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Art & Design: HND - Year 2

Person leaning over a table, drawing on paper in an art studio, with various sketches and art materials spread out
Qualification Qualifications Explained
HND
Study Mode
Full Time
Duration

1 Year
Start date
Aug 2026
Campus
East End
Apply now

Course overview

Develop your creative voice, build professional experience, and prepare for the next stage of your artistic journey.

HND Art & Design Year 2 is designed for students who are ready to take their creative practice to the next level. Building on the skills and knowledge gained during the HNC, you'll develop a more independent approach to art and design while refining your technical, conceptual, and professional abilities.

At Glasgow Kelvin College, we believe that creative education should be connected to the real world. Throughout the course, you'll explore ideas, materials, and processes across a range of disciplines while developing your own artistic direction and creative identity. Working within a supportive community of students, lecturers, artists, and creative practitioners, you'll be encouraged to experiment, take creative risks, and produce ambitious work.

A unique feature of this course is our partnership with Strange Field and The Pipe Factory, a leading contemporary arts organisation based in Glasgow's East End. Through exhibitions, artist talks, professional mentoring, community projects, and live creative experiences, you'll gain valuable insight into how the contemporary arts sector operates while building industry knowledge, confidence, and professional networks.

This industry-embedded approach provides opportunities rarely available within further education and helps prepare you for university study and future creative careers.

By the end of the programme, you'll have developed a strong portfolio, enhanced your creative confidence, and gained the practical and professional skills needed to progress into degree-level study or the creative industries.

This course is ideal if you:

  • Have successfully completed HNC Art & Design Year 1
  • Want to develop a more independent and ambitious creative practice
  • Enjoy exploring ideas through a range of artistic and design processes
  • Are preparing for degree-level study in Art, Design, Fine Art, Illustration, Graphic Design, or related disciplines
  • Want to gain real-world experience working alongside professional artists and arts organisations
  • Are looking to strengthen your portfolio for university applications or creative opportunities

What you will learn

You'll build on your HNC foundation through advanced creative, technical, critical, and professional development.

  • Creative Development - Develop ideas from initial research through to resolved outcomes while refining your personal creative voice. You'll learn how to investigate themes, experiment with materials, and produce ambitious project work.
  • Critical and Reflective Practice - Participate in critiques, tutorials, discussions, and professional reviews that help you analyse your work, evaluate creative decisions, and develop stronger conceptual thinking.
  • Professional Presentation - Learn how to present your work effectively for exhibitions, portfolio reviews, degree interviews, and professional opportunities. You'll gain experience preparing work for both internal and public-facing exhibitions.
  • Collaborative Practice - Work alongside fellow students, lecturers, community organisations, and external partners on collaborative projects that reflect real-world creative practice.
  • Portfolio Development - Create a coherent body of work that demonstrates your creative strengths, technical abilities, and artistic direction, supporting progression to university or employment.
  • Industry and Professional Practice - Through our partnership with Strange Field and The Pipe Factory, you'll engage with professional artists, exhibitions, community projects, artist talks, and live creative environment. You'll gain valuable insight into how contemporary arts organisations operate while building professional skills and networks.
  • Specialist Studio Practice - Depending on your chosen pathway and project focus, you may work across:
    • Painting
    • Drawing
    • Printmaking
    • Sculpture
    • Installation
    • Digital Art 
    • Mixed Media
    • Contemporary Creative Practices

Learning takes place through studio-based projects, practical workshops, professional mentoring, exhibitions, tutorials, research, and independent creative exploration.

Sarah, Art in the Community lecturer, speaking beside colourful sculpture artwork display at Glasgow Kelvin College.

Meet Sarah | Art in the Community 🎨✨

Meet Sarah from our HND Art & Design course as she shares her public practice project for the Rumpus Room in Govanhill.

Working on a real community brief, Sarah talks through her creative process and how the project has helped develop her skills and confidence as an artist.

Creativity with purpose.

View on YouTube

Entry requirements

To apply for the HND Art and Design Year 2, you should have:

✅ An HNC Art & Design Year 1 pass (minimum 15 credit passes) AND

✅ An A/B grade pass in Level 7 Graded Unit 1 AND

✅ Portfolio

ℹ️ Due to Health & Safety, Awarding Bodies stipulations or Legislation set by Governing Bodies - you must be 16 years old at the start of this course.

ℹ️ For this course, if English is not your first language

  • If you do not have a formal ESOL qualification but your language skills meet this level, you should apply for your course and then contact our Admissions team to organise an internal language assessment  here at the College.

