Subject benchmark statements
Academic standards - Art and design

Honours benchmark statements index

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Contents

• Subject benchmark statements
• Art and design and history of art, architecture and design - Joint preface
• Art and design
  • Introduction
  • Defining principles
  • Nature and extent of subject
  • Knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills
  • Teaching, learning and assessment
  • Standards of achievement
  • Appendix 1 - membership of the benchmark group
  • Appendix 2 - consultation
• History of art, architecture and design
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • Relevance, history, and scope of the history of art, architecture and design
  • The aims of programmes in HAAD
  • Knowledge, skills and attributes
  • Teaching, learning and assessment
  • Standards and levels of achievement
  • Appendix 1 - Membership of the benchmark group

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Subject benchmark statements

Subject benchmark statements provide a means for the academic community to describe the nature and characteristics of programmes in a specific subject. They also represent general expectations about the standards for the award of qualifications at a given level and articulate the attributes and capabilities that those possessing such qualifications should be able to demonstrate.

This Subject benchmark statement, together with the others published concurrently, refers to the bachelors degree with honours.

Subject benchmark statements are used for a variety of purposes. Primarily, they are an important external source of reference for higher education institutions when new programmes are being designed and developed in a subject area. They provide general guidance for articulating the learning outcomes associated with the programme but are not a specification of a detailed curriculum in the subject. Benchmark statements provide for variety and flexibility in the design of programmes and encourage innovation within an agreed overall framework.

Subject benchmark statements also provide support to institutions in pursuit of internal quality assurance. They enable the learning outcomes specified for a particular programme to be reviewed and evaluated against agreed general expectations about standards.

Finally, Subject benchmark statements may be one of a number of external reference points that are drawn upon for the purposes of external review. Reviewers do not use Subject benchmark statements as a crude checklist for these purposes however. Rather, they are used in conjunction with the relevant programme specifications, the institution's own internal evaluation documentation, in order to enable reviewers to come to a rounded judgement based on a broad range of evidence.

The benchmarking of academic standards for this subject area has been undertaken by a group of subject specialists drawn from and acting on behalf of the subject community. The group's work was facilitated by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, which publishes and distributes this statement and other statements developed by similar subject-specific groups.

In due course, but not before July 2005, the statement will be revised to reflect developments in the subject and the experiences of institutions and others who are working with it. The Agency will initiate revision and, in collaboration with the subject community, will make arrangements for any necessary modifications to the statement.

This statement is © The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education 2002.

It may be reproduced by educational institutions solely for educational purposes, without permission. Excerpts may be reproduced for the purpose of research, private study, or review without permission, provided full acknowledgement is given to the subject benchmarking group for this subject area and to the copyright of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.

 

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Art and design and history of art, architecture and design

Joint preface

These Subject benchmark statements (statements) for art and design (A and D) and for the history of art, architecture and design (HAAD) have been compiled as separate and self-contained documents by the two benchmarking groups established to undertake this task. The two chairs maintained regular contact and the groups exchanged drafts to ensure that the statements would be complementary, and that neither would conflict with or contradict the other. Both groups are pleased to take this chance to thank their subject communities for the confidence that they have shown towards the drafters, and for the thoughtful and constructive suggestions they have made at every stage of the consultation process.

The two subjects have an historic and evolving relationship of separateness and togetherness which both statements acknowledge and respect. The subjects are separate in that HAAD is a subject area characterised by a concern with the historical and cultural role of artefacts once they have been made, and by the historical or other study of the processes of their making. In higher education, HAAD may be studied as a subject in its own right, as well as in combination with many other subjects, and as part of degree programmes such as history, area studies and communication, film and media studies. The primary aim of learning in A and D disciplines is to prepare students for professional, creative practice. Traditionally, it has also required some supporting study of the works of other practitioners past and present to enable students to acquire knowledge and understanding of the historical context of practice in their own discipline(s), as well as to support the development of some key skills. It is here that the important institutional and human links between the two subjects are strong and productive.

While closely linked by the fact that HAAD takes as its primary object of study the outcomes of practice in A and D, the two subjects are distinctly different in fundamental respects, and this is reflected in the nature of the subject knowledge, skills, and methods of teaching, learning and assessment. Standards are also based on fundamentally different precepts. Where the history of art, architecture and/or design is studied as a component of an A and D award, the former may be taught and assessed as a separate subject, as a discrete element of the A and D curriculum, or as one which is fully integrated with the main practice-based components. This diversity of practice was acknowledged by the QAA subject overview report for art and design, 1998 to 2000.

The A and D statement specifies that graduates in the subject will acquire knowledge and understanding of the critical and contextual dimensions of their discipline, master the communication and information skills, and develop the critical awareness required to learn and articulate their learning in this area. Neither of the two statements prescribe the content of the curriculum nor the form of delivery whereby this will be achieved, but leaves it to be determined at the level of the institution and the individual programme. When compiling their programme specifications, some course teams will find it sufficient to refer only to the A and D or only to the HAAD statement, while for others it will be entirely appropriate to refer to all or parts of both; this is likely to depend on whether the primary focus of the programme is broadly practical or broadly historical/cultural, or combinations of the two in, for example, joint and combined Honours.

 

Professor David Buss
Kent Institute of Art and Design (for A and D)

Dr Tom Gretton
University College London (for HAAD)

 

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Academic standards - Art and design

1 Introduction

1.1 This Subject benchmark statement (statement) recognises the richness and diversity of art and design higher education and the important and substantial contribution that graduates in this subject make to industry, commerce, culture and society.

1.2 The statement addresses undergraduate provision where art and design is the sole or major component of the final award. Currently, the term 'art and design' is used both within and outwith education to embrace a wide and diverse range of disciplines which are cognate with one another to varying degrees (section 3). For the purpose of clarity in this document, art and design is referred to as the 'subject', while the distinct areas of activity within the subject are referred to as 'disciplines'. These disciplines are in a state of continuous and dynamic evolution, a characteristic shared with the creative industries and visual cultures with which they have clear and fundamental ties. This breadth and diversity has demanded benchmarks that accommodate the wide and evolving spectrum of provision.

1.3 The objective is to establish a statement that provides institutions with the flexibility to place greater or less emphasis upon specific aspects within the overall requirements. The statement is deliberately couched in ways that permit interpretation in curricula terms at the local level of the specific discipline, thus allowing institutions to update and innovate in terms of programme design, content, delivery, and assessment.

1.4 A significant part of the current framework, central principles and traditions of art and design education can be traced back to major developments in the 19th century, when the performance and contribution made by the applied arts (design) to the commercial competitiveness of British industry was first recognised by the State. More recently, the National Advisory Council for Art Education (1960, 1962 and 1964), under the chairmanship of Sir William Coldstream, brought about major changes which laid the foundations for art and design higher education in its current form. The art and design sector has made a significant contribution to the higher education (HE) agenda in the United Kingdom and is a valued member of the HE community.

1.5 HE courses in art and design are currently provided by a range of institutions which include universities, institutes and colleges of higher education, specialist schools, colleges and institutes of art and design, and colleges of further education in partnership with HE institutions (HEIs). The majority of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland choose to undertake a preparatory and diagnostic course, such as foundation, national diploma or GNVQ, before progressing to the FE or HE programme of their choice. In Scotland the four-year degrees incorporate this experience. Other forms of access also exist through, for example, application direct from secondary education, access programmes, and accreditation of prior learning. The art and design sector has achieved an excellent record of widening access for many years, and continues to engage with initiatives in this area. This statement supports this diversity and pluralism of contexts.

1.6 Today, the undergraduate's learning experience will vary according to which art or design discipline(s), and in which institution, they have chosen to study. However, most courses commonly display many of the characteristics of learning and teaching that date back to Coldstream. Typically, programmes in art and design emphasise imagination, creativity and, where appropriate, craft skills, and are designed to develop students' intellectual powers and their ability to communicate. The student experience embraces both subject specific and generic knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills (section 4). Learning in art and design stimulates the development of an enquiring, analytical and creative approach, and encourages the acquisition of independent judgement and critical self-awareness. Most students work in studio environments supported by a wide range of workshops and other dedicated facilities. Commencing with the acquisition of an understanding of underlying principles and appropriate skills, students normally pursue a programme of staged development progressing to increasingly independent and personally focused learning.

