Speak to someone today and gain personal insight into our creative community. From finding accommodation and student finance to course content and employability, our approachable student ambassadors are available to live chat with you. 
Julie Ellis, Extended BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing &amp; Printmaking
“I loved my first year at college on the Extended BA (Hons) programme. The opportunities to learn about so many different new processes and materials and be purely experimental really opened my mind. This openness remains with me on my current degree, BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing &amp; Printmaking, and is the reason I never seem to run out of creative ways to move forward. Above all the staff were all so supportive and inspirational, I will always be grateful to them for making it such a great year." 
Jo Dennis, Extended BA (Hons) 3D Design Crafts
“It’s given me back my confidence and aspirations.” Chris Tuck, Extended BA (Hons) Animation
“Enrolled as a student, came out as an animator!” 
Rachel Jewers, Extended BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing and Printmaking
“Ext.BA has focused my aspiration and made me believe in myself.” 
Carol Climo Crisp, Extended BA (Hons) Costume Production and Associated Crafts
“It’s like I’ve been given a new pair of eyes, I now see things I’ve never noticed before” 
Courtney Macmillan, Extended BA (Hons) Costume Production and Associated Crafts
“I have been able to do something that I’m truly passionate about and explore my making skills.” 
Connor Muskett, Extended BA (Hons) Game Arts
“Ext.BA has given me my artist voice.” 
Katie Martin, Extended BA (Hons) Graphic Design
“Ext.BA has confirmed my aspiration to become a Graphic designer!” 
Olivia Beggs, Extended BA (Hons) Graphic Design
“Ext.BA has helped me evolve into an artist and that makes me confident.” 
Jasmine Walker-Lawton, Extended BA (Hons) Photography
“I am much happier. It’s given me direction, friends and a future!” 
Conchita Dunn, Extended BA (Hons) Printed Textile Design and Surface Pattern
“My mind has been totally blown open, expanded - brilliant!” 
Tom Lloyd-Davies Extended BA (Hons) Product Design and Innovation
“Extended BA challenges the way you think.”

From writing and making the most of your CV to gaining industry experience, the acquisition of professional skills has been written into the programmes of study by our staff teams, who have ‘real world’ experience. They are also supported by our Industry Liaison Groups, who help inform the development of the higher education curriculum.
On successful completion of your Extended Degree year, you will be guaranteed a place on one of our full undergraduate BA (Hons) programmes. 
Many of our past students have gone on to achieve high grades in their degrees, including a large number with First Class Honours.

If you want to pursue a creative degree at Plymouth College of Art but feel you have yet to acquire the experience and range of skills necessary, our Extended BA programme will prepare you for entry to one of our BA (Hons) undergraduate courses.

This four-year route offers an exploratory year, developing your insight into a range of art, design and media skills and approaches, before progressing onto a specialist degree of your choice.
Our Extended BA environment is dynamic and supportive, helping you discover your own particular passions and strengths within the creative arts, whilst building your academic confidence, purpose and direction. 
You will also gain first-hand experience of your chosen specialism, in the form of a module of specialist personal investigation where you can develop your own interests in your chosen degree subject.

A girl in a yellow top sits at a desk working on an art sculpture built from multicoloured strings.

Our Extended Degree is intensive and challenging, taught through lectures, workshop and studio sessions, seminars and tutorials. 
You will have the freedom to take risks, generate ideas, experiment, and develop a breadth of approaches to problem-solving. This is an exploratory year, in which you will experiment with materials, processes, methodologies and practices. 
You’ll develop a range of critical skills relevant to degree-level study, while broadening your use of drawing, visual research, contextual studies, digital imaging and design methods.
As the year goes by you’ll specialise in your chosen undergraduate subject, helping you to become a confident, independent and creative artist, designer or maker.

