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Course Overview Modules Entry Requirements Fees How to Apply
Course Overview Modules Entry Requirements Fees How to Apply

Lead the Way as an Art Professional in Singapore and Beyond

Blaze a trail as an young art professional in Singapore and the region, growing in your artistic journey and capacity to contribute meaningfully to our rich cultural repository. You will develop the knowledge and skills to be a holistic, reflective and engaged art practitioner in the contemporary world.

Backed by the world-renowned University of the Arts London (UAL), the three-year honours degree will sharpen your artistic skills and sensibilities while you learn to work both collaboratively and independently on art practices across disciplines, through industry partnerships and projects. In the true NAFA spirit of adventure and exploration, you will also spend a portion of your degree abroad in the United Kingdom.

You will expect to be immersed in a state-of-the-art studio environment, supported by archival practices and professional placements.

Please watch this webinar to learn more about the BA (Hons) Fine Art course from our faculty and students.

Please click here to view the English course brochure and the Chinese course brochure.


Cultivate Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Thinking

Learn to examine issues critically from different disciplinary perspectives, questioning, evaluating and integrating ideas into cohesive responses that are authentically your own.

Add a Unique Southeast Asian Dimension to Your Art Practice

Singapore’s advantageous location in the region will enable you to plug into the dynamic arts scene of Southeast Asia, raise critical discourse and open new perspectives to expand the repository of artistic and cultural research of our region.

Reap the Benefits of an Unprecedented UAL-NAFA Partnership

Our NAFA honours degree in fine art has been validated by the top-ranked art and design University of the Arts London (UAL), the first partnership UAL has in offering validated programmes outside the United Kingdom. You will benefit from this prestigious partnership most tangibly through a seven-week international placement in London, where you will attend classes and workshops there to expand your learning multifold.

Course Modules

Code Title Semester Credits
FA1411

Introduction to Fine Art

This unit is an introduction to the Fine Art Programme, course requirements and expectations. This unit will orientate you to the practices and knowledge needed to understand your discipline and help you to develop your skills for independent and collaborative learning, reflection and self-development.
1 20
FA1412

Fine Art Practices

 

This unit will explore a wide range of mediums through conventional and contemporary approaches to artmaking in three key practices – 2-Dimensional (painting, drawing, printmaking), 3-Dimensional (ceramics, sculpture, installation) and 4-Dimensional
(photography, performance art, sound art, video art). These practices allow for exploration within each medium, and encourage versatility and experimentation of materials, processes and techniques.
1 40
FA1421

Positions 1

This unit asks you to reflect on the work you have made so far, identify your interests, explore your position and align your practice with the work of others. You will draw connections to your studio practice supported by professional development – to understand your role as an artist and art practitioner, to recognise key stakeholders in the complex and constantly evolving art ecosystem, and to effectively communicate your artistic aspirations.
2 20
FA1422

Thinking Through Making

This unit is designed to enable you to develop your independent art practice in an experimental way towards concrete forms of realisation and in pursuit of your own self-directed enquiry.  By thinking through making, you will harness the cultural, contextual and theoretical enquiry that arises from this unit to inform your studio practice.
2 40
FA2511

Positions 2

This unit is focused on illustrating your individual practice in relation to your peers’ and positioning your work within a wider practical and theoretical context. You will work towards the establishment of small experimental research collectives, within which connections and shared ideas can be mapped, applied, challenged, and expanded.
1 20
FA2512

Collective and Collaborative Practices

This unit focuses on artists working collaboratively with non-art institutional and community stakeholders – a definite trend in the local and regional art landscape. The unit will work around a hypothetical project proposal for a community-engaged activity which students will undertake as a small group.
1 40
FA2521

Positions 3

This unit provides opportunity to sustain a more focused approach towards analysing and materialising your own practice.  Working with both UAL and NAFA teams, the international placement seeks to cultivate cultural awareness, and to shape and encapsulate your research and practice enquiry as you head towards your final year.
2 20
FA2522

Intervention and Practices

This unit will establish the first footings of your professional identity through publication practices and by partaking in residencies or professional internships. The unit will be delivered across multiple points through the academic semester into the Special Term.
2 40
FA3611

Thinking, Making, Writing 1

This unit will build upon the skills and knowledge gained during your previous semesters of study and will foreground the interdependence between thinking, making, and writing. The connection between theory, research and practice, and its importance for the articulation of enquiry and creation of artwork will be explored in this unit
1 60
FA3621

Thinking, Making, Writing 2

This unit asks you to position your work and engage with publics. This will require you to define and take control of the context in which you see your work operating in order to establish an awareness of how you might practice beyond this course. You will be expected to write a critical analysis about your research and practice and locate your position in relation to your identified site and audience.
2 60
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entry requirements

 

  1. Portfolio and Statement of Intent

    All applicants are to demonstrate their artistic potential through the submission of the following:

    1. Statement of Intent of about 500 words outlining the applicant’s interest(s) of practice and/or work the applicant aims to produce in the course of study.
    2. A portfolio which consists of 5 best examples of the applicant’s creative works. Each of these works should be supported by up to 3 visuals of development works. These works should demonstrate creativity, passion, and curiosity and are a reflection of the applicant’s view of the world.