1.7 New approaches to learning and to the form of the learning environment have been developed, both in response to the agenda for mass higher education, and to developments in teaching, learning and assessment in HE. Independent and peer group learning are considered to be valuable components of the student experience in these environments. These developments have also been driven by the changing nature of the disciplines and the advent of new disciplines which are creating alternative synergies and modes of practice.

1.8 The study of art and design as an academic and intellectual pursuit develops a range of cognitive abilities related to the aesthetic, the moral and the social contexts of human experience. The capacity to visualise the world from different perspectives is not only intrinsically worthwhile as a personal life-skill, but is also an essential part of the human condition. The engagement in the study of art and design is, therefore, a commitment to improving the quality of one's own and others' cultural experiences. The manifestation of these essential human capacities has always been through the production of artefacts, often for cultural consumption, thus the study of art and design has always provided a vocational outlet for creative endeavour. In a world that is becoming culturally more sophisticated and requires greater material output, the cognitive abilities and practical skills of artists and designers are in increasing demand.

1.9 The creative industries sector is expanding at a faster rate than that of the rest of the industrial and commercial economy in the UK. Increasing demand for visual communication in all of its manifestations, rapid developments in technology, and expanding public interest in the visual arts and media, all contribute to the demand for education in disciplines associated with these activities. Students studying full-time on degree courses in art and design account for approximately 6 per cent (60,000) of the total number of full-time undergraduates in the UK. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport reports on the creative industries (1998 and 2001) acknowledge the contribution that these disciplines make to the national culture and economy. Graduates in art and design disciplines have demonstrated that they are equipped with the appropriate skills and abilities to operate effectively in the marketplace. In particular, they display resourcefulness, entrepreneurial skills, and the capacity to establish new and innovative enterprises. Many are active as independent creative artists, designers or designer/makers, while some work in other fields where their attributes and skills are needed and valued.

 

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2 Defining principles

2.1 'Art and design' is the term widely used to embrace a complex, diverse and evolving constituency of disciplines which share important conceptual characteristics but which are differentiated in significant respects. Whilst it is the very nature of this difference which contributes to its richness as an area of study and practice, the different disciplines share numerous defining qualities.

2.2 Learning in art and design develops both an aesthetic sensibility and the capacity to be creative. The material outcomes of engagement with these characteristics are equally varied in art and in design, but both require the development of particular cognitive attributes. The role of imagination in the creative process is essential in developing the capacities to observe and visualise, in the identifying and solving of problems, and in the making of critical and reflective judgements. Whilst convergent forms of thinking, which involve rational and analytical skills, are developed in art and design, they are not the only conceptual skills within the repertoire employed by artists and designers. More divergent forms of thinking, which involve generating alternatives, and in which the notion of being 'correct' gives way to broader issues of value, are characteristic of the creative process.

2.3 The outcomes of the study and practice of art and design in higher education contribute to both the cultural development and the economic well-being of the individual and of society. In both cases, an understanding of the context of the practice is essential. In the former it enhances their intellect through critical awareness. In the latter, it provides knowledge of how an individual's practice relates to that of others which is the cornerstone of originality and personal expression. Without such knowledge an individual would not have any sense of the nature of their own creativity nor the culture in which it is set. Students also understand the broad vocational context within which their study sits and the range of professional practices that inform it such as: anticipating and responding to change, knowledge and application of business systems, public presentation of work, entrepreneurial skills and client/audience negotiation skills.

2.4 In learning about the contextual setting of their discipline(s), students also engage with the various related theories within historical, contemporary and cultural settings which inform that context. As a consequence, students develop their own critical disposition in relation to their discipline(s).

2.5 Active learning through project-based enquiry has always been a feature of the art and design curriculum in higher education. Through this approach students have been encouraged to develop both the capacity for independent learning and the ability to work with others. Students not only develop the ability to solve set problems in a creative way, but they also develop the ability to identify and to redefine problems, and to raise and address appropriate issues.

2.6 The outcomes of art and design practice almost always combine both the conceptual and the practical. Along with the development of their cognitive attributes when learning, students produce material outcomes which require the application of practical skills. Some of these skills may be appropriate only to specific contexts, whereas others have a generic or transferable applicability, often within a professional context.

2.7 Both artists and designers produce their work mindful of an audience and/or professional need. The principal forms of communication in these settings involve aesthetics and functionality through which visual presentation skills are developed. Students also develop verbal and written communication skills as a result of interaction with their peers and tutors, both formally and informally, and by using the standard formats of reports, journals, essays or dissertations in relation to assigned work, and to articulate and synthesise their knowledge and understanding.

 

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3 Nature and extent of subject

3.1 Art and design is a subject which embraces an overlapping and changing community of many disciplines. The terms 'practical art', 'ornamental art', 'arts and crafts', and the 'fine and applied arts' were widely used until the currently favoured designation 'art and design' became the preferred subject nomenclature in the latter half of the 20th century. The QAA Subject Overview Report 1998-2000 reported that 'Art and Design is characterised by the diversity of the range of specialisms and awards' and identified nine generic areas within art and design - fashion/textiles, fine art, graphic design, photography/film/television, three-dimensional design, general art and design, multidisciplinary, media production, and 'programmes which focus on a distinctive area of academic study or professional practice'. The UCAS Handbook lists at least 170 different course titles which appear to involve some aspect of the subject. The boundaries of art and design have become increasingly blurred, and many disciplines within the subject have become less singularly focused, increasingly generic or interdisciplinary. Such is the 'nature and extent of art and design'.

3.2 This erosion of traditional parameters, which were often based in part on differences in media and processes, has been fuelled by the significant impact of new media and technologies which are increasingly common across disciplines, replacing some of the traditional discipline-specific skills with skills of a more generic nature. The creative potential of many of the new technologies has prompted the advent of new disciplines within art and design, a development which can be expected to continue in tandem with further technological innovation.

3.3 Amongst the common characteristics shared by the broad range of disciplines which constitute art and design, are the conception, production, promotion and dissemination of the material outcomes which constitute our visual culture. These encompass artefacts intended for intellectual and aesthetic contemplation to functional products, systems and services. The processes from conception to dissemination employ a range of predominantly visual languages to articulate concepts and ideas in two and three dimensions, while in some disciplines, the time dimension, narrative, sound and interactivity are of equal importance. These are combined with the exercise of creative skills, imagination, vision, and - at the highest levels of achievement - innovation.

3.4 In the education of artists and designers, the constituent disciplines traditionally emphasised the development of visual literacy. Drawing ability was regarded as a prerequisite skill for observation, recording, analysis, speculation, development, visualisation, evaluation, and communication. Considerable importance was attached to the acquisition of technical skills in the use of discipline-specific materials and processes. Much of this remains true today, but the advent of new disciplines is challenging the previously accepted order. Nevertheless, the majority of students continue to pursue broad-based study in art and design, for example foundation or GNVQ courses, learning generic knowledge and skills in art and design prior to their specialist undergraduate study. Some disciplines require a knowledge and understanding of aspects of art and design but do not necessarily require the student to develop knowledge and skills in the production of creative outcomes. These include restoration and conservation; arts, museum and gallery management and administration; curation; design management; and publishing.

3.5 In the 20th century, a knowledge of the history of art and design was deemed essential for students primarily concerned with their own practice in an art or a design discipline. This component of their course was frequently taught and assessed as a separate subject. Many programmes continue to attach great importance to students' acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the historical development of their discipline(s). Latterly, institutions have explored a range of alternative ways to engage practitioners in the historical, theoretical and critical dimensions of their discipline(s). Other contextualising and theoretical constructs have been introduced into programmes of study alongside the historical to achieve the appropriate integration of practice and theory required to reinforce practitioners' critical and intellectual engagement with their subject. Many art and design programmes have also broadened their curriculum by the inclusion of, for example, business, marketing, modern languages and other professional contextualising subjects.

3.6 Many disciplines within art and design have been identified as major contributors to the creative industries, and this has led to national recognition of the wealth-creating and culture-enhancing achievements of art and design. Increasingly, graduates in art and design disciplines are finding employment in areas unrelated to the subject but which value and actively seek their creative abilities and skills.