Extended BA Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader Helen Markes chats to a student

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This entry year programme is year one of a four-year degree and is designed as a preparatory year to ready you for the transition to the full degree programme of your choice. It provides an opportunity to develop your portfolio and technical skills in a specialist subject area. 
We offer places to students who have at least five GCSEs, grades 9 - 4 (A* - C), including English Language and a combination of AS and A-level qualifications or equivalent (with one in a creative subject). We also welcome applications from mature students who may not have the qualification profile but have other experience and knowledge. All applicants will be required to show a portfolio of creative work.

There’s never been a more exciting time to join our college, as we develop our existing curriculum with the input of our students, alumni, and expert academics. Through close consultation with industry professionals, we can ensure that what you learn with us will prepare you for a dynamic and ever-changing future job market.
If you're applying to study with us this Autumn please visit UCAS and refer to the codes below. For more information or support with your application please contact <a href="mailto:admissions@pca.ac.uk?subject=Ext%20BA%20enquiry">admissions@pca.ac.uk</a> 
Degree titles listed below are subject to revalidation for the academic year 2021.

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Study with us and you’ll expand your critical approach alongside developing skills in research and analysis. Our academically robust and intellectually stimulating degree programmes are delivered by our team of academics, technical demonstrators and invited experts who together deliver excellence in learning, teaching and assessment. Our programmes encourage diversity in thinking and making - from practical applications through to reflective, analytical writing.
We provide a dynamic, stimulating learning environment from which to test new models of practice, while investing in the rich relationship between practice and theory - based on the potential in material and visual exploration, collaborative working, cross-fertilisation of ideas, and the exploration of histories and contemporary contexts.

<ul><li>Email: <a href="mailto:admissions@pca.ac.uk">admissions@pca.ac.uk</a></li><li>Tel: +44 (0)1752 203434</li><li>Skype: <a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plymouthcollegeofart</a></li></ul>

Extended BA module handbook 20 21

Extended BA programme specification 20 21

Extended BA Course Specification Form CSF

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Open Days

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A lecturer and a student sit facing each other at a table in a cafe chatting amicably

Book a 1 to 1 chat

Rachel Hicks Ex BA Interior Decoration Design and Styling

Rachel Hicks Ex BA cast concrete

Erasure Colour by Allie Dechow, Extended BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing & Printmaking

Allie Dechow

Heavani Dos Santos Pinto Ext.BA Illustration

Work by Heavani Pinto, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Illustration

Heavani Pinto

Nichola Stevens Ext.BA 3D Design Crafts

Work by Nichola Stevens, Extended BA, BA (Hons) 3D Design Crafts

Nichola Stevens

Twine by Hannah Stewart, Exended BA (Hons) Interior Decoration, Design and Styling

Hannah Stewart

Black Twine by Hannah Stewart, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Interior Decoration, Design & Styling

Black Twine

Steve Attfield DMP

Steve Attfield

Keep Windows Closed by Steve Attfield, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Digital Media Production

Keep Windows Closed

Dani Cali Ext.BA Crafts

Work by Dani Cali, Extended BA, BA (Hons) 3D Design Crafts

Dani Cali

Georgia Eaton Fine Art

Georgia Eaton

Drawing by Georgia Eaton, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Fine Art

Drawing

ALEX ROGERS Interior Decoration

Alex Rogers

Repetitive Pattern by Alex Rogers, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Interior Decoration, Design & Styling

Repetitive Pattern

Ally Morris Triptych 1 PDP

Ally Morris

Triptych by Ally Morris, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing & Printmaking

Triptych

Libby ward polaroids commphoto

Libby Ward

Polaroids by Libby Ward, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Commercial Photography for Fashion, Advertising & Editorial

Polaroids

Angie Newman Ext.BA Painting Drawing and Printmaking

Work by Angie Newman, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing and Printmaking

Angie Newman

Jesse Welter Illustration

Jesse Walter

Illustration by Jesse Walter, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Illustration

Illustration

Mike Roberts triptych photo

Mike Roberts

Triptych by Mike Roberts, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Photography

Jackie Hall Ext.BA Costume

Work by Jackie Hall, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Costume Production

Jackie Hall

Image by Jackie Hall, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Costume Production & Associated Crafts

