Bachelor of Visual Arts

Our Bachelor of Visual Arts will set you up for an exciting and diverse range of creative professions. During your first year, you will study core art courses, methodology, and art history. You will then choose a studio discipline to develop your talent in your chosen passion. The eight studio disciplines include ceramics, electronic arts, jewellery and metalsmithing, print, photography, painting, sculpture and textiles.

Domestic

Duration
3 Years Full-time
Level
7
Credits
360
Fees
$8,658
*Approximate first year tuition fee – see Fees section for more info.
Delivery
On campus
Location
Dunedin
Intakes
February
July - Advanced Entry Only

International

Duration
3 Years Full-time
Level
7
Credits
360
Fees
$23,100
*Approximate first year tuition fee - see Fees section for more info.
Delivery
On campus
Location
Dunedin
Intakes
February
July - Advanced Entry Only

What You Study

You will study

In the first semester, you will gain experience in each of the studio disciplines listed below. This will be supported by visual arts courses in Studio Methodologies, and Art History and Theory that will introduce you to a range of key skills in art-making and research. In the second semester, you will extend your knowledge in two of these studio areas and continue with Art History and Theory. In the second year, you will specialise in a single studio subject, developing your core skills and techniques, experimenting widely and engaging with critical debates as you move towards more independent learning in your chosen area. You will also continue to study Art History and Theory, and Studio Methodologies. In your final year, you will extend your art practice into a sustained body of work for presentation in a public exhibition. The Studio Research and Professional Methodologies courses provide critical, historical and vocational contexts for the development of your studio project in your final year.

Specialist Studio Disciplines

Study Ceramics
We have the largest ceramics arts department in New Zealand with wood, salt, electric and gas kilns, electric wheels and online research facilities. You will benefit from an emphasis on hands-on experimentation in clay-making workshops which explore ceramics as a medium with its own language, skills and history.

Study Electronic Arts
Specialise in Electronic Arts, which inhabit a constantly shifting location in art and media practice. You may choose to explore 2D and 3D animation, film, installation, electronics, projection and online media and audio/video production. Through the study of contemporary practice, you will engage with media arts and reflect on their historical and contemporary position in the art world.

Study Jewellery and Metalsmithing
Develop your artistic eye and practical skills with the understanding that the fundamental reference for jewellery is the human body. Jewellery uses a visual language based on interaction, communication and contact, and may be expressive and intimate or aggressively provocative. Art, objects and adornment for the body use an unlimited palette from precious metal recycled materials. 

Study Painting
Here is an opportunity to develop your artwork so it is relevant to today's society and to national and international contemporary practice. That is the focus of this specialty, although you will also be encouraged to investigate painting movements and methodologies in recent centuries.

Study Photography
Gain a solid foundation in the practical and theoretical components of black and white, colour and alternative photographic processes. Use and explore a range of equipment and techniques in our well-designed facility. Understand the principles and history of photography as you study different photographic approaches, such as the antiquarian, formalist, documentary, fabricated or manipulated. 

Study Print
Our internationally-renowned Printmaking Department is well-established and is one of the leading departments of its kind in New Zealand. You will work and learn in its spacious studios and well-equipped workshops, designed to enable you to study and practice a comprehensive range of printmaking processes and related techniques. Experienced and award-winning staff members monitor these programmes, which help you research, explore and develop creative concepts.

Study Sculpture 

Develop a sculptural language through studio workshops focusing on drawing, form and spatial analysis. This department is equipped to international standards with separate workshops for wood, metal and plastics fabrication, a modelling and casting studio and specialist facilities for ceramic shell bronze casting, metal forging, vacuum forming and spray painting. 

Study Textiles
Major in textiles in a visual arts context, examining the value of cloth and its relationship to the body, different genders and classes, and material culture. The field of textile practice can encompass many approaches such as sculptural, 2D and site-specific artworks. We specialise in construction and a variety of print processes such as screen-print methodologies using pigment ink, dye, discharge and burnout applications, manual and digital embroidery and 3D sewing.

Qualification structure

Year one

Course

Level

Credit

Studio Methodologies 1

5

15

Art History and Theory 1

5

15

Introduction to Studio Practices 1

5

15

Introduction to Studio Practices 2

5

15

Studio Methodologies 2

5

15

Art History and Theory 2

5

15

Studio Practice 1

5

15

Studio Practice 2

5

15

Year One Total

 

120
Year two

Course

Level

Credits

Studio Methodologies 3

6

15

Art History and Theory 3

6

15

Studio Practice 3

6

45

Studio Practice 4

6

45

Year Two Total

 

120
Year three

Course

Level

Credits

Studio Research

7

15

Studio Practice 5

7

45

Studio Practice 6

7

45

Professional Methodologies

7

15

Year Three Total

 

120
Studio discipline areas

Studio

Level

Visual Arts Core Studio - Ceramics

5

Visual Arts Core Studio - Electronic Arts

5

Visual Arts Core Studio - Jewellery and Metalsmithing

5

Visual Arts Core Studio - Painting

5

Visual Arts Core Studio - Photography

5

Visual Arts Core Studio - Printmaking

5

Visual Arts Core Studio - Sculpture

5

Visual Arts Core Studio - Textiles

5

Programme specific risks

You will complete Health and Safety checklists for specific hazards in your courses. During your study, you will use a range of technical equipment and chemical substances. If you have known allergies or reactions to materials, please indicate these in your application.

