UAL Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Course overview

The Foundation Diploma is designed to prepare students for specialist undergraduate degrees in art and design subjects. It’s a year of exciting projects, new faces and experiences that will inform your future study, career and creative life.

Foundation is widely considered the best preparation for progression to an undergraduate degree in the creative arts in the UK. On this dynamic course, you’ll try different disciplines from across art and design while being supported to fulfil your creative potential and ambitions.

What to expect

• Expert staff: You’ll be taught by highly experienced teams based from the UAL School of Pre-Degree Studies. Skilled technicians will also support you in all of our studios.
• Outstanding facilities: Based at UAL School of Pre-Degree Studies, you'll have access to wood, metal, plastic, plaster, textile, stitch, printmaking workshops, photography,  3D printing and laser cutting facilities and a loan store.
• Varied teaching methods: You’ll take part in studio teaching sessions, technical workshops, collaborative projects, group teaching sessions and additional study support sessions.
• Portfolio development: Build a strong portfolio for application onto undergraduate degrees in art and design subjects.
• Progression support: Get advice to help you progress onto further study, including College visits and talks from undergraduate course teams from across UAL.
• UAL library access: You’ll have access to all UAL libraries and learning zones located in our Colleges across London.

Choosing a mode of study

When you apply to the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, we’ll ask you to choose from 2 modes of study: Diagnostic or Specialist.

Diagnostic mode

With over 100 undergraduate options available at UAL alone, choosing the right one can be challenging. Diagnostic mode helps you understand where your skills and interests fit within art and design. It’s the best option if you want to explore a wide range of disciplines before committing to a specialism.

In diagnostic mode, you’ll begin the course by experimenting with techniques from each of our 4 curriculum areas. Then you’ll move onto a specialist pathway. Our teams will guide you towards the pathway that gives you the best opportunity to develop a unique body of work.

Specialist mode

The specialist mode is best for you if you’re already confident about your future direction. This mode allows you to apply directly to one of the 4 curriculum areas: 3D Design, Fashion and Textiles, Fine Art and Communication Design.

If you decide to study in specialist mode, you’ll tell us which curriculum area you’re interested in as part of your application. During the first 8 weeks of study, you’ll take part in workshops across all the pathways in that curriculum area. Then you’ll be guided, through tutorials and assessment, to the pathway that best suits your interests and skills.

Curriculum areas and pathways

The course is divided into 4 curriculum areas, each with their own specialist pathways:

• 3D Design
• Fashion and Textiles
• Fine Art
• Communication Design.

Curriculum Area 1: 3D Design

We encourage thinking, making, and experimentation across a broad range of subjects including architecture, jewellery, product, performance and film design. You'll experiment with functional, craft based and conceptual design methods. Our explorative approach allows you to investigate processes and materials and develop your making skills.

Curriculum Area 2: Fashion and textiles

We encourage a playful, experimental and fearless approach to exploring form, materials, techniques and processes across a broad range of fashion and textile subjects. You'll complete projects that investigate different fashion specialisms. You'll work with textiles within both fashion and interior contexts and large-scale spatial installations.

Curriculum Area 3: Fine Art

We'll support you to develop your own individual visual language or voice. You'll work on a series of projects to encourage you to learn by doing across different types of media. You'll also develop greater awareness of the link between research, theory and practice, the importance of experimentation and open approaches.

Curriculum Area 4: Communication Design

You'll have the opportunity to explore subjects such as graphic design, illustration, fashion communication, filmmaking and animation. You'll learn new ways to develop and communicate ideas and explore creative thinking and storytelling. You'll develop a practice which engages with and responds to society, culture, politics and the environment. Work will often be in the public domain – as a communication designer, it's  your role to persuade, provoke, inform or entertain your audience.

Alternative offers

We may offer you a place on the course, but in a different mode of study or curriculum area to the one on your application form. This happens when we think your application is strong but believe your strengths and skillset are better suited to a different mode of study or curriculum area.

Where your classes will take place

This course is based at the UAL School of Pre-Degree Studies at Lime Grove, west London.

Progressing onto a UAL undergraduate degree

If you successfully complete the UAL Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, you’ll receive at least 1 offer to a UAL undergraduate course, to start the following September.

Which course will you be offered a place on?

How does it work?

Home fee

• Free (if you are under the age of 19 on 31 August of the year you start your course)
• £5,265 (if you are aged 19 or over on 31 August of the year you start your course)

These fees are correct for entry in autumn 2024 and are subject to change for entry in autumn 2025. We will have information about our Home course fee from April 2025.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£23,940

This fee is correct for entry in autumn 2025 and may be subject to change for entry in autumn 2026.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.