Image

Alex Rogers Ext.BA Interior Decoration Design and Styling

Illustration by Alex Rogers, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Interior Decoration, Design and Styling

Andrew Quaife Ext.BA Game Arts

Work by Andrew Quaife, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Game Arts

Andrew Quaife

Jordan Andrews Duggan Ext.BA Photography

Work by Jordan Andrews Duggan, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Photography

Jordan Andrews Duggan

Steve Attfield Ext.BA

Work by Steve Attfield, Extended BA (Hons)

Libby Ward Ext.BA Commercial Photography

Work by Libby Ward, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Commercial Photography

Liz Adshead Ext.BA Painting Drawing and Printmaking

Work by Liz Adshead, Extended BA, BA (Hons) Painting, Drawing and Printmaking

Liz Adshead

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Our students make full use of our industry-standard dedicated studio spaces – including our infinity cove, green screen, and specialist sound studio (with Foley pit and vocal recording booth) – plus our stop-motion suite, our darkrooms, and plenty of individual edit suites, all up-to-date with the latest industry-standard software.

Media and Photography Studios

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With north-facing windows, a ‘methods and process’ area, individual studio space and a specialist life-drawing studio, our impressive, open-plan, triple-height Drawing Studio is a huge space, perfect for many different activities and specialisms.

Drawing Studios and Drawing Lab

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Our ‘fabrication laboratory’ is kitted-out with the latest in digital design technologies – from 3D printers to 3D scanners, a vinyl cutter, CNC milling machine, CNC router and laser cutter. It adds a whole new level of opportunity for students across all creative walks of life.

Fab Lab

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Our large professional studio offers a real-life fashion experience in a light space with panoramic sea views.

Fashion Studios and Sew Lab

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Housed in our fantastic Craft, Design and Fabrication Workshops, this stunning space provides everything for contemporary and traditional techniques in jewellery design.

Jewellery Design Studio

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Our Digital Print Bureau offers affordable and quick print services for all our students who are looking for anything from large-format or solvent printing, to photo printing, scanning or vinyl cutting, and a wide range of finishing services.

Imprint Lab and Digital Print Bureau

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With views out to sea and 35 metres of print tables to encourage experimentation, our Printed Textile Design Studios also boast a fantastic Mimaki fabric printer, digital embroidery resources, industrial sewing machines, sublimation printers, a dye lab, heat presses, a tufting gun and a Mac suite. It’s got to be one of the best printed textile workshops in the UK.

Textile Studios

Plymouth College of Art wood workshop

Alongside the latest in new technology, we value the long-standing traditions of making in wood and plastics – and have developed an excellently-resourced workshop that is open to all our students.

3D Wood and Plastics Workshop

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In the Material Lab you will be encouraged to acquire haptic – touch-based – and manipulative skills and gain an understanding of material properties.

Material Lab

Multimedia Lab

Our Multimedia Lab offers you the kit and expertise to become skilled in a wide range of processes and techniques across the fields of photomedia, moving image and sound.

Multimedia Lab & Equipment Resource Centre

Fabric Lab 3

In the Fabric Lab you will acquire material and process knowledge around texture, pattern, colour and construction – interlacing your skill-set through an understanding of textile and fabric properties.

Fabric Lab

All Extended Degree students learn together in the studio, with opportunities to work in your specialist area as you progress further through your studies. 
You will be introduced to a range of facilities across the college, including our 3D studios, specialist drawing and print spaces, film and photographic facilities, <a href="/courses/ba-hons-illustration/">Fab Lab Plymouth</a>, and the comprehensively stocked Equipment Resource Centre, in preparation for full undergraduate study with us.