3.7 While the art and design community does not subscribe to a universally accepted definition of 'art', there is a consensus that it is a creative endeavour which constantly speculates upon and challenges its own nature and purpose. Disciplines are being expanded through the use of newer media and technologies, particularly digital, lens and time-based media. This has been accompanied by an ongoing redefinition of art disciplines through shifting contemporary cultural attitudes.

3.8 The practice of art demands high levels of self-motivation, intellectual curiosity, speculative enquiry, imagination, and divergent thinking skills. Students learn to recognise the interactive relationship between materials, media and processes, between ideas and issues, and between producer, mediator and audience. Similarly, contemporary art practice demands the ability on the part of the artist to position the individual's practice within an appropriate critical discourse and contextual framework.

3.9 Many graduates continue their practice as artists, and support this through the sale of their work, commissions, grants and residencies, and/or other employment. Most find an application for their learning through, for example, teaching, community arts work, curating, arts management and administration, or within other areas of the creative industries including advertising, film and video production, software design, or as a self-employed artist or designer/maker.

3.10 Designers address practical and theoretical concerns through a broad spectrum of two-dimensional, three-dimensional and time-based media, materials and processes. Design is an activity of creative reasoning which is dependent upon flexibility of ideas and methodologies informed by an awareness of current critical debates. It ranges between the expressive and functional and can be, for example, stylistically driven or socially motivated. It is also an iterative process based upon evaluation and modification. Design is reliant upon constantly evolving dialogue and negotiation between the designer (working individually or within teams as proactive collaborator/mediator) and the client, manufacturer, audience, user, customer, participant or recipient.

3.11 At its core, design involves both analysis and synthesis, and is frequently solution-focused, culminating in the creation of design outcomes as prototypes, models or proposals. It is equally concerned with all aspects of material culture across a wide range of interrelated sub-disciplines. There is no single definition or methodological approach to the discipline, nor are there limitations in terms of interdisciplinary relationships. Design covers all aspects of decision making in relation to the aesthetic, operational, user, market, production and/or manufacturing characteristics of artefacts and systems. The increasing diversity of design education is reflected in a similarly wide variety of careers that graduates pursue in contexts which vary from research to education, management, the media, and the creative and cultural industries.

3.12 Within art and design, there are a number of significant disciplines which employ the practices and methodologies of both art and design. One important group of these disciplines, variously known as craft, applied arts, decorative arts or designer/makers, includes ceramics, glass, jewellery, metalwork, furniture and textiles. Other major disciplines which can embody characteristics of either or both art and design, include photography, film, media production, illustration and animation.

 

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4 Knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills

4.1 The principal aim of undergraduate education in art and design is to facilitate acquisition of appropriate knowledge and understanding, development of the necessary personal attributes, and mastery of the essential skills which will equip and prepare students for continuing personal development and professional practice.

4.2 The emphasis given to the following learning outcomes will vary according to the main discipline(s) studied and the aims of the specific programme, while individual levels of achievement of the learning outcomes will be reflected in the classification of the award. Typically, holders of an honours degree in an art and design discipline(s) will be able to:

• articulate and synthesise their knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills in effective ways in the contexts of creative practice, employment, further study, research and self-fulfilment;
• apply, consolidate and extend their learning in different contextual frameworks and situations, both within and beyond the field of art and design.

Higher education in art and design aims to develop both subject-specific and generic knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills.

4.3 Subject-specific knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills

These are considered to be fundamental to the study and practice of the student's chosen discipline(s). Many are also potentially transferable to other contexts. Typically, these will be evidenced in a body of work which demonstrates the graduate's ability to:

• generate ideas, concepts, proposals, solutions or arguments independently and/or collaboratively in response to set briefs and/or as self-initiated activity;
• employ both convergent and divergent thinking in the processes of observation, investigation, speculative enquiry, visualisation and/or making;
• select, test and make appropriate use of materials, processes and environments;
• develop ideas through to material outcomes, for example images, artefacts, products, systems and processes, or texts;
• manage and make appropriate use of the interaction between intention, process, outcome, context, and the methods of dissemination;
• apply resourcefulness and entrepreneurial skills to support their own practice, and/or the practice of others.

Graduates in art and design will have developed skills in communication and expression through visual and plastic forms and, typically, will be able to use visual languages to investigate, analyse, interpret, develop and articulate ideas and information. Their work will be informed by professional practice in their discipline(s), including:

• the critical and contextual dimensions of the student's discipline(s) in particular, and of art and design in general, for example the business, cultural, economic, environmental, ethical, global, historical, political, societal, and/or theoretical contexts;
• the artist's or designer's relationship with audiences, clients, markets, users, consumers, and/or participants;
• the implications and potential for their discipline(s) presented by the key developments in current and emerging media and technologies, and in interdisciplinary approaches to contemporary practice in art and design;
• the relationship between the aesthetic and utilitarian dimensions (form and function);
• the significance of the works of other practitioners.

An honours degree in an art and design discipline confirms that the holder has acquired relevant technical knowledge and practical skills, and will be able to:

• employ materials, media, techniques, methods, technologies and tools associated with the discipline(s) studied with skill and imagination whilst observing good working practices.

4.4 Generic knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills

These are normally integrated into the subject curriculum but are neither specific nor unique to art and design. They have applications in a wide range of contexts. Typically, holders of an honours degree in an art and design discipline(s) will have demonstrated:

4.4.1 Self-management - the ability to:

• study independently, set goals, manage their own workloads and meet deadlines;
• anticipate and accommodate change, and work within contexts of ambiguity, uncertainty, and unfamiliarity.

4.4.2 Critical awareness - the ability to:

• analyse information and experiences, formulate independent judgements, and articulate reasoned arguments through reflection, review and evaluation;
• formulate reasoned responses to the critical judgements of others;
• identify personal strengths and needs.

4.4.3 Interpersonal and social skills - the ability to:

• interact effectively with others, for example through collaboration, collective endeavour and negotiation.

4.4.4 Skills in communication and presentation - the ability to:

• articulate ideas and information comprehensibly in visual, oral and written forms;
• present ideas and work to audiences in a range of situations.

4.4.5 Information skills - the ability to:

• source, navigate, select, retrieve, evaluate, manipulate and manage information from a variety of sources;
• select and employ communication and information technologies.

 

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5 Teaching, learning and assessment

5.1 The teaching and learning environment of art and design

5.1.1 Art and design HE provision is characterised by the diversity of the range of disciplines available to students (see section 3) and employs a wide range of approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, based around an essential core of studio and workshop tuition. Drawing upon well-established contacts with the art and design-related industries in the UK and abroad, professional development is emphasised and practical studies are underpinned by business awareness. Curricula are directly informed and their currency maintained by the research, scholarly activity and professional practice of staff. Practising artists, designers and designer/makers, many of national and international repute, make valuable contributions as part-time and visiting tutors, and facilitate important links to professional and creative practice. Technicians and library/learning resources staff also make important contributions to the students' learning.

5.1.2 An appropriate range of well-equipped studios and workshops is necessary to provide a challenging and professional learning environment which usefully mirrors the context of professional practice. The dedicated studio-base rooms and individual workspaces that are typical of most providers of art and design HE, are highly valued by students and contribute substantially to their independence as learners. Access to high quality, capital intensive resources is equally valued. Integrated learning resource centres complement the specialist facilities of the studios and workshops.

5.1.3 The stated aims and the intended learning outcomes of specific programmes vary widely to reflect the diversity of provision, but some are generic and occur regularly, for example, the preparation of students for employment, self-employment or further study. Practical competencies, independent learning, personal initiative and self-initiated work are often incorporated into learning outcomes, as is the acquisition of contextual and professional understanding, and the development of critical and analytical thinking.

5.1.4 Art and design encompasses a variety of educational opportunities. Students can choose from a large number of programmes and modes of delivery that provide opportunities to follow focused single Honours routes or to opt for a broader learning experience by studying a combination of subjects, within or outside art and design, through joint and combined Honours programmes.

5.2 Curricula

5.2.1 Art and design curricula are designed to support individual development and creativity as artists, designers, communicators and craftspeople, as well as the progressive acquisition of independent learning skills. Curricula also provide progression at each level, through the sequence of units or projects and by the articulation of appropriate learning outcomes. Core components, prerequisites and academic guidance also contribute to programme coherence.

