Pre-Degree

Progression & Careers

Personally tailored careers information, advice and guidance (CIAG) for our students.

How to Apply

Palace Court's historic grey stone walls peer out against a bright blue sky. Two storeys of arched windows and an old fashioned lamppost can be seen.

Fees, Finance and Funding

Palace Studios home to our Foundation Diploma at Arts University Plymouth Photo by Dom Moore

Key Dates (Pre-Degree)

Student Support (Pre-Degree)

Parent & Carer Information

The Pre-Degree Progression & Careers plan provides a bespoke, tailored and scaffolded Careers Information Advice and Guidance (CIAG) model embedded within our curriculum.

At Arts University Plymouth we aim to align the learners' experiences, views and ambitions with the academic and vocational skills needed to future-proof learners for the 21st-century industrial landscape. Discover how we are raising aspirations and connecting young students with meaningful encounters in Higher Education and employment environments.

	Arts University Plymouth 2024/25 Pre-Degree Progression & Careers year plan	Gatsby Careers Benchmark (GCB) coverage
September 2024	Introduction to the skills project NSSW progression workshops begin. Meet the parents event for all ED programs Year 2 FT & AD Royal Opera House Design Challenge HE progression talks and workshops commence. Year 2 workshops: professional portfolios, personal statements, register for UCAS.	GCB: 1 GCB: 4 GCB: 2 GCB: 4+5 GCB: 7 GCB: 3
October 2024	Launch ARTiculation competition. HE progression talks and workshops continue. NSSW progression workshops continue, across Pre Degree programs. Year 2 Design to sell project launches.	GCB:4 GCB:7 GCB: 4 GCB: 4
November 2024	Design to Sell exhibition and shop, public event. ARTiculation competition continues. (regional heats for finalists) Pre-Degree parents evening offering early advice and guidance around progression options. HE progression talks and workshops continue. Term 1 Careers Bulletin updates on careers information padlet. Year 2 FT & AD Royal opera house design challenge, internal heats INTO film festival NSSW progression workshops continue.	GCB: 4+6 GCB: 4 GCB: 1 & 3 GCB: 7 GCB: 2 GCB: 4+5 GCB: 4 GCB: 7
December 2024	HE internal progression talks and workshops continue. UCAS application health checks with AUP admissions. Year 2 FT & AD Royal opera house design challenge final submissions. UCAS application deadline. (internal) NSSW events continue.	GCB: 4+7 GCB: 8 GCB: 4&5 GCB: 1 GCB: 4
January 2025	Weekly career interventions open to all years and learners begin with CSW targeting potential NEET students as priority. NSSW progression workshops continue. UCAS clinic with AUP admissions.	GCB: 8 GCB: 1 GCB: 8
February 2025	Weekly career interventions open to all years and learners, targeting potential NEET students as priority with Careers South West. ED Photo year 2 Commercial enterprise brief term 4 (engaging with live clients as industry professionals)	GCB: 8 GCB: 4&5
March 2025	Weekly career interventions open to all years and learners with CSW Fashion and Textiles industry week. National Careers Week. Princes trust enterprise program event. Student led table top selling event Term 2 staff Careers Bulletin and padlet update. ASK Apprenticeships workshop NSSW events continue. UCAS fair Exeter	GCB: 8 GCB: 6 GCB: 1 GCB: 6 GCB: 4&1 GCB: 7& 8 GCB: 4 GCB: 3&7
April 2025	Weekly career interventions open to all years and learners with CSW NEETS interventions continue. Year 2 / FAD GAP year club - Launch	GCB: 8
May 2025	Weekly career interventions open to all years and learners with CSW NEETS interventions continue. Year 2 / FAD GAP year club	GCB: 8 GCB: 8 GCB: 8
June 2025	End of year showcase and enterprise opportunity. NEETS interventions continue. Careers clinic, support and guidance for progression and careers. SEN experience of the workplace week. Y2 / FAD GAP year club	GCB: 5 GCB: 8 GCB: 8 GCB: 6 GCB: 8
July 2025	Review and reflect for 25/26	GCB: 1

Students benefit from impartial careers advice and guidance. A qualified careers guidance adviser visits the university weekly and is available for individual consultations with students.

Ofsted Report (Rated "Good"), June 2023

Plymouth College of Art student in printing studio

Pre-Degree Progression & Careers Year Plan Glossary

ARTiculation

The ARTiculation competition is a nationally-acclaimed annual event designed to promote the appreciation and discussion of art. The competition seeks to engage all full-time students aged 16-19 - and regardless of background or experience - with art, and to develop their confidence and ability to express their opinions and thoughts through critical thinking and problem solving techniques.