<title>Extended BA (Hons) Degree | Plymouth College of Art</title>

Helen Markes Oct 2018

Helen Markes

Undergraduate

Full Time

3D Design

Animation

Ceramics

Costume

Communication

Content Creation

Curation

Craft

Education

Technologies

Design

Digital Media

Fashion

Film

Fine Art

Game Arts

Glass

Graphic Design

Interior Design

Jewellery

Marketing

Media

Painting

Photography

Printmaking

Publishing

Production

Styling

Sound

Technical

Textiles

Our Extended BA programme will prepare you for entry to one of our BA (Hons) undergraduate courses. This four-year route offers an exploratory year, developing your insight into a range of art, design and media skills and approaches, before progressing onto a specialist degree of your choice.

Extended BA (Hons) Degree

This introductory unit will enable you to identify, develop, and evaluate the skills you need for successful study at this level. You will be encouraged to identify strengths and weaknesses in the pursuit of personal and professional development goals. 
Learning in this unit will comprise a range of approaches including practical, technical and theoretical components appropriate to your subject field. 
You will develop ways for generating creative ideas in response to a brief, with a primary focus on gaining appropriate methods, knowledge and material skills within your chosen discipline.

Through a series of taught workshops in studios, IT suites and studios, you will be introduced to a range of visual recording, design development, research and presentation techniques and processes which will be of fundamental importance to your future development as a creative practitioner. 
From introductory making techniques to drawing from life and observation, digital image-making, photographic and experimental film making and printmaking etc. you will broaden your skills and knowledge of visual communication whilst further developing your vocabulary and understanding of art and design practices.
 Through seminars that cover art, design and media histories and theories you will be encouraged to investigate and respond to a range of concepts and theories that underpin your own and others practice. 
You will be supported to produce a written piece of textual analysis designed to develop skills and confidence in writing as part of this unit.

Through a number of practical assignments in studios and workshops, you will be encouraged to start to use and integrate research within your specialist field and personal practice. 
The assignments will be designed to supportively challenge you creatively to develop your research skills and will be taken through a range of lectures, workshops and seminars. 
You will begin to embed newly acquired art, design and media skills into your chosen specialist subject area. 
Through seminars and group workshops that cover art, design and media histories and theories you will be encouraged to investigate and respond to a range of concepts and theories that underpin your own practice and that of others.

Working in pathways that support your specialist area of study, you will select a project that develops you creatively, enhances your specific subject knowledge and enables you to extend your practical and technical skills further. 
The project will require you to produce finished outcomes that evidence clear potential for future progression into the first year of your degree and to demonstrate your personal interest and aptitude for your chosen discipline area.
Please note unit details listed above are correct at time of publication and indicative content only. If you have any questions about course content and structure please email<a href="mailto:liaison@pca.ac.uk"> liaison@pca.ac.uk</a>.

The Extended BA programme consists of several core modules. For more detail about individual course modules, please visit the relevant <a href="https://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/study/undergraduate" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">undergraduate course page</a>.
The <a href="https://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/about-us/school-of-critical-cultural-studies" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School of Critical + Cultural Studies</a> offers an integrated programme of creative arts education to support the development of your practice through the exchange of academic and practice-led inquiry. Common units of study provide a framework for individual creative practitioners to consider and explore questions across socio-cultural, ethical and political contexts. Throughout your study, you will have the opportunity to be working alongside students from all schools and taught by multi-disciplinary staff teams helping you build critical and cultural competencies to plural positions and diverse perspectives.
Our unit structure applies to all of our undergraduate courses and creates a culture that promotes curiosity and creative thinking that extends beyond subject boundaries. Thematic approaches encourage an environment of free-flowing creative learning and opportunities for collaboration. Each unit will be contextualised by the subject specialism, and delivery will manifest uniquely through the specialist lens of each course. 
Browse through the Year One heading to see what you'll cover during this year-long course. For more detailed information, including the content of each unit, assessment criteria and reading lists, take a look at the <a href="https://pca.objects.frb.io/production/files/courses/2021/USF-and-CSF-Documents/Extended-BA-USF.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">full course information</a> (Unit Specification Form) document. To request alternative formats of the full Unit Specification Form, please email <a href="mailto:admissions@pca.ac.uk">admissions@pca.ac.uk</a>.

Extended BA (Hons) Degree

Course Duration

UCAS Code

Admissions Contact