5.2.2 In most programmes, curricula are designed to encourage the development of intellectual maturity, curiosity, personal innovation, risk-taking, independent enquiry, and effective management and planning skills. Practice-based programmes also provide opportunities to develop technical skills, particularly in the new media and technologies, which have become essential elements in most areas of art and design, and the development of generic skills alongside students' subject-specific knowledge and skills. Theoretical, critical, historical and contextual elements of art and design are either integrated into practical projects or units, or are delivered through discrete but complementary units of study, which provide additional opportunities for the development of generic skills.

5.2.3 Art and design programmes encourage and prepare students to take increasing responsibility for the content and direction of their creative work, and require students to undertake significant and sustained periods of independent study. Typically, this takes the form of a major project and a dissertation presented in the latter stages of the programme. Practical achievements are evidenced through the assembling of a body of work (for example, a portfolio, CD, show-reel or website) which demonstrates the student's ability to engage with practice at a professional level.

5.2.4 Group projects engage art and design students in extending their creative abilities into the arena of collaboration and negotiation, employing inter-personal skills and working as members of teams, and developing their understanding of project management.

5.3 Teaching, learning and assessment methodologies

5.3.1 Studio-based activities are a significant feature of art and design education, providing loci for both individual and group tuition. Effective learning environments are engendered in studios, workshops, production units, and computing units, with staff and students sharing experiences as partners in the process of learning. Distinctive features of the subject include, for example, the use of projects as a vehicle for learning, and the group critique, where students present and discuss their work with their peers and tutors. These, together with the individual tutorials, promote reflective learning and the development of generic skills. Other teaching and learning methodologies include team-teaching, demonstrations, seminars and lectures, and peer-learning. Live projects, competitions, placements and student exchanges also provide vehicles for teaching and learning.

5.3.2 The development of students' independent learning skills is promoted through self-directed and self-initiated study, which may be formalised through individually-negotiated learning agreements.

5.3.3 Formative, summative and diagnostic assessment are regarded as positive learning tools and feedback from assessment offers students clear guidance with regard to future development. Assessment strategies support students' understanding of their learning processes and are designed to foster a deep approach to learning. Strategies also promote autonomous learning and self-evaluation as vital elements within the overall learning process. Self and peer evaluation constitute an important part of the formative assessment diet and, on occasion, of the formal summative assessment process. Assessment criteria accommodate the speculative enquiry common to most disciplines in art and design, and provide fair and accurate assessment of team work and individual contributions to the overall outcome of collaborative projects.

5.3.4 Feedback on assessed work is an important feature of students' learning. Art and design has a strong tradition of providing students with comprehensive oral feedback through tutorials and critiques, but written feedback has increasingly supplemented this predominantly oral tradition, reflecting the art and design community's awareness of good practice in teaching, learning and assessment. The providers of HE in art and design are sensitive to the needs of a wide range of students and have an excellent record in widening participation. Support systems at institutional and discipline levels identify student needs and provide relevant help and advice for both academic and pastoral matters. Research indicates that dyslexia is more prevalent amongst students of art and design than in other subjects, and most institutions have well-established support systems for this need.

 

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6 Standards of achievement

6.1 This section of the statement should be read in conjunction with section 4 which describes the learning outcomes that HE in art and design aims to facilitate. The best graduates will have accumulated a body of work that demonstrates excellence in most if not all areas of the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, the development of personal attributes, and the mastery of skills described in section 4. This section concentrates on the threshold standards, ie the minimum acceptable levels of achievement which students must demonstrate to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree in an art and design discipline(s).

6.2 These threshold standards are intentionally phrased in broad terms to provide scope for the variations in emphasis and interpretation that individual programmes will rightly wish to place upon them according to the nature of the discipline and their institutional mission and context. The standards are articulated as learning outcomes which provide a reference point that will enable the providers of undergraduate education in art and design to continue to develop diverse and innovative programmes.

6.3 Subject-specific knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills

• The student will have presented evidence which demonstrates some ability to generate ideas independently and/or collaboratively in response to set briefs and/or as self-initiated activity.
• This evidence will also demonstrate proficiency in observation, investigation, enquiry, visualisation and/or making.
• Ideas will have been developed through to outcomes which confirm the student's ability to select and use materials, processes and environments.
• The student will have made connections between intention, process, outcome, context, and methods of dissemination.

At the threshold level, a student's work will have been informed by aspects of professional practice in their discipline(s). This will be evidenced by some knowledge and understanding of:

• the broad critical and contextual dimensions of the student's discipline(s);
• the issues which arise from the artist's or designer's relationship with audiences, clients, markets, users, consumers, and/or participants;
• major developments in current and emerging media and technologies in their discipline(s);
• the significance of the work of other practitioners in their discipline(s).

At the lower end of the third class Honours classification, an Honours degree in art and design confirms that the holder has acquired technical knowledge and practical skills. The student will be able to use materials, media, techniques, methods, technologies and tools associated with the discipline(s) studied, and will be familiar with good working practices.

6.4 Generic knowledge and understanding, attributes and skills

At the threshold level, students will have demonstrated that they have some ability to:

• exercise self management skills in managing their workloads and meeting deadlines;
• accommodate change and uncertainty;
• analyse information and experiences, and formulate reasoned arguments;
• benefit from the critical judgements of others and recognise their personal strengths and needs;
• apply interpersonal and social skills to interact with others;
• communicate ideas and information in visual, oral and written forms;
• present ideas and work to their audiences;
• apply information skills to navigate, retrieve, and manage information from a variety of sources;
• select and employ communication and information technologies.

 

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Appendix 1

Membership of the benchmark group

Ms Glenda Brindle
University of Central Lancashire

Professor David Buss (chair)
Kent Institute of Art and Design

Mr Tim Coward
University of Wales Institute, Cardiff

Mr Allan Davies
Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design, London Institute, Royal College of Art and Wimbledon School of Art

Mr Anthony Dean
The Central School of Speech and Drama, London

Ms Linda Drew
Learning and Teaching Support Network for Art, Design and Communication, University of Brighton

Mr David Henderson
The Robert Gordon University

Professor Jamie Hobson
Southampton Institute

Ms Jill Journeaux
Coventry University

Professor Terence Kavanagh
Loughborough University

Ms Joyce Palmer
London Guildhall University

Ms Sue Tuckett
Norwich School of Art and Design

 

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Appendix 2

Consultation

During the preparation of these benchmark statements for art and design, the group consulted with the following organisations:

• Association of Courses in Theatre Design
• Association of Degree Courses in Fashion and Textile Design
• Association of Photography in HE
• Consortium of Arts and Design Institutions in South England (CADISE)
• Council for Higher Education in Art and Design (CHEAD)
• Design Council
• Design Education Association (DEED)
• Group for Learning in Art and Design (GLAD)
• Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)
• National Association for Fine Art Education (NAFAE)
• National Association of Jewellery and Silversmith Design Education
• National Association for Higher Education in the Moving Image (NAHEMI)
• National Association for Ceramics in Higher Education
• Association of Illustrators
• National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD)

The group also wishes to acknowledge the invaluable contributions made by the many individuals and institutions who provided comment and feedback on the earlier drafts of the statement.

 

The group also referred to a number of publications, including in particular:

• The framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (QAA);
• subject review reports for art and design in England and Northern Ireland (QAA);
• Subject Overview Report, Art and Design 1998-2000 (QAA);
• Performance Indicators in Higher Education. HEFCE Report 00/40;
• Destinations and Reflections: Careers of British art, craft and design graduates 1999.

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History of art, architecture and design

Preface

1 Constitution and workings of the group

In spring 2000 the QAA approached three subject associations: the Association of Art Historians (AAH), the Design History Society (DHS), and the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB), to nominate people who might serve on a drafting group to write a Subject benchmark statement for the art and design unit of review, to which degree programmes in the history of art, architecture and design, and related programmes, had been assigned. Given the range of courses on offer in art and design (A and D) and in history of art, architecture and design (HAAD), the three subject associations and the providers of programmes in A and D represented by CHEAD (Council for Higher Education in Art and Design), reached an agreement with the QAA that there would be two distinct statements under one cover; that the official name of the unit of review would be changed to 'art and design and history of art, architecture and design', and that the HAAD benchmark statement would have the same status as, rather than being subsidiary to, the A and D benchmark statement.