Career Opportunities

The HND prepares you for a wide range of creative pathways, including:

🎨 Artist or Illustrator

🖌 Graphic Designer

🏛 Gallery or Museum Assistant

🎭 Community Arts Worker

📚 Art Educator (with further study)

📱 Creative Content Creator

🖼 Exhibition Assistant or Curatorial Support

🎬 Creative Producer

👩‍💼 Arts Project Coordinator

🚀 Freelance Creative Practitioner

The course also develops transferable skills including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, project management, and professional presentation that are valued across many industries.

Future prospects

Many students progress to competitive degree programmes throughout Scotland and the UK, including:

  • Glasgow School of Art
  • Edinburgh College of Art
  • Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design
  • Gray's School of Art
  • University of the West of Scotland
  • Glasgow Caledonian University
  • UHI and partner institutions

Depending on your chosen specialism and portfolio, progression may be possible at Year 1, Year 2, or Year 3 entry.

The combination of advanced studio practice, professional experience, public exhibition opportunities, and industry engagement provides a strong platform for further study and future employment within Scotland's creative industries.

Real Industry Connections

Blue logo for Strange FieldOur partnership with Strange Field and The Pipe Factory provides students with unique opportunities to engage directly with Scotland's contemporary arts sector.

You'll benefit from:

•    Professional artist talks and workshops
•    Industry mentoring and creative guidance
•    Public exhibitions of student work
•    Community arts projects and engagement activities
•    Experience working within a live arts organisation
•    Networking opportunities with practising artists and creative professionals

Students have contributed to public exhibitions, community workshops, and collaborative projects while learning from artists working across a range of contemporary disciplines. 

Pipe Factory Building, 2D image showing brickworkVisiting Talks and Workshops with artists and designers on campus which have included our current Artist in Residence Gabrielle Lockwood Estrin (generously funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund), Artist and Educator Coral Brookes, Graphic Designer and Curator Eden Bo Dower, Illustrator Fionnuala Doran and Artist and Stone Carver James Winnett.

This experience helps bridge the gap between education and professional practice while developing valuable employability skills.

Large-scale photography exhibition displayed in an industrial gallery space with projected and printed artworks.
Colourful painted artwork featuring stylised pink flowers and green leaves set against a bright green background.
Hanging mixed-media artwork featuring colourful star-shaped forms suspended above a small painted box on a white plinth.
Visitor viewing architectural and heritage design publications as part of a creative arts exhibition.
Exhibition display featuring maps, creative artefacts, textiles and design work exploring local heritage and community themes.
Brightly coloured illustration of a fish-headed figure shopping in a fish market, holding a receipt while surrounded by fish displays.
Detailed mixed-media model of a multi-storey building with patterned surfaces and a textured roof, displayed on a white base.
Framed artwork showing an illustrated orange butterfly on a neutral background with the word “Suffocation” beneath.
Participant creating handmade crafts and printed materials during a community arts workshop.
Textured textile artwork combining layered fabrics and mixed materials in deep red, black and neutral tones.
Collection of historic clay tobacco pipes displayed as part of a heritage and archaeology exhibition.
Repeating abstract print pattern in black, white and red, arranged in horizontal rows across the surface.
Monochrome mixed-media artwork featuring a dark central form surrounded by a frame made of repeated fork shapes.

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Find out about our Art & Design Department

Read What Our Students Said

Video Transcript – Sarah: HND Art and Design

Hi there, I'm Sarah Madely, a student for the HND Art and Design.

I did this Sculpture. It was a public practice project.

We have to choose a public site that would speak to us and then to propose a project to put on that site.

I chose the Rumpus Room in Govan Hill, a place where they work with children and young people, have lots of activities, they're very, very connected to the community.

My final work is a totem, Imaginarium totem, a symbol of imagination and creativity.

I think we should have more places where art is promoted, where kids are allowed to explore freely art.

This is my final sculpture. It's all recycled materials, papier-mâché, acrylic paints. I did sketches to imagine how I would create the totem. I have a 3D printer, so before I commit to something big, I did a little totem.

The final work would be ideally a big ceramic totem that they could put on their outdoor space. Maybe in the future I will be able to do that.

If this speaks to you, you should go to our website and apply. I must say it changed my life, beautiful journey

I'm very sad that this is going this is my last year the teachers they absolutely amazing they will give you lots of support they help you develop as an artist to places that you never thought you could go

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