MENU

Birmingham City University International College

Undergraduate Pathway in Jewellery

Why study this pathway programme?
  • The School of Jewellery is one of the largest in the world and is located in Birmingham’s working Jewellery Quarter, where a significant amount of British jewellery is still made today.
  • The School offers over 125 years of expertise, and the Assay Office is home to one of the only Gemmology degrees in the world.
  • Industry-standard facilities include specialist horology labs, 3D printing, and silversmithing and jewellery labs.

Your pathway to Birmingham City University

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

University Foundation First Year Degree Second Year Degree Final Year Degree

£15,500 (two-semester)

£19,500 (three-semester)

£17,710

£17,710

£17,710

Locations

Duration

Stage 1: Two or three semesters† (depending on qualifications upon entry)

Intakes

Stage 1: September, January and May

Study Location

Stage 1:
BCUIC, University House

Stage 2, 3 and 4:
School of Jewellery

OR Assay Office

 

†If you will be studying Gemmology or Horology, you will study a two-semester programme at BCUIC as no portfolio is required.

Student success – Jade, from China

  • Completed three-semester Foundation in Art and Design
  • Graduated from BA (Hons) Jewellery and Objects
  • Winner of the Gem Empathy Award 2019 (awarded by Gem-A)
  • Winner of the Charles Green CAD Competition 2019
  • Winner of the Craftmanship & Design Awards (Silver) 2020

“I came to study at BCUIC and BCU because Birmingham is home to one of the largest jewellery schools in the world. I really enjoyed using all the industry-standard machinery during the BCUIC workshops, and the independent study gave us the creative freedom to express our own ideas. I had no art and design knowledge at all before I came to BCUIC, but I soon felt prepared for my degree.”

Stage 1: University Foundation

Portfolio Requirements

Modules for Jewellery

Click below for more information on each module

  • Creative Workshop*

  • Critical Thinking*

  • Extended Media Experimentation

  • Information Research, Recording and Responding In Art & Design

  • Interactive Learning Skills and Communication*

  • Interactive Learning Skills and Communication & Preparation and Progression in Art and Design

  • Knowledge & Understanding Of Creative Practice In Art & Design

  • Mass Communication*

  • Media Experimentation in Art and Design

  • Personal Combined Experimental Studies In Art & Design

* Additional four modules in the three semester programme.

Modules for Gemmology & Horology

Click below for more information on each module

  • Interactive Learning Skills and Communication 3

  • Numerical Techniques 1

  • Physics 1

  • Design Concepts

  • ICT Skills

  • Information Research, Recording and Responding in Art and Design

  • Critical Thinking

  • Numerical Skills 2

Stage 2: First Year Degree

Stage 3: Second Year Degree

Stage 4: Final Year Degree

Birmingham City University Degree Pathways

Click below for more information on each pathway

  • BSc (Hons) Gemmology and Jewellery Studies

  • BA (Hons) Horology

  • BA (Hons) Jewellery and Objects

Special entry requirements

  • Applicants must submit a good portfolio if: they are entering the two-semester programme without a related academic subject; they are entering a three-semester programme. Applicants are also required to have GCSE Maths and English or equivalent at grade C/4 or above.
  • No portfolio required for BSc (Hons) Gemmology and Jewellery Studies / BA (Hons) Horology

Important:

All students accessing the 3D workshops, plaster room, glass room, water-jet cutting room and the kiln room will need to wear safety footwear that has toe caps. Such footwear can be purchased from any safety footwear provider – including Sports Direct – and can be as cheap as £12. The shoes should be S1P and comply with EN 20345.

There is no long-term storage facility for personal items in the workshops, so students are advised to bring the safety footwear with them each day they are accessing the workshops.