Nominations for membership of the HAAD team were received by the QAA, and a group with 10 members was constituted, which covered a range of subject associations, institution types, course types, geographical areas, target student groups, and 'period' specialisations. The group has met face-to-face three times, and its members have exchanged views and formulations by email and on paper. Both a preliminary draft was posted to the web by the subject associations named above, and the draft published for consultation by the QAA elicited helpful feedback, for which the benchmark group here returns its thanks. The results of the subsequent discussions and responses have, as appropriate, been incorporated into this definitive version. At the end of this statement is to be found a list of the contributing members of the drafting group.

2 The HAAD benchmark and A&D programmes

The relationship between A and D and HAAD is complex. Historical study of an area of human activity is essentially different from the development of the skills and understanding of a practitioner. Furthermore, the various forms of historical, critical and anthropological enquiry bundled together under HAAD are not necessarily either common to all those subjects or distinct from those in other subjects that have been benchmarked.

On the other hand there are good reasons for the A and D and HAAD to find themselves in some formal association in the QAA's processes. First, many HAAD teaching staff have considerable responsibility for teaching and learning on A and D courses. Second, the subjects grouped under HAAD have not only fostered traditions of enquiry in the general area of intellectual history and critical theory, but they have also nurtured a strong commitment to understanding the production and consumption of objects as material practices. Third, over the last 30 years, A and D courses have, with very few exceptions, made the theoretical and historical study of art and design a substantial mandatory part of the curriculum leading to the award of an Honours degree.

In the light of this last factor, there may be an expectation that the HAAD statement will also benchmark the critical and contextual element of Honours degrees in A and D. It does not do so; under the QAA's methodology it could not do so. Modularised A and D programmes no longer necessarily include a certain proportion of historical and contextual study, as is clear from the draft benchmark statement in A and D. However, HAAD offers robust, successful, and relevant models for the historical, theoretical and contextual dimension of Honours degree programmes in A and D. It is the hope of this drafting group that course teams writing programme specifications for A and D may find it useful to consult the HAAD benchmark, (section 3 of the statement may be particularly relevant). We are however aware that some course teams will look only to the A and D benchmark, and that others may look to different statements, such as that in communication and media studies.

3 Conclusion

As we say in the statement, we have no desire to specify what HAAD is in such a way that it outlaws any established degree provision in the area, or makes the path difficult for innovative provision responding to new needs and challenges. We hope that we have produced a document that will be interpreted so as to support the range of dynamic and stimulating programmes which are on offer in HAAD, and to justify inventive and apt additions to that range.

Tom Gretton
for the Collective
February 2002

(t.gretton@ucl.ac.uk)

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Academic standards - History of art, architecture and design

1 Introduction

1.1 This document seeks to make explicit the nature and standards of undergraduate Honours degree programmes which have 'history of art', 'history of design', 'history of architecture' or 'history of film' in their title, or which, under other titles, include a substantial element of the sort of study which is benchmarked here. This document provides guidance, not a template that might be used to prescribe or proscribe any particular Honours degree programme or component. Several higher education institutions (HEIs) offer programmes in visual culture; it is expected that these, along with programmes that name the theoretical as well as the historical study of art, architecture, design, and film in their titles, may refer to this statement for the purposes of programme specification.

1.2 The history of art, architecture and design (HAAD) is a diverse and dynamic group of subjects, both in terms of the objects studied, and of the methods and goals of study. As well as in named degrees, disciplines that make up this group of subjects are taught as part of a wide variety of programmes. In some form, HAAD continues to be an integral component of most degrees in the area of art, design, architecture and film and media studies, while programmes in many other single subject degrees, as well as degrees in area studies and general humanities degrees, may include components or modules in HAAD. Despite this wide and flexible scope, some distinctions are fundamental: HAAD is qualitatively different in its approach from practice-based subjects in art and design on the one hand and from solely text-based humanities subjects on the other.

1.3 In all programmes and components, HAAD is distinguished by a concern with visual and material culture in both the past and the present. No single word or phrase neatly encapsulates all the objects and concepts that programmes in HAAD may address. Programmes may be concerned with a very wide range of entities; with everyday objects, images and environments, with works of art, and with a range of artefacts not made as 'art objects' but which have come to be considered as such. The concept of 'art' is widely understood within the subject areas to be contested and historically contingent, and in any case not to be an appropriate categorisation for many of our objects of study. Most programmes are concerned primarily with visual culture; that is, with the historical study of artefacts that communicate meaning and value through being looked at. Though the primary focus of HAAD is the range of things which have been designed to be seen, those working in the area also pay attention to other sensible aspects of the artefacts with which they are concerned, in particular their tactile and audible qualities. For the sake of convenience, we refer to the range of objects, projects and performances studied as 'artefacts' in this document. When this statement refers to 'objects', it indicates both the more or less material artefacts produced and consumed in the processes of culture, and the cognitive notion of 'the object of study', which may be wholly an intellectual construct
(for example: modernism, the Renaissance).

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2 Relevance, history, and scope of the history of art, architecture and design

2.1 HAAD equips its students to address issues of fundamental historical and contemporary importance.
It enables them to engage thoughtfully with key aspects of the contemporary world: the range of processes, institutions and technologies that rely on and produce visual culture. HAAD also enhances students' capacities for critical awareness and informed pleasure in relation to the range of artefacts that they may encounter. Through a study of the material culture of the recent or distant past, its urban and landscape forms, architecture, monuments, images, treasures, displays and consumer goods, students develop the critical expertise and resources demanded of a responsible citizen in a world that is both increasingly globalised and increasingly sensitive to the politics of cultural diversity and difference. HAAD provides a unique perspective on issues of identity, and on the making and sustaining of underlying cultural values across a very wide range of geographical and historical contexts.

2.2 In the United Kingdom, scholarly and educational interest in design history, architectural history and art history long precedes their formal establishment as taught subjects in colleges and universities. From the early nineteenth to the middle of the twentieth century, 'professional' scholarship in this group of subjects was conducted largely in a wide variety of university, municipal and national museums. Scholarship in these contexts was characterised by an interest in the description and classification of material objects, by a concern with artefacts from a global range of cultures, and by a widely shared remit to support teaching, both in the national system of schools of design and elsewhere. HAAD also formed part of a range of university and art school curricula as an aspect of the training of artists, architects and designers, and as part of programmes in other humanities disciplines.

2.3 HAAD has emerged as a set of fields of study housed in distinct departments and institutes in UK HEIs only in the last 70 years, with, for example, the foundation of the Courtauld and Warburg Institutes of London University in the 1930s, and of the first taught (postgraduate) programmes in the 1950s. The intellectual lineage of HAAD draws substantially on at least six strands, which may be broadly characterised as: first, an antiquarian interest in the description, classification and preservation of artefacts; second, an interest in monographic study of artists and designers; third, an interest in the place of art, architecture and design in the development of national cultures, and in the constitution and reproduction of other cultural identities through time and geographically; fourth, an interest in the history of the making of works of art, architecture and design as both a material and a theoretical practice; fifth, an interest in the processes and goals of critical appreciation and judgement of works of art, architecture and design, and sixth, an interest in the links between those activities and the aesthetic, both as a set of philosophical theories and as an evolving mode of apprehension.

2.4 This has proved to be a rich legacy. The group of subjects became more widely studied as a result of the expansion of higher education in the 1960s. The Coldstream Report (1960) ensured that some form of historical and contextual study would make up around one fifth of the curriculum of students taking degree level qualifications in fine art and related areas (including design), so that when civic art schools were absorbed into polytechnics, they inherited teachers and researchers in the linked areas of art and design history. These staff continued to develop critical and contextual studies for art and design programmes and, from the 1970s, set up Honours programmes with a focus on the history of design and film in several HEIs. These relatively new academic areas, combined with programmes in HAAD established in the then-New-University sector in the 1960s, provided a substantial curriculum and research base with excellent links to museums and galleries. The group of subjects discussed in this statement has continued to grow and change, taking in further objects of study, and aligning itself with professional interests, such as museology and heritage studies. The history of design, film, photography, textiles and dress, museology and heritage studies have developed distinct identities in some institutional settings, and practitioners and programmes make teaching and research links with a wide and changing range of other disciplines. By 1995-97 the number of institutions offering Honours programmes assessed by the QAA under HAAD for England and Northern Ireland was 44, with four in Scotland and two in Wales. More than 4,000 students in all were taking degrees of which the subject(s) form a named part. The current position is similar; recent years have seen some increase in the number of places offered in the subject area.

