Admission requirements:
* Completed a secondary school matriculated education in the arts or have equivalent qualifications
* Applicants must submit sketchbooks or folders with samples of their works
* The admissions board may invite potential applicants for an interview.
Structure:
The total credits for the programme are 120 secondary school units, in which students acquire competence on the fourth level according to the Icelandic Qualification Framework for Education. Each term focuses on a specific subject matter. The possibilities offered by the subject matter unfolds different perspectives and new approaches to the material and methods to experiment. Students will participate in a forum for fruitful debates and discussions. Scholars and professionals from other areas of study will engage with the students and highlight the subject’s relationship with history and society. Teaching in conceptual and practical work runs concurrently, but there is also a great deal of flow in which the development of projects and ideas go hand in hand. Towards the end of the programme, students work independently on their projects. The programme is mainly practical, but about a quarter of all modules are academic. Academic subjects include the history of the craft, design history, art history and philosophy, and business and seminar topics that provide a forum for a wide range of discussions on ceramics. Academic studies endeavour to view records of ceramics in a broader and more informed context. The modules are of various intensities—some last throughout the term and others for shorter periods.
Course assessment:
The course assessment considers the learning objectives set out in the course description. The course description stipulates frameworks of the projects and grading criteria of the students’ work. A framework may have prescribed assessment methods in the curriculum; however, continuous evaluation on various assessment methods to meet students’ different needs determines the final appraisal. Practical modules assess both students’ competence in their relevant fields and their ability to express themselves critically on the subject by narrating their ideas. In addition to grades, students receive guideline reports at the end of most modules. For students with particular learning difficulties, modules are reviewed and revised in consultation with the school’s educational counsellor.
Course progress regulations: To complete a module, students must attain a minimum grade of 5. The school curriculum contains further information on the studies and programme development.
Course objectives:
At the end of the programme, students shall have the ability to:
* Work independently on specific projects
* Work systematically on the development of ideas
* Apply professional working procedures
* Have efficient communication skills and the ability to work in close collaboration with others, communicate detailed information about their ideas and work, and maintain their expertise and training in their professional fields by keeping up with innovations
* Participate in and follow discussions in their fields
* Know the working and business environment of their profession
* Know a diversity of ways for presenting their work
* Work in a socially and environmentally responsible manner
* Handle hazardous materials responsibly
* Handle tools and equipment and maintain the work environment responsibly and sensibly.