See what this programme offers
The IVS Foundation Programme is a unique yearlong experience within the ecosystem of an art and design school. Through expert faculty and an integrated curriculum, the foundation year enables our students to transition from conventional education into art education, building within them a common vocabulary and base for lifelong learning. Core courses during this year introduce fundamental concepts, technical skills, material exploration through intensive process-based practices that encourage time management, while periodic portfolio reviews provide constructive holistic guidance to students. Academic Reading & Writing with an introduction to Art, Design, and Architecture history is provided by the Liberal Arts programme. This essential introduction to studio and theory courses, city orientation, and study trips culminate to strengthen the IVS student community at the very onset.
The IVS FP curriculum and experience is designed to anchor students with structure and confidence, flexibility and adaptability to help them innovate and grow throughout their time with us. Course projects focus on dialogue, research, presentations and productive feedback, where individual and group work encourages technical exploration and critical reflection. Projects are integrated, sequential, and progressively complex in terms of idea, skill, and critique, equipping students with potent and multi-faceted building blocks for the years to come.
First Semester
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|
FP112 | Drawing 1 | 3 |
FP110 | Technical Drawing 1 | 3 |
FP109 | Basic Design 1 | 3 |
FP111 | 3D Design Studio 1 | 3 |
LA154 | Histories of Art, Design and Architecture I | 3 |
LA151 | Academic Reading and Writing I | 3 |
Total Credits: 18 |
Second Semester
Course Code | Course Title | Credit Hours |
---|---|---|
FP212 | Drawing 2 | 3 |
FP210 | Technical Drawing 2 | 3 |
FP209 | Basic Design 2 | 3 |
FP211 | 3D Design Studio 2 | 3 |
LA254 | Histories of Art, Design and Architecture II | 3 |
LA251 | Academic Reading and Writing II | 3 |
Total Credits: 18 |
Total Credits for Foundation Year (Semester 1 and 2) = 36
- Freehand Drawing
- Technical Drawing
- Basic Design
- 3D Design
- Histories of Art, Design and Architecture
- Academic Reading and Writing
Drawing is the key skill needed for all art and design disciplines. This rigorous studio course is an active mode of communication, generating ideas and thoughts in creative practice. Students learn to enhance observation, analysis, representation and interpretation of visual information. The course also creates opportunities for students to develop the ability to identify concepts and evaluate problems systematically. A combination of sequential and iterative processes are employed using a variety of mediums, techniques, and tools. Individual assignments are aided with process sketchbooks. Image-making by synthesizing various principles of visual art, the use of mediums, and different experimental possibilities of representation are all part and parcel of this course. Students learn to manipulate the elements of visual art in response to a specific problem planned for their respective studio projects. Students also work closely with colour mediums by learning the skill of perceiving, analysing, preparing and interpreting colours according to the objectives of related studio projects.
This course comprises an introduction to communicating ideas through basic techniques and processes involved in drafting scaled-down representations. The major emphasis is on developing basic drafting skills of students by acquainting them with drafting tools and techniques while helping them visualize and solve graphical problems. In the later stage of the course, the students are encouraged to apply various methodologies to translate their research and analysis in resolving the assigned tasks. By the end of the course the students are able to translate their ideas using technical drawing with respect to understanding of concepts, time management, drafting skills, lettering