2.5 This group of subjects continues to flourish and evolve. HAAD is characterised by its adaptive openness to new methodologies and concerns; over the last generation its objects and methods of study have diversified in response, for example, to the emergence of new strands in critical theory, to issues of sexuality, cultural diversity, gender, class and religion, and to understandings of subjectivity rooted in post-Freudian psychoanalysis. HAAD has seen the emergence of increased interest in the study of the institutions which support and promote the production and collection of artefacts, in response to the rapid growth of 'heritage culture'. It has also seen increased interest in the scientific and technical analysis of works of art and the cognitive analysis of aesthetic response. HAAD is coming to terms with those critiques of an established canon which take their force from post-colonial theory, and developing an awareness of autonomous historical traditions of reflection on the visual and material cultures to be found in different parts of the world.

2.6 HAAD works with many sorts of artefacts and addresses a wide and constantly evolving range of objects of study. They may include buildings and the built environment, gardens, designed objects, whether industrially produced or individually crafted, drawings (including design drawings), paintings, photographs, prints, posters and other forms of graphic design, sculptures, clothes and textiles, and many other sorts of artefact, both individually and in combination as display or performance. HAAD addresses both luxury and everyday artefacts, and objects and projects whether realised, ephemeral or unrealised. Recently, HAAD has also addressed the wide sphere of visual culture, expanding its objects of study to film, video and other time-based media and performance, as well as electronic images. Programmes in HAAD also study people and groups of people; for example, artists, designers, inventors, patrons and craftspersons, dealers and collectors, people in manufacturing, advertising and marketing, critics and curators, users and viewers, and others involved in any of the stages of producing and consuming artefacts, and in establishing value. They also study the institutions in which such people participate. The potential geographical and temporal range of HAAD is wide. Many programmes concentrate on artefacts from a broadly 'European' tradition; however, increasing numbers of subject groups, departments and specialist institutions address objects of study from a diversity of cultural traditions. There is a growing focus on the culturally diverse nature of both historical and contemporary societies. Some programmes address artefacts from periods which predate the invention of writing, some concentrate on works produced during the last century. Although the range is wide, the focus in some respects is close: programmes in HAAD place great importance on the observation of artefacts at first hand. Thus programmes make use of local visual resources of all kinds. Group study visits to examine relevant sites and collections further afield may also be entailed.

2.7 Programmes in HAAD attract students from a wide range of academic backgrounds. Some come with A-level art history, some after an art and design foundation course, and some with neither art nor history among their 18+ qualifications; mature students returning to learning form another significant group. While the qualifications that they will gain are directly relevant to many fields of employment, many students take up the subjects in this area because they are drawn to them by well-founded expectations of intellectual excitement, cultural stimulation and visual pleasure.

2.8 Graduates in this group of subjects command a range of the generic skills that are fostered by a training in critical analysis, together with those developed by a grounding in historical investigation. They are moreover equipped with subject-specific skills, including 'visual literacy' and a confidence in engaging with both abstract and material objects of study, skills increasingly relevant in the contemporary world. They are particularly well-equipped to take up careers in arts and heritage management, in galleries and museums and archives, in journalism and the media, in publishing, and in a wide range of positions in and around the creative arts and industries. Many go on to graduate study, either in the subject area or to pursue further professional development.

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3 The aims of programmes in HAAD

3.1 In general, programmes in HAAD are concerned with the production, circulation and reception of meanings and values in history. They examine the ways that these have been mediated by artefacts, and the way that these artefacts have actually been used. Students may consider artefacts broadly from four points of view: as things which have been made, as things which have been designed, as things which carry meaning and value, and as things the understanding of which is enriched by contextual study; these points of view are mutually reinforcing.

3.2 Within this broad characterisation, HAAD has distinctive cognitive and investigative concerns, which require students both to attend to the specific material features of artefacts, and to engage with objects of study which are immaterial, abstract or generalised. These cognitive concerns include:

3.2.1 Time depth

HAAD is a historical study. Change and continuity may be studied over a range of durations and themes; patterns of change and continuity can be identified by the study of more than one culture area. These concerns ally HAAD closely with the methods and ambitions of history: it shares and endorses history's critical concerns with the evaluation of archival, literary and other forms of evidence. In addition, HAAD develops specific competence in the identification, evaluation and deployment of visual evidence in historical arguments and narratives.

3.2.2 Production and consumption

HAAD is often understood to concentrate on what artists and designers did, and on why they did it: on influence, inspiration and creativity. However, it is concerned both with the cultural and personal conditions which shape the production, use and valuing of artefacts in the societies for which they were made, and also with the ways in which such artefacts have been subsequently interpreted and treated. When HAAD considers the production of artefacts, it considers them both as things which are made (that is, as things which have a distinctive material form, dependent on materials and techniques that must be understood historically), and as things which have been designed (that is, that have been shaped through the working out of specific formal and functional agendas by men and women living at particular historical moments). However, the artefacts studied in the subject area have been historically instrumental not because of their life in the mind of their designers, or their passage through a workshop, but because they have met needs as objects of consumption and of other forms of appropriation. This leads HAAD to the study, for example, of patronage, of collecting, of the everyday use of designed objects, of the evolution of the 'built environment' as well as to the study of critical, theoretical and art-historical writing on art, architecture and design.

3.2.3 Artefacts and signification

HAAD considers artefacts to support meaning in a range of ways. Groups of artefacts may for example be meaningfully connected through their iconographic, stylistic or generic features. HAAD is also concerned with the way that artefacts form part of wider signifying systems, for example in their connections beyond the field of visual culture to literature or religion, to medical, scientific, economic, social or philosophical discourses, or to other shared beliefs or behaviours.

3.2.4 Artefacts and values

HAAD seeks not only to explain meaning, but also to engage critically with, and understand, value as it has been understood in cultures. This involves attention to the aesthetic qualities of artefacts. Such critical engagement promotes reasoned and accountable enjoyment of visual experience. Thus HAAD engages with the logics of cultural hierarchy and difference. Whether it concentrates on works of art, or looks at 'everyday' forms, it is concerned to explore the relationship between the sensible qualities of artefacts and their position in systems of cultural value.

3.2.5 Visible objects and visual literacy

Programmes in HAAD are characterised by the training which they offer in close, informed and rigorous looking at artefacts and in other forms of sensory attention to objects or performances. This training might take the form of descriptive work, formal or iconographic analysis, or systematic examination for the purposes of cataloguing or conservation. This training inculcates competencies which are often called 'visual literacy'.

3.3. The distinct origins and contexts of the disciplines within HAAD help to provide the subject area with its creative energy and dynamic character; this comes also from continued controversy over the role and status of 'art' in contemporary societies both now and in the past, and over the relationship of visual culture to other structures of power and meaning. Many programmes deliberately emphasise the diversity of methods which are put to use in HAAD as a result of its lineage and its current functions, and few will omit altogether some basic orientation in the 'methods and approaches' necessary to any useful engagement with the subjects in this area. Where such topics form a substantial part of a programme, they will enable students to understand better the limits and ambiguity, and the constructed nature, of the discipline with which they are engaged.

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4 Knowledge, skills and attributes

4.1 Teaching and research in the subjects within HAAD are distinctively interdisciplinary. The group of subjects continually develops its relationships with other disciplines, and is responsive to a wide range of innovative methodologies in the construction of new areas of knowledge. It follows that the range of skills and attributes which graduates in the subject area acquire will also be various and evolving. Honours programmes in HAAD address themes and issues which might require from a student, for example, a developed ability to look closely and productively at artefacts as material objects, competence in formal analysis and evaluation, or competence in historical understanding (with a particular emphasis on the analysis and interpretation of primary sources). They might also require an ability to develop and apply a critical understanding of artefacts as carriers of meaning and value in complex cultures. Professionals in HAAD inevitably concentrate their expertise within a sub-set of such demands; we expect students to do the same.

4.2 Subject-based knowledge and understanding

Depending on the focus of their programme, and the formation of their own cognitive style, students
should acquire:

4.2.1 a broad and comparative knowledge and understanding of aspects of the culture of more than one geographical region and/or chronological period;

4.2.2 a more concentrated knowledge and understanding of one or more periods and places;

4.2.3 a knowledge and understanding of the processes through which artefacts are designed and constructed in the cultures studied;

4.2.4 familiarity with some substantive areas of current research in the field addressed by the degree programme;

4.2.5 an ability to engage with the concepts, values and debates that inform study and practice in the field addressed by the degree programme, including an awareness of the limitations and partiality of all historical knowledge;

4.2.6 a knowledge of the development of the field addressed by the degree programme, and of its key intellectual tools.

4.3 Subject-specific skills and abilities

The attributes which characterise graduates in HAAD derive principally from the combination of visual, critical and historical abilities particular to this group of subjects. They include:

4.3.1 Visual and critical skills

Students develop skills in the following areas:

a observation: close and systematic visual examination, informed by appropriate knowledge of materials, techniques and cultural contexts;

b description: recording and describing such artefacts with clarity and precision, using ordinary and specialist language as appropriate to the topic and the intended audience, and with consideration for the differences between the visual and the verbal;

c interpretation: the ability to:

• set the artefacts studied within appropriate historical, intellectual, cultural and institutional contexts;
• draw upon personal responses to artefacts while recognising how these should be distinguished from other relevant meanings;
• develop arguments concerning production processes, and concerning formal and functional ambitions and effects from close observation of artefacts;
• relate the processes of making artefacts to their cultural functions;
• understand the role of artefacts as carriers of meaning and value;
• identify and analyse the development of and interrelation between forms and genres.

4.3.2 Historical skills

The ability to:

a use appropriate methodologies for locating, assessing and interpreting primary sources;

b select relevant evidence from the wide range of types of evidence used in the subject area, and to apply it to the examination of historical issues and problems;

c produce logical and structured narratives and arguments supported by relevant evidence;

d marshal and appraise critically other people's arguments and to argue on the basis of familiarity both with relevant evidence and with specialist literature.

4.4 Generic intellectual and personal attributes

In addition to specific abilities necessarily developed in a subject area which deals with visual culture in a historical way, and which requires the development of the ability to express in written language both the description and the analysis of artefacts, and to build these into coherent and persuasive texts, HAAD provides opportunities and incentives for students to develop the following skills and attributes. We do not expect any student to have them all in equal measure:

4.4.1 Cognitive skills

a analysis: the ability to break down an argument, a task or a body of evidence, and deal effectively with its component parts;

b synthesis: the ability to bring evidence or ideas of different sorts or from different sources together in a productive way;

c summarisation: the ability to identify and present the key elements of an argument or a demonstration;

d critical judgement: the ability to discriminate between alternative arguments and approaches;

e problem-solving: the ability to apply knowledge and experience so as to make appropriate decisions in complex and incompletely charted contexts.

4.4.2 Research skills

a the capacity for critical, effective and testable information retrieval and organisation;

b the ability to design and carry out a research project with limited tutorial guidance.

4.4.3 Communication skills

a the ability to communicate information, arguments and ideas cogently and effectively within a range of discourses as appropriate to particular audiences, and in written, spoken or other form using appropriate visual aids and IT resources;

b the ability to listen effectively, and thus to participate constructively in discussion;

c in addition to the generic communication skills to be expected of all humanities students, HAAD graduates will have demonstrated particular abilities in the deployment of visual material in conjunction with written, oral and other forms of communication, such as illustrated essays and seminars, slide, moving image or multimedia presentations.

4.4.4 Open-mindedness

a the ability to be open and receptive to new things and ideas;

b the ability to identify the merits of unfamiliar arguments or cultural artefacts and the merits or shortcomings of familiar ones;

c the ability to appreciate and evaluate divergent points of view and to communicate their qualities.

4.4.5 Diligence

The ability to undertake and complete set tasks, whether routine and familiar or requiring the acquisition and application of new skills.

4.4.6 Autonomy

a the ability to develop an independent argument that is informed by but not dependent on authorities in the subject area;

b the ability to define one's own brief, and to formulate arguments that effectively structure relevant information.

4.4.7 Teamwork

The ability to work constructively and productively in groups.

4.4.8 Time management and personal initiative

a the ability to work to briefs and deadlines, including managing concurrent projects;

b the ability to take responsibility for one's own work;

c the ability to reflect on one's own learning, and to make constructive use of feedback;

d the ability to take shared responsibility for one's own programme of studies.

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5 Teaching, learning and assessment

5.1 Introduction

The strategies for teaching learning and assessment in HAAD, and the learning environments created by different providers will vary depending on the content of the curricula offered, the mission and policies of the institution as they relate to the student profile, and the extent of engagement of different providers with national and international debates about pedagogy in the subject area. There will be a variety of teaching and assessment methods, including those forms common to all disciplines in the humanities, and others that are specific to the subject area. Strategies will encourage and support the autonomy, confidence and independence of the learner. Providers will generally be concerned with, and interested in, effective new approaches to teaching and learning in the subject area, and in learning supported by communication and information technologies, especially for the display, analysis and manipulation of still and moving images.

5.1.1 Staff engaged in research and scholarly activity in the subject play a major part in the delivery of all HAAD programmes; interaction between teaching and research makes a central and indispensable contribution to the dynamism of these disciplines. The character of teaching and learning reflects the research base of curricula, introducing diversity and an experimental character to programmes. In many the dynamic interaction with local collections, through research partnerships with external organisations, provides special opportunities for students. Such connections may also be forged at national and international level and should enrich the curriculum.

5.1.2 Students taking degrees in HAAD should be taught within an environment conducive to learning, which is intellectually stimulating, and which embraces intellectual diversity. There should be access to relevant and recent published literature, IT facilities, appropriate primary sources and (for conservation courses) access to appropriate artefacts and to properly equipped and staffed laboratories and studios. The study of artefacts at first and second hand is fundamental to teaching and learning in the subject area. Access to primary sources may be via teaching collections, institutional collections, local gallery collections, or the local built environment; students will generally be expected to undertake organised or independent study visits further afield. Students should have access to current and emerging audio-visual resources as appropriate. The range of such resources currently includes slides, video, specialised CD-roms, DVD or digital collections such as Digital National Electronic Resources.

5.1.3 Handbooks and Guides

Students should be provided with appropriate documentation for their programme of study and for each component within it, including clear learning objectives. The programme documentation should include information about the criteria by which performance will be assessed, details of the support for learning, and information about the context of study including, where appropriate, instructions on health and safety and ethical and professional practice issues.

5.1.4 Students should be provided with an appropriate range of self-guided student-centred learning resources; these may include paper-based materials, study collections of artefacts, and virtual learning environments.

5.2 Learning and teaching methods

The principal learning and teaching methods that an HAAD student may experience will depend on the aims and objectives of the programme. Though what follows is not an exhaustive list, and further diversification in teaching and learning methods is to be expected, programmes are likely to include an appropriate selection of the following:

5.2.1 lectures: which will often be supported by artefacts and still or moving images, to inform and also to motivate by capturing interest and exciting curiosity;

5.2.2 seminars: that provide the context for group work, small-group discussions and team-based exercises;

5.2.3 student presentations, which provide opportunity for oral communication and argument;

5.2.4 tutorials and supervisions for structured regular contact with tutors and supervisors;

5.2.5 directed reading within the specialist literature of the subject area, and in related subjects;

5.2.6 student-directed reading of the exploratory and speculative kind, both within and outwith the immediate subject area;

5.2.7 study visits to appropriate locations for direct experience and in situ discussion according to the focus of the programme;

5.2.8 moving image presentations, to provide experience of the object of study or supply evidence for interpretation;

5.2.9 object-based work, including demonstrations, artefact handling and identification work, and practical exercises and science-based experiments;

5.2.10 placement or workplace experience;

5.2.11 where HAAD constitutes more than half of a degree programme, students will normally undertake some form of independent research work in the subject, often in the form of a personal research project assessed by a dissertation presented in the later stages of the programme.

