Creative and Therapeutic Arts
You'll be taught by experts at the forefront of the creative and therapeutic arts workforce, who will provide you with an excellent platform to gain experience of working creatively with others.
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Key Course Details
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UCAS Code
WX93
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Start Date
September
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Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£9,250*
International students
£16,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
The Creative and Therapeutic Arts degree course offers you the opportunity to develop your future practice in community and educational settings.
DESIGNED FOR
Whether you're interested in fine art, design, craft or creative community engagement, the Creative and Therapeutic Arts course encompasses a wide variety of creative disciplines.
Skills taught
- Independent working
- Collaboration
- Evaluation
- Creative problem solving
Course Highlights
Module Overview
The Creative and Therapeutic Arts degree has three distinct areas of study - art practice, professional practice placement, and theoretical input. You'll be encouraged to make meaningful connections between each core subject to become a creative arts practitioner.
Your first year focuses on building a creative learning community among your fellow students to support you throughout your studies. You’ll work independently and collaboratively, sharing knowledge and constructively critiquing each other’s work. You’ll also engage in an intensive project of professional engagement and training. This will culminate in expressive arts workshops in the community through collaborative working.
- Art (1)
- Professional Practice (1)
- Creativity and Wellbeing: Theoretical Underpinnings
- Academic Skills for Inclusive Practice
In the second year, you’ll have opportunities to diversify. Theoretical modules offer insight into a range of specialist contexts and ideas on how to work creatively within these, as well as exploring the nature of collaboration and participation. This learning is developed, applied and assessed while you work creatively and therapeutically on a placement.
- Art (2)
- Professional Practice/Placement (2)
- Working Creatively to Facilitate Wellbeing
The final year provides scope for you to hone your identity as a creative arts practitioner. You’ll learn about the importance of evidence-based practice and evaluation, and refine your chosen specialist area through further placement opportunities in community, education and health settings. This year ends with a graduate exhibition, which has a keen focus on the therapeutic and inclusive potential of this practice.
- Art (3)
- Critical Reflection of Therapeutic Principles
- Evidence-based practice
- Professional Practice/Placement
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
UCAS Points: 104 (or above)
Typical qualification requirements:
- A Level: BCC to exclude General Studies and normally include A Level Art, an Art & Design Foundation Diploma or a relevant background.
- Welsh BACC: Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales Grade C/B and BC - CC at A Level, to exclude General Studies, and normally include A Level Art, an Art & Design Foundation Diploma or a relevant background.
- BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit and normally include an Art subject or an Art & Design Foundation Diploma or a relevant background.
- Access to HE: Pass the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 104 UCAS tariff points in an Art related Access or hold an Art & Design Foundation Diploma or a relevant background.
- T Level: Pass (C and above)
Additional Requirements:
GCSEs: The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
You will be required to produce a portfolio of work, which should be no less than 20 pages, demonstrating your art practice. If you have not previously studied art in a formal education setting, it is recommended that you consider pursuing art classes, night school and/or independent studio practice to strengthen your portfolio and application.
An Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check on the Child & Adult Workforce and Child Barring List and subscription to the DBS Update Service is required. (Overseas equivalent required for non-uk applicants).
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch and we'd to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£9,250
per year*£16,200
per year*Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
Art materials for projects. Cost varies depending on individual projects
Cost: £250 - £1000
Occasionally students will take trips to regional galleries and creative health settings which incur a small travel cost.
Cost: Variable
Where needed some grants are available through the University as well as application to the Hardship Fund
Cost: £300 - £350
An enhanced DBS is required. The update service is recommended.
Cost: £64.74 annually for enhanced DBS and £16 for the update service.
For graduate exhibition
Cost: £80 - £100
Students arrive with some basic art supplies for their studies. As they follow their own specialist interest, they may need specific materials for outside lectures. The course teaches and encourages economical and sustainable art practices using recycled and re-purposed materials.
Cost: Variable
You will need to pay for your work books and printing costs.
Cost: £25 - £100
Students undertaking placement as part of professional practice modules may incur costs associated with travel to placement and placement responsibilities e.g. materials and resources.
Cost: Variable
If you wish to purchase a manual to accompany your study of this accredited SignAlong course
Cost: £16 - £24
Visits to community settings, undertaken as part of taught modules, where students engage in their assessed project activities.
Cost: £10 - £30
Some Placement providers will require individual students to have Public Liability Insurance.
Cost: Variable
Course Highlights
How you'll Learn
You will take part in collaborative classes, workshops and lectures as well as learning through work-based placements in a range of community, educational and health settings.
Assessment methods on the course are varied and are typically coursework and practical in orientation. Assessment consists of coursework, essays, peer presentations, creative and therapeutic peer workshops, independent study and professional work on placement.
There are no examinations within the Creative and Therapeutic Arts programme.
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Teaching staff
- Laura Welsman, course leader
- Becky Davies
- Heloise Godfrey-Talbot
- Lisset Burrett
- Sarah Challenger
- Mike Kay
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Placements
Placements form an important part of this expressive arts degree and our partnerships with a range of settings mean you will gain a wealth of practitioner experience to boost your CV.
Placement partnerships include opportunities in community settings, such as charities, women’s refuges, children’s play therapy settings, nursing homes, learning disability services, centres for refugees and asylum seekers, social groups for adults with dual sensory impairments, and more. We also have partnerships with over 50 schools and learning centres with a breadth of innovative and specialist provision.
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Facilities
We have a multipurpose teaching space where most of the art and related lectures are taught. There is scope for workshops, more messy experimental work, as well as lectures and seminars in this space. There is also dedicated studio space which students will have opportunity to access at specific points during their studies, for specific projects.
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University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS. You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time.)
Advanced entry
If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
International admissions
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
