How to Apply to our Degree Level Courses

Before you apply

The best way to find out about our undergraduate courses is to come along to one of our Open Days or book a Personal Tour over the summer. You will have the chance to meet students and staff, hear about the courses in more detail, tour around the workshops and studios, and find out what it could be like to study in a highly specialised art college.

If you can’t make it on to campus, you can call our outreach team on 01432 273359 and talk to one of our Graduate Ambassadors about what it’s like to live and study at HCA.

Making an application for Sept 2024 entry

Full-time BA (Hons) degrees

Applications for all of our undergraduate courses should be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Further information can be found on the UCAS website.

When applying for a course at Hereford, you will need to include the Hereford College of Arts institution code (H18), as well as the individual course code which can be found on the individual course pages (along the bottom of the main header image on the page).

Once we have received your application, you will be invited to the college to attend an interview. Please note for our art, design and media courses, you will be required to bring along a recent portfolio of work with you to interview, and for Performing Arts and Popular music you will have a short audition. During the interview, the tutor will assess your suitability for the courses based on the entry requirements for that particular course – again, these can be found on the individual course web pages.

Please note that Hereford College of Arts is able to offer prospective students advisory interviews, on an informal basis, prior to completing your UCAS application form. Please contact one of HE Administrators on 01432 273359, or e-mail registry@hca.ac.uk for more details.

You can choose up to 5 universities/colleges and UCAS will send your application to all institutions at the same time. Applications to courses at Hereford College of Arts must reach UCAS by 25 January (though UCAS advises you to apply by mid November to allow colleges more time to view your portfolio). Late applications will be considered (subject to availability of places).

Internal Progression from Further Education to Higher Education

If you are currently studying on a Further Education course at HCA and wish to apply for a Higher Education course at HCA only, please complete the form below:

Students who wish to make HCA their only application can use the form above. On confirmation of an acceptance, the College will apply to UCAS via the Record of Prior Acceptance (RPA) on the student’s behalf, which will avoid the student incurring a UCAS application fee.

Those students wishing to apply to other institutions as well as HCA should do so online via UCAS as part of the UCAS application cycle and should not use the form.

Part Time Undergraduate Courses

Applications should be made direct to the college. You can e-mail registry@hca.ac.uk, call the Registry team on 01432 273359 for a part-time application form or download the part-time application form here. You will be required to obtain a personal reference.

Overseas Applicants

Visit our International Students page.

Entry Requirements for BA (Hons)

  • Minimum age 18.
  • Portfolio submission (where applicable) and successful interview or audition.
  • Academic achievement – qualifications are important to us and we would normally expect applicants to have achieved 80 UCAS Tariff Points at entry.  However, our offers are not solely based on previous academic results. We may make offers based on other evidence of talent and suitability for the course.
  • Mature students with related experience.
  • Applicants whose first language is not English and require a tier 4 student visa must achieve Level B2 in an approved secure English Language test prior to enrolment. For further guidance please visit the UK Visa and Immigration website www.gov.uk/tier-4-general-visa.

Our full Application Policy is available here for reference.