The BA (Hons) New Media Art helps you discover and develop your artistic practices through diverse platforms from illustration, moving image, animation, multimedia, sound art, live performance etc. and prepares you to become a leading creative practitioner.
You’ll develop your artistic practices by trying your hand at a range of different creative mediums, including illustration, animation, live media, installations, projection mappings, creative coding and VR.
Over the course of this degree, you’ll create a comprehensive portfolio which will showcase your talents and give you a competitive edge when entering the job market.
By keeping up with cultural trends, the BA New Media Art will equip you with the creative and critical learning skills to effectively explore the relationship between art-making and emerging media technology within social, political and historical contexts.
We welcome Scottish, UK and international students and consider all applicants on an individual basis.
Don’t worry if your qualifications are not listed here, we take a range of factors into account when assessing your application and are happy to consider other alternative combinations of qualifications and experience.
If you are applying with an EU or non-EU qualification, please check our Undergraduate Entry Requirements page which gives more information about country-specific entry requirements.
For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level. The qualifications below must have been gained within two years of the start of your course.
General English language requirements at UWS: International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)
Exceptions to this level of IELTS scoring exist for some accredited or professionally-recognised courses (see IELTS Score Exceptions section below for more details).
For our research degrees (MRes, MPhil, PhD, DBA, DProf) applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For all our Health, Nursing & Midwifery courses that lead to, or require professional registration with the Nursing & Midwifery Council, applicants are required to have an IELTS or Occupational English Test (OET)*.
For such courses, the IELTS score is as follows:
* Note that the Occupational English Test (OET) will now be accepted in addition to IELTS as proof of a Nurse's English Language Competence (Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2019).
For our BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science, BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science and MSc Advanced Biomedical Science degrees, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
Our BSc Paramedic Science degree leads to professional registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC); it has different IELTS requirements than other Health-related courses. Although it is not possible to apply for this degree directly as an international student, for applicants who meet SAAS residency requirements and for whom English is not their first language, then the following IELTS scores are required:
Our BA (Hons) Social Work and MSc Social Work degrees are professionally-recognised by the Scottish Social Services Council; applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
For our Certificate of Higher Education courses, applicants are required to have an IELTS score as follows:
All stated English tests are acceptable for admission for both home/EU and international students for this programme:
TOEFL IBT*: 78; no sub-test less than:
* Please note that TOEFL is still acceptable for admission to this programme for both home/EU and international students.
For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use TOEFL to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level courses. We therefore still accept TOEFL tests taken in the last two years for admission to this programme.
West African Senior School Certificate of Education (WASSCE) including acceptance of WAEC Scratchcard*
*UWS will accept a WAEC scratchcard confirming that an applicant has achieved C6 or above as evidence of meeting English language requirement from Nigeria if the student graduated within the last 5 years. After 5 years applicants would be required to provide the WAEC Certificate. WAEC Certificates should not be older than 10 years at the time of making the application.
Applicants who do not meet the minimum English language requirements have the option to study one of our preparatory and pre-sessional English courses. The UWS courses available are:
From February 2023, students from these areas will be attending UCAS events promoting study in September 2024. We are therefore highlighting the entry requirements for September 2024 entry to this programme below. Entry requirements for September 2024 for Scottish and international applicants will appear on this page soon.
Year 3 entry
BTEC Level 5 HND: Art & Design; Creative Industries; Media & Communication; Computer Arts & Design; Contemporary Arts Practice; Filmcraft & Animation; Photography; Visual Communication; Digital Media for Design & Print; Computer Art & Design; Sound Production; Technical Theatre & Production Arts; Web Development; 3D Computer Animation; or other relevant discipline
BA (Hons) New Media Art is a two-year undergraduate degree and aims to provide a creative and critical learning platform where students explore diverse relationships between artmaking and emerging media technologies.
You will discover/rediscover and develop your creative practices through the following four phases:
Throughout the course, you will learn historical, contemporary, cultural and social contexts of new media art and will be introduced to a range of media technologies that can be utilised in arts and other creative applications.
New media technologies and contexts introduced each year will encourage you to become experimental in learning and utilising technologies in art making, critical in situating your practices at a historical, social, cultural and political context. You will also work within or across fine art, conceptual art, installation art, film, animation, graphic design, illustration, projection art, sound art, interactive art, immersive art, community arts or/and education.
New Media Art captures the technological innovations which now inform and connect all aspects of contemporary life – providing a way to understand and communicate the relationships between people, places and things. This creative field is now recognised as being one of the fastest growing creative art forms in the world today – with exciting directions being forged by an upcoming generation of artists who recognised the intersections between creative art practice and new technologies.
In year 3, you will learn a range of space-based art makings including projection mapping, creative coding, sound art to develop practical understandings and skills of dimensions of space (architectural, algorithmic, cross-modal) meanwhile, optional modules will become available to help you develop your specialism by learning 3D animation, artist moving image or 360 degree film/virtual reality.
In addition to this, you will further develop their academic and research skills through working on practice review, curatorial project, annotated bibliography and research proposal.
In year 4, you will situate and refine your practice through various contexts including an academic/artistic research, curatorial practice, and creative industries.
In addition to this, you will be encouraged to learn a range of body-based art makings including intermedia and immersive media to develop practical understandings and skills of the physical and virtual spaces. Further your specialism through portfolio development and independent projects.
This course also gives you the option of taking a language module, which can count towards your degree. These modules cover multiple languages and range from absolute beginner to near-native speaker level. The cost of your language module is included in the tuition fees. Find out more
Find out more about the structure, learning outcomes, compulsory and optional modules in this course.
As a graduate, your broad range of artistic and technological skills and experience will create a diverse range of career opportunities across fine art, illustration, media art, animation, moving image, theatre design, projection art, community arts and art education but also academic opportunities to pursue postgraduate studies.
£1,820 Cost of study per year (paid by the Scottish Government via SAAS*)
£9,250 Cost of study per year (for four years but you will not pay more than £27,750)
£9,250 Cost of study per year (for four years but you will not pay more than £27,750)
£14,500 Cost per year of study
£305 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,550 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,550 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£2,420 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,820 Cost of study per year (normally paid by the Scottish Government via SAAS)
£9,250 Cost of study per year (for four years but you will not pay more than £27,750)
£9,250 Cost of study per year (for four years but you will not pay more than £27,750)
£15,250 Cost per year of study
£305 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,550 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£1,550 Cost per 20-credit module of study
£2,540 Cost per 20-credit module of study
The cost of attending university is an investment in your future career.
In addition to tuition fees and living expenses, some courses involve extra costs like study materials, field trips, equipment and uniforms.
Fortunately, there is a great deal of financial support available to help students meet the cost of their study. This ranges from:
The sections below provide details of additional costs that your course may involve along with any financial support that may be available.
You can also find additional information in our Undergraduate Money, Fees & Funding section.
Students on certain degrees will incur some additional costs not covered by their tuition fees. These could be for things like specialist equipment, study materials and textbooks, work placements, graduation, membership of relevant organisations or costs related to carrying out fieldwork.
For students on course with an element of fieldwork, there may also be extra costs for travel and accommodation.
Note: The library will hold some copies of the textbooks but not enough for every student. Students can purchase second hand copies when possible or use older versions if advised by the module cordinator. Students can also sell their copies after the course. This helps manage the cost.
Art & drawing materials (Optional)
Students may require additional art-based materials for the Interim Exhibition. These costs are varied and dependent upon each the medium that each student works with.
Technology & equipment (Optional)
Each student is recommended to purchase a dedicated external hard drive for backing-up their work. The cost may vary, but typically, a 1TB Personal Hard Drive costs approx. £50
It is highly recommended that each student purchases a licenced copy of Adobe Creative Cloud (Student). This is approximately £25.28 per month.
Placement, field trips & study abroad (Mandatory)
The course often organises a number of mandatiory study trips per year. These are mainly to Glasgow city. These costs are variable and depend upon where you are travelling to/from.
Art & drawing materials (Optional)
Students may require additional art-based materials for the Interim Exhibition and Final Degree SHow. These costs are varied and dependent upon each the medium that each student works with.
Technology & equipment (Optional)
Each student is recommended to purchase a dedicated external hard drive for backing-up their work. The cost may vary, but typically, a 1TB Personal Hard Drive costs approx. £50
It is highly recommended that each student purchases a licenced copy of Adobe Creative Cloud (Student). This is approximately £25.28 per month.
Placement, field trips & study abroad (Mandatory)
The course often organises a number of mandatiory study trips per year. These are mainly to Glasgow city. These costs are variable and depend upon where you are travelling to/from.
Graduation fees (Mandatory)
These fees are set annually by the University and are subject to review. For session 19/20 these were set at £10 Registration Fee.
Tuition fees are calculated based on where you are from and what you are studying. Some courses also involve additional costs, such as mandatory field trips, equipment or studying abroad.
Find out how much it will cost you to study at UWS as an undergraduate student.
Scottish students studying at undergraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
English, Welsh and Northern Irish students studying at undergraduate level at UWS are entitled to various funds and support towards tuition fees and living costs.
EU students studying at undergraduate level of UWS may be eligible for SAAS funding, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
There are several scholarship and incentive schemes available to international students studying at undergraduate level at UWS, as well as support to meet the costs of childcare and various sources of additional funding.
UWS administer a range of discretionary and childcare funds. These are designed to support students who are experiencing financial difficulty or struggling to meet the costs of childcare.
Becoming a student can have an impact on your entitlement to certain benefits. It may mean you are no longer eligible to claim a benefit you have been receiving, or your new income from student funding may affect the amount you are able to receive.
If there isn’t a statutory source of funding for you or your course, or you are in need of additional financial support, you may wish to consider more alternative sources of funding such as trust funds and scholarships.
At UWS, we believe financial restrictions should never be a barrier to your education.
The WEST (Widening Education and Supporting Talent) Scholarship Programme aims to remove the financial barriers that stop talented students from progressing throughout their degree to graduation.
Choosing to become a student can have a big impact on your budget and you may need to reassess your spending to account for a reduced income. We’ve put together some guidance to help you manage your money and make the right financial choices for you and your family.
All UK and EU applicants for undergraduate study, not applying through an agent or partner, should apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service)
The on-time application deadline for 2023/24 entry is 25 January 2023, 18:00 (UK time). For some courses it may still be possible to apply beyond this period, subject to suitable vacancies remaining. The final deadline for late applications via UCAS is 30 June 2023, 18:00 (UK time). Beyond this deadline, you may be able to apply via 'UCAS Clearing' if the course you are interested in has remaining places.
Please refer to our Undergraduate Application Guide to find more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS.
Students from non-EU/non-EEA countries can apply directly to UWS via our dedicated online application system. The latest we can process your application is 6 weeks before the course start date to allow for visa processing times. For more information on when and how to apply to study at UWS please refer to our International Undergraduate Application Guide.
For part-time & online study, you should apply directly to the University through our online application system, not through UCAS. Please select the part-time mode of study when submitting your application. Before you begin your application, it is important to read the part-time application step-by-step guide for a smooth process.
To come to UWS as a visiting student on a study abroad or exchange programme, you must apply entirely through our online system.
An ATAS certificate is not required for overseas students applying for this course.
Do you have a question about applying for this course? Get in touch. We are here to help!
Going to university is about much more than getting a qualification, it’s also the chance to enjoy an exciting social life, gain some independence and make the most of the new opportunities available.
Discover More About UWSWe will always try to make sure that we publish accurate course information but we do not accept responsibility for any mistakes or omissions. We will also try to make sure that we deliver our courses in line with our published information. However, we may not always be able to do so and you can find further information about this in our enrolment terms and conditions.