will be spent in lectures, seminars, crits, tutorials and talks. The remaining 75% of your time includes independent study, independent projects, assessment and studio time.
Assessment
Modules are assessed through a mixture of summative coursework assignments alongside an interim and final-year Degree Show.
Assessment is designed to enable students to experience a range of outputs, many outward-facing, including:
- Portfolio of art works including installation, multimedia and/or computational artefacts
- Short essay
- Written or oral analysis of artwork
- Critical analysis of an organisation and implications for own career
- Evaluation and critique of individual self-development portfolio completed by video
- Exhibition, event, experience, or publication
- Workshop and evaluation report
- Code and software
- Reflective report/vlogs
- End of year tutorial report
- Research paper
- Public degree show
- Interactive or generative artefact/games
Accessibility
Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team.
The foundation of your career
Potential employment destinations for graduates may include the many possibilities contained in the creative art and technology economy, for example: creative technologist, digital artist, art and technology educator, cultural institution roles focusing on the curation, exhibition, and promotion of digital and technology-based art.
Employability
As a graduate of the Art and Technology BA programme, you will develop the following skills and attributes to prepare you for a wide range of life and career choices:
- Fusing contemporary art practice with technology.
- Learning technical skills, alongside an experimental, imaginative and research approach to art practice.
- Demonstrating practical skill and working knowledge of online and digital technologies, such as creative coding, artificial intelligence, robotic technologies, sensing practices, gaming design, computational publishing, and immersive environments.
- Applying multidisciplinary knowledge inventively and in an inclusive way.
- Thinking about the interconnections between art practice and emerging and disruptive technologies and applying them to meet the needs of the creative, cultural and technology sectors.
- Adapting practice across disciplines, and the ability to explore art and technology creatively and experimentally.
- Connecting knowledge of digital technologies to art practice and theory.
- Understanding the ethics and politics involved in the relationship between art and technology, including equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Creating digital environments that critically engage with issues of class, gender, race and colonialism.
- Reflective and self-directed learning, key to lifelong and professional learning.
Fees and funding
Fees for this course
| Fee description | Full-time |
|---|---|
| Tuition fees (2024/25) | Fees to be confirmed |
| Tuition fees (2024/25) | Fees to be confirmed |
The fees indicated are for undergraduate entry in the 2024/25 academic year. The UK fees shown are for the first year of the programme at UCL only. Fees for future years may be subject to an inflationary increase. The Overseas fees shown are the fees that will be charged to 2024/25 entrants for each year of study on the programme, unless otherwise indicated below.
Full details of UCL's tuition fees, tuition fee policy and potential increases to fees can be found on the UCL Students website.
Additional costs
You may incur material costs for pursuing individual research interests in the studio practice modules, according to current policy applicable to Slade practice and art schools in general. Art practices vary widely and being economical and creative in the use of materials is part of the learning to become a practicing artist. Assessment is made on the quality of the artwork which is not determined by the cost of the materials.
There may be other additional costs such as visiting art galleries, museums or similar as part of field trips for some modules.
Students may wish to visit other museums/galleries around London as part of their wider experience, but this will not be a requirement of the programme.
There may be additional travel and expenses, such as refreshments or meals, associated with an internship or the undertaking of project work at an employer’s premises.
Students may incur travel costs if they wish to attend UCL events on the Bloomsbury campus or if they have permission to undertake a module or other learning on the Bloomsbury campus.
A guide including rough estimates for these and other living expenses is included on the UCL Fees and funding pages. If you are concerned by potential additional costs for books, equipment, etc., please get in touch with the relevant departmental contact (details given on this page).
Funding your studies
Various funding options are available, including student loans, scholarships and bursaries. UK students whose household income falls below a certain level may also be eligible for a non-repayable bursary or for certain scholarships. Please see the Fees and funding pages for more details.
Scholarships
The Scholarships and Funding website lists scholarships and funding schemes available to UCL students. These may be open to all students, or restricted to specific nationalities, regions or academic department.
Next steps
Your application
We seek to select candidates who, in addition to academic achievement, have the potential and passion to develop a critical awareness and an understanding of art and technology and its contexts. We look for candidates who are self-motivated to take initiatives and keen to experiment within our studio-centred learning environment.
How to apply
Application for admission should be made through UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). Applicants currently at school or college will be provided with advice on the process; however, applicants who have left school or who are based outside the United Kingdom may obtain information directly from UCAS.
Selection
For further information on UCL's selection process see: How we assess your application.
Along with your UCAS application, you will also submit your portfolio. Portfolios should comprise a selection of current and recent work including self-initiated and original work.
Applicants should submit up to twenty images with each image no larger than 5MB. Titles should be included for each image, including the date the work was made, size (if applicable) and production materials/tools. Applicants with time-based, technical or performance elements to their work may include a showreel/documentation with a maximum duration time of five minutes. The overall portfolio size should be no larger than 450MB. We also encourage applicants to upload a short video featuring sketches and concept development.
You will receive precise instructions regarding your portfolio submission from UCL's student administration system, Portico. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview in late February or March.
Got questions? Get in touch
UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.