  2. Interview

    All applicants are to attend a group as well as individual interview session where they are expected to communicate their motivations in applying for the BA (Hons) Fine Art course, and share their views on specific topics given.

The standard minimum entry requirements for this course are one or a combination of the following qualifications:

Entry into the first year (any one of the following):

  • Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level: Minimum 2 A-Level/ H2 subjects with a pass in General Paper

  • Polytechnic Diploma (Singapore)

  • International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma

  • Equivalent of Year 12 qualification

Direct entry into the second year:
  • A relevant Diploma from NAFA, local Polytechnics, Lasalle College of the Arts, or other recognised institutions.
    *Diploma transcript must indicate passing grades in equivalent modules in NAFA’s Diploma

Students in their final year will be able to use their mid-year examination results to apply for Bachelor’s degree courses at NAFA. Applicants will be given conditional offer if they are successful in their portfolio interview/audition selection. Applicants are still required to submit their final examination results and meet the admission requirements of the respective courses. Any applicant who does not meet the admission requirements will have his/her conditional offer revoked.
NAFA hopes to attract applicants with the potential to become excellent arts practitioners. Applicants are selected by merit, based on the following criteria:
  • Potential in Artistic Talent and Creativity
  • Educational Qualification
  • Language Proficiency
  • Special Factor
  • Age Requirement
Selection is competitive and is subject to the availability of places.

APEL - Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning
Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases.

The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
  • Related academic or work experience
  • The quality of the personal statement
  • A strong academic or other professional references
  • A combination of these factors
Each application will be considered on its own merit, but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case. In such cases, approval by the University of the Arts London will be required prior to final acceptance into the programme.

All classes are taught in English. If English was not the applicant’s primary medium of instruction throughout his or her school education, the applicant must provide evidence at enrolment of the following: IELTS level 6.0 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Click here for other acceptable English language qualifications.

GCE A-Level or Polytechnic/IB/NAFA/LASALLE students in their final year will be able to use their mid-year examination results to apply for UAL degree courses at NAFA.

Eligible international students in their final year will be able to use their mid-year examination results to apply for UAL degree courses at NAFA.

Applicants will be given conditional offer if they are successful in their portfolio interview/audition selection. Applicants are still required to submit their GCE A-Level/year-end examination results and meet the admission requirements of the respective courses. Any applicant who does not meet the admission requirements will have his/her conditional offer revoked.

At NAFA, we are committed to providing full and equal educational opportunities to all students. The Academy firmly believes that every individual deserves a supportive learning environment. Applicants are invited to inform us in advance of any specific needs, and/or type of physical facilities or support you might require. Please include this information in your application form, supplemented with the relevant medical reports. This will allow us to plan the appropriate learning support for you.

Find out about the entry requirements that apply to you.


How to Apply

Get started on your quest to become an art & design professional today! 

Apply online

Apply online here from 3 January 2023.

Print out the Application Acknowledgement for your reference and submit copies* of the following documents

Print out the Application Acknowledgement for your reference and submit copies* of the following documents to the Student Admissions Office, NAFA Campus 1, for verification within five working days from the date of your online application.
*You will need to bring the original NRIC/Passport and academic documents for authenticity check during submission.

  1. NRIC for Singapore Citizens (SC) or Singapore Permanent Residents (SPR), passport and valid Student’s Pass card (if applicable) for international students
  2. English qualifications (e.g. IELTS/TOEFL iBT), if applicable
  3. Certified true copies of academic certificates and transcripts:
    • For NAFA Diploma students
      • If you are currently in your final semester, please submit your Year 3 Semester 1 academic transcript
    • For Local Polytechnic Diploma students
      • If you are currently in your final semester, please submit your academic transcripts of your first 5 semesters. Subsequently, please submit your Diploma certificate and full academic transcript (all semesters) within 5 working days from the official release date
    • For other international qualifications
      • Please submit your most recent school examination or preliminary examination results, which must be certified by your school if you have not received your final results. Subsequently, please submit your final results and certificate within 5 working days from the official release date

Make payment of the Application Fee at the cashier counter in NAFA or online

Make payment of the Application Fee at the cashier counter in NAFA or online at https://payment.nafa.edu.sg/Students. Applicants who are paying online will be required to upload the above documents during application.

Upload your portfolio

Upload your portfolio at https://pss.nafa.edu.sg/

Receive an email

You will receive an email from the Student Admissions Office on the details of your portfolio interview upon receipt of all required documents and portfolio.

Receive a letter by post/email

Receive a letter by post/email on the outcome of your application within 4 – 6 weeks after your Interview or Audition.