The Skills Project

The Skills Project continues to provide an embedded methodology to develop personal development, British values and progression readiness through the recognition and collective ownership of a set of values required to meet these important demands. The Project allows our teachers and students to track and communicate progress in relation to employability and soft skills via regular progress checks. In terms of impact, we continually assess Pre-Degree learners through progress checks to measure the demonstration of character traits and attributes that mirror expectations of working in higher education or industry.

Design to Sell

This project is designed to enhance your professional practice and our learners maturity as an artist, maker or designer. The skills and knowledge they gain in this project will be transferable in any chosen academic or career path. They will explore elements of a business focused environment, this brief is about creativity, collaboration and commercialism.

NEETs

NEET stands for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training". It refers to a person who is unemployed, not in school or in a meaningful training programme.

Design To Sell, our long-running fair and marketplace where Pre-Degree students sell their work, takes place annually in our dedicated Pre-Degree buildings.

Information for our learners, parents, guardians, employers and other providers.

Learners

The Arts University Plymouth, Pre-Degree Progression and Careers year plan is achieved via two platforms of engagement within each learners study programme. The first platform of activities are embedded within the enriching and diverse curriculum model delivered in sessions and includes Creative Careers Toolkit interventions, University progression workshops, the Design to Sell project where we turn our whole campus into a shop for three days, national competitions such as ARTiculation and Worldskills and International Baccalaureate Service Learning interventions and activities. The second platform exists as activities that sit outside the formal curriculum model and includes Work Placement opportunities, the Pre-Degree enrichment programme, our Year 2 GAP year club, and weekly careers interventions that start in January and continue through to June. In addition to these platforms of engagement, we intricately track and thread the Pre-Degree Skills Project throughout the course of each learners study programme. The Skills Project continues to provide an embedded methodology to develop personal development, British values and progression readiness through the recognition and collective ownership of a set of values required to meet these important demands. The Project allows our teachers and students to track and communicate progress in relation to employability and soft skills via regular progress checks.

Parents and Guardians

We continually develop and improve on our Pre-Degree progression and careers provision. Our intention is to continually keep working towards the university’s ethos of continual creative learning and social justice via the Pre-Degree Skills Project, whilst also driving toward 100% achievement of the Gatsby Career Benchmarks. The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of 8 guidelines that define the best careers provision in schools and colleges.

Employers and other providers

Our university provides a number of qualifications, we offer a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design course, a suite of 6 UAL Art and Design Extended Diploma courses including Graphics, Illustration and Game Arts, Film, Animation and Media Production, Photography, Fashion and Textiles and Art and Design. Our students are able to engage with a number of work experiences from across a multitude of industrial sectors including: Construction, Engineering, Design and Technology, Visual Communication, Architectural design, Fashion, Media and Marketing, Radio as well as in the Public and Health sectors. Which helps them to build upon new and existing skills to align these with professional practice and industry expectation.

Leaders and governors have established ambitious curriculums for students that enable them to develop their creative knowledge, skills and behaviours [and] that align closely with the strategic skills needs of the city. They ensure that students learn about immersive technologies and entrepreneurial skills to support the growth in creative and digital microbusinesses. Leaders plan curriculums to ensure that students are taught the digital skills they need to work remotely and flexibly to prepare them for work in an industry that no longer requires professional creatives to live in larger cities.

Ofsted Report (Rated "Good") June 2023

BBC Spotlight interviews student Ceri Louise Prowse during the first year of the BFI Film Academy

Gatsby Career Benchmarks

The Gatsby Benchmarks were developed on behalf of the Gatsby Foundation by Sir John Holman, which aimed to highlight what "good careers work" looked like. They provide us with a clear framework for organising our careers provision, and have been accepted as best practice by the Government. Find out more about the Gatsby benchmarks <a href="https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/schools-colleges/understand-gatsby-benchmarks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.

Gatsby Career Benchmark	Brief description
1. A stable careers programme	Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers and employers.
2. Learning from career and labour market information	Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good-quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil	Pupils have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support needs to be tailored to the needs of each pupil. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers	All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. For example, STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths.
5. Encounters with employers and employees	Every pupil should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.
6. Experiences of workplaces	Every pupil should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.
7. Encounters with further and higher education	All pupils should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
8. Personal guidance	Every pupil should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all pupils but should be timed to meet their individual needs.

Careers Advice from Careerpilot

If you are 11—19 and living in the South of England, <a href="http://www.careerpilot.org.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Careerpilot</a> has all of the information you need to help you plan your future study and work. Find out about and look at: <ul><li>Your choices at 14, 16 and 18</li> <li>Different job sectors and what they are looking for</li> <li>Information on routes to different qualifications including apprenticeships and university level study</li> <li>Your skills and how to use them</li> <li>Online careers sessions and stories</li></ul>Get ALL of the information you need to help you plan your future study and work in one place. <a href="http://www.careerpilot.org.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.careerpilot.org.uk</a>