5.3 Progression

5.3.1 Honours level studies in HAAD may be understood as a framework within which the student exercises considerable autonomy, and where study methods are developed and sustained largely by students themselves as they take responsibility for their own learning. For most students, this contrasts with the more closely supported, and task-orientated, environment of pre-university studies. The journey, however, will be different for every student, depending on personal qualities and prior experience.

5.3.2 Entrants to HAAD degrees demonstrate a particularly rich mixture of existing knowledge, abilities and qualifications. Programmes may support individual development in a variety of ways, including the formal recognition of prior learning and experience, the design of courses to enable the acquisition of appropriate study skills, and guided opportunities for choice within the curriculum. In this context, progression may be demonstrated by students' general maturity of scholarship rather than by a particular sequence of competencies.

5.3.3 However, in recognition of the fact that many students will have little or no prior experience of academic study in the subject area, the early stages of most programmes are designed to foster the skills and understanding necessary for more advanced studies. Initial courses may for instance introduce disciplinary debates and methodologies, involve focused study of restricted groups of artefacts, and are likely to pay particular attention to the development of visual awareness and analytic skills.

5.3.4 The majority of programmes use systems of optional courses, at least in later stages, enabling students to study a chosen range of themes, periods or genres, alongside a core of courses that extends the knowledge base and the understanding of the principles and methodologies which underlie the study of HAAD. Appropriate guidance, and rules governing prerequisites and combinations, ensure the adequacy of the programme of study to meet the developmental and intellectual needs of the student, whether the programme leads to a single Honours, joint Honours or combined award.

5.3.5 Subject matter may be presented in non-sequential ways; it is for individual programmes to articulate appropriate principles of progression and make clear how the curriculum design promotes increasing maturity in the integration of theory, practice and specialist knowledge.

5.4 Assessment

5.4.1 The assessment strategy for programmes in HAAD should clearly and explicitly relate to the learning outcomes of the course components, support student learning, and enable students to demonstrate progression in their attainments. The strategy should enable students to demonstrate the variety of abilities and skills developed during their programme, with assessments appropriate to the styles of learning and teaching developed by particular course components.

5.4.2 Programmes should normally include a variety of assessment methods in line with an explicit assessment strategy. Assessments should cover the knowledge, abilities and skills developed through the degree programme. Coursework, including student presentations where appropriate, may contribute to summative assessment, or be used to develop research and presentation skills, with formative assessment and feedback being provided by the tutor. Assessment procedures should be fair, transparent, and externally moderated. The system of external examiners should be effectively used to ensure the comparability of standards.

5.4.3 Modes of assessment will be appropriately matched to intended learning outcomes. The following list provides a general indication of the range of current practice and is not intended to be a specific checklist against which to measure individual programmes. Peer or self-assessment may be appropriate modes for some of these tasks under some circumstances; some forms of assessment may derive from negotiated learning contracts. Methods deployed may include:

a slide and picture tests;

b case studies;

c personal research projects;

d oral presentations;

e written assignments;

f timed examinations, seen and unseen;

g work placement diaries and/or reports, internship diaries and/or reports, treatment reports;

h portfolios;

i assessed work presented in other forms: eg video, CD, exhibition, web pages.

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6 Standards and levels of achievement

6.1 Introduction

6.1.1 The table below characterises levels and areas of achievement in HAAD. All graduates with an Honours degree in the history of art will have shown a minimally acceptable repertoire of achievement across these areas of performance, while most students will demonstrate considerably greater sophistication and depth and a wider range of achievements, making evident the great variety of intellectual strengths (and comparative weaknesses) which students graduating with 'typical' or 'modal' results will display. These 'modal' characterisations may be read as indicating the sorts of competence that students in the subject area will aspire to achieve or exceed.

We have not attempted a characterisation of 'excellent' achievement. We confidently expect that excellent students will surprise us, will find ways of doing and saying things that we had not imagined; some of the best performances will be based on or result in productive critiques of established characterisations.

We expect that at every level of overall achievement, Boards of Examiners would accept the logic that strength in some areas may compensate for weakness in others.

6.2 Modal level of attainment 6.2.1 Subject-specific knowledge and understanding A broad and comparative knowledge and understanding of the visual and material culture of more than one geographical region and/or chronological period. A more concentrated and systematic knowledge of one or more of the above. A knowledge and understanding of the processes through which artefacts are constructed in the cultures studied. Familiarity with some substantive areas of current research in the field addressed by the degree programme. An ability to engage with the concepts, values and debates that inform study and research in the subject area, including an awareness of the limited and partial nature of all historical knowledge. An understanding of the development of the subject, and of its key intellectual tools.	6.3 Threshold level of attainment 6.3.1 Subject-specific knowledge and understanding A knowledge of the visual and material culture of more than one geographical region and/or chronological period. A more concentrated knowledge of one or more of the above. A knowledge of the processes through which artefacts are constructed. Some knowledge of current research in the field addressed by the degree programme. Some ability to engage with a range of the concepts, values and debates that inform study and practice in the subject area. Some knowledge of the development of the subject.
6.2.2 Subject-specific skills and abilities Ability to use critical skills of visual observation, description and analysis. Ability to locate artefacts within appropriate historical, intellectual, cultural or institutional contexts. Ability to locate and evaluate evidence from a wide range of primary and secondary sources (visual, oral or textual) and interpret it in relation to relevant issues and enquiries. Ability to evaluate a range of different methodologies and approaches within the subject. Ability to produce well structured and relevant arguments supported by visual, textual or other evidence as appropriate. Ability to balance and present alternative points of view held within the subject, to use unfamiliar arguments and artefacts constructively, and to engage critically with familiar or established ideas.	6.3.2 Subject-specific skills and abilities Ability to use basic skills of visual observation, description and analysis. Some ability to locate artefacts within appropriate historical or cultural contexts. Ability to locate evidence from primary and secondary sources (visual, oral or textual) and use it in relation to relevant issues and enquiries. Awareness of a range of different methodologies and approaches within the subject. Ability to produce relevant arguments supported by evidence. Ability to present alternative points of view held within the subject.
6.2.3 Generic intellectual skills Developed skills of analysis, synthesis and effective summary. Critical judgement: the ability to discriminate between alternative arguments and approaches. Problem-solving - the ability to apply knowledge and experience resourcefully in complex and open-ended contexts. Research - the capacity for critical, effective and verifiable information retrieval and organisation relevant to a given task. Open-mindedness - the ability to be open and receptive to unfamiliar artefacts, issues and ideas and to deploy these constructively; the ability to deploy productive criticism of familiar artefacts and arguments.	6.3.3 Generic intellectual skills Skills of analysis, synthesis and summary. Critical judgement: awareness of the difference between alternative arguments and approaches. Problem-solving - the ability to apply knowledge and experience to address problems. Research - ability to locate and record information relevant to a given task. Open-mindedness: some ability to be receptive to unfamiliar artefacts, issues and ideas.
6.2.4 Transferable skills The ability to communicate ideas and arguments cogently and effectively in written spoken or other form, with appropriate use of visual aids. The ability to listen effectively and so to learn from and participate constructively in discussion. The ability to work constructively and productively in groups. The ability to work diligently, to fulfil briefs and deadlines, and to take responsibility for one's own work. The ability to make effective use of information technology for research and communication. The ability to update knowledge and skills, seek and use feedback, reflect on, and improve performance.	6.3.4 Transferable skills The ability to communicate adequately in written and spoken form, using visual aids where necessary. The ability to listen effectively and so to learn from discussions. The ability to work in groups. The ability to work to briefs and deadlines. The ability to use information technology. Some ability to use feedback to improve performance.

 

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Appendix 1

Membership of the benchmark group

The benchmark group was constituted from nominations made via the Association of Art Historians, the Design History Society, and the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. Its contributing membership was as follows:

Professor Christopher Bailey
University of Northumbria at Newcastle

Dr Barbara Burman
University of Southampton

Professor Ian Christie
Birkbeck College, University of London

Dr Tom Gretton (chair)
University College London

Professor Deborah Howard
University of Cambridge

Professor Catherine King
Open University

Ms Pauline Ridley
University of Brighton

Dr Evelyn Welch
University of Sussex

Professor Shearer
West University of Birmingham

Professor Alison Yarrington
University of Leicester