1. Make informed decisions in relation to future career intentions.

2. Promote yourself professionally and articulately, using visual and written communication skills in relation to your practice.

3. Reflect critically on your career path, personal development and professional values, and develop a plan for future action.

For this module, you will submit for assessment:

1. Professional Application Pack (Learning Outcomes 1, 2)
This will include a proposal, business plan, or application form to a live opportunity, including a covering letter or letter of introduction. It will also contain a set of professional promotional materials, including images of documented work, a professionally presented personal website, a curriculum vitae, and a short public-facing artist’s statement. This will be collated into a single digital document (PDF for eg).

2. Careers Portfolio (Learning Outcome 3)
Your Careers Portfolio will extend and continue the portfolio produced in Level 5, using career connect resources to develop and reflect on your career path, set career goals, and to plan for the future. It will contain evidence of engagement with CV and interview training resources provided by the Careers Team.

This module seeks to prepare you for entry into the creative professions or postgraduate study and aims to develop your awareness of the range of career and postgraduate opportunities available. You will be able to make realistic, well-informed decisions in relation to your future career intentions, and will develop your ability to cope with the transition from undergraduate study to the next stage in your career. Topics will include the jobs market and employment opportunities, interview techniques, responding to job advertisements and creative project calls, CV preparation, personal promotion, professional presentation of work and the development of contacts. The key skills of visual, written and oral presentation are promoted through this module.

This module is also designed to develop the professional and promotional skills that are essential attributes of the fine art practitioner, while helping you to consider and make decisions about your progression after the degree. This includes exploring the skills necessary to define, describe and represent your practice for the purposes of making applications for professional posts and opportunities, and considering how you promote yourself in the wider art world. We will cover where to find funding and how to apply, applying for commissions, competitions and opportunities, setting up small businesses plus introduce you to a variety of other career pathways, and ways to develop yourself as a creative practitioner.

The Professional Practice module is designed to develop the professional and promotional skills that are essential attributes of the Fine Art practitioner, while helping you to consider and make decisions about your progression after the degree. You will be supported to develop the skills necessary to define, describe and represent your practice for the purposes, preparing you for the range of professional careers which our graduates go on to excel in.

Lectures
Seminars
Tutorials
Practical classes and workshops
Online resources
Group working

Congdon, L., Ilasco, M.M. & Fields, J. (2014).¿Art, Inc: the essential guide for building your career as an artist. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Davis, R. & Tilley, A. (2019).¿What they didn’t teach you in art school: what you actually need to know to survive in the industry. London: Ilex Press.
Delphian (2020) Navigating the Art World: Professional Practice for the Early Career Artist. Delphian Gallery.
Resources, a-n (2013) Signpost - A-N the Artists Information Company, a. Available at: https://www.a-n.co.uk/resource/signpost-2 (Accessed: November 23, 2022).
Rowles, S. (2016).¿PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: 20 questions. London: Q-ART LONDON.

Online resources:
- Where to look for advice and help for setting up a creative business: Staffordshire Business Guide- Help and advice for small or new businesses: https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Business/Businesssupport/BusinessSupport.aspx
- Business link http://www.improve.businesslink.gov.uk/
- Setting up as self-employed case studies of other artists www.a-n.co.uk
- North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce- Small business advice, networking for business: http://www.nscci.co.uk
- Federation of Enterprise Agencies www.nfea.com
- Federation of Small businesses www.fsb.org.uk
- The Princes Trust www.princes-trust.org.uk
- Cooperatives UK https://www.uk.coop/
Help and support for business start-ups from HMRC http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup/help-support.htm
Setting up as a sole trader, starting a business and writing a business plan
- https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader
- https://www.gov.uk/write-business-plan
- https://www.gov.uk/starting-up-a-business

- Business Initiative Stoke-on-Trent: www.business.org.uk
- Arts Council Grants for the Arts: www.artscouncil.org.uk
- Learn Direct- starting your business, bookkeeping: www.learndirect.co.uk
Artquest has an excellent section on being self-employed: https://www.artquest.org.uk/how-to-category/self-employment/page/2/

Studio Space
Workshops
Library
Student word-processing facilities
Computer suites
AV Equipment
The Blackboard virtual learning environment will be available (where relevant) to support this module
Careers Service