Further study options

This programme perfectly prepares you for further learning and you may go on to study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Visual Arts, a Master of Fine Arts or a Master of Visual Arts.

Workload

Your workload

A full-time programme entails five full working days (or the equivalent) for 32 weeks. Studios are open for extended hours for senior students.

Entry

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

  • Five years completed at secondary school with successful art units and portfolio OR
  • NCEA Level 3
    • 14 credits at Level 3 in each of three NZQA approved university entrance subjects, and
    • 10 Literacy credits at Level 2 or above, made up of: 
      • 5 credits in reading and 5 credits in writing, and 
    • 10 Numeracy credits at Level 1 or above, made up of:
      • specified achievement standards available through a range of subjects OR
      • package of three numeracy unit standards (26623, 26626, 26627- all three required).
    • OR equivalent qualifications and experience.
  • Mature students with work and life experience are encouraged to apply.
  • All applicants must submit a portfolio (see further information in the Portfolio and writing requirements section below).
  • International students will be individually assessed to ensure they are ready for this study.
International requirements and equivalence

To enter Otago Polytechnic's undergraduate certificates, diplomas and degrees, you need to have achieved a secondary school qualification that is equivalent to New Zealand's NCEA levels (National Certificate of Educational Achievement).

This information is available by country on our Equivalent academic entry requirements page.

English Language requirements

If English is not your first language, you must provide:

If you need to improve your English Language skills, we offer a wide range of English programmes.

Portfolio and writing requirements

What to include in your portfolio
  • We require examples of your artwork and the ways that you develop your ideas. Your examples need to show us your working processes and your ability to use a range of materials.
  • If you have been working in the NCEA system, please send us twelve (12) examples of your finished works and of your working processes from your folders.
  • If you have not been working in the NCEA system, please send us six (6) examples of finished work and six (6) pages of sketches or workbook pages.
  • Please submit your portfolio digitally if you can. Please do not submit originals as we do not return application folders. 
  • If you have trouble submitting your portfolio digitally when you are applying online, please email ebsart@op.ac.nz

If you need to send us your portfolio in an A4 folder, please send it to: 

Dunedin School of Art
Otago Polytechnic
Riego Street
Private Bag 9010, Dunedin

Again, please don't send us originals. 

Thank you. We are looking forward to seeing your artwork.

Writing requirement

Please also include the following with your portfolio:

  1. An essay or written text (at least 300 words). You may include writing produced for any of your NCEA subjects or you may write a new piece on any topic of your choice.
  2. A double-spaced letter of not more than one page (300 words) explaining why you want to come to art school and what your experiences of art may have been to date. This may include all or some of the following:
    • Why art is important to you, the community and the wider world
    • Your expectations for your own future after your studies
    • Art galleries you may be familiar with
    • Artists whose work you may know
    • Art skills you may have already gained.

Please contact artoffice@op.ac.nz with any further questions.

Don't meet the entry requirements?

No problem. We have a couple of pathway programmes that will help you build the skills and degree-level portfolio you need to apply for the Bachelor of Visual Arts.

New Zealand Certificate in Arts and Design (Level 4) - starting in February every year 

  • Develop your research skills, learn about creative processes and materials, and create your own art and design projects. 

New Zealand Certificate in Creativity (Level 4) - starting in July every year

  • Across a series of hands-on projects, you'll build your creative skills and identify your strengths and the areas that you enjoy the most. Courses include jewellery, textiles, and product design.

By studying both of these Level 4 certificates, you'll have the well-rounded skills you need to undertake degree-level study. 

Want your existing skills recognised?

If you have extensive knowledge and skills due to practical experience in this area, please ask us about our recognition of prior learning process. You may have already gained credits towards this qualification and could achieve it in a shorter timeframe. Please email info@op.ac.nz or call 0800 762 786.

Fees

Domestic fees

First year
Standard
$8,658
Second year
Standard
$8,799
Third year
Standard
$8,839

International fees

First year
Standard
$23,100
Second year
Standard
$23,100
Third year
Standard
$23,100

Additional costs

The cost of materials, on top of those provided, vary according to individual projects. 

Multi-year fees

The tuition fees shown above are approximate only. There may be a slight fee increase per year once Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) rules and guidelines are applied. These fees also don’t include additional costs or living costs.

Get in touch

0800 762 786
International +64 3 477 3014
Email: info@op.ac.nz
https://www.op.ac.nz/programmes/nzqa/bachelor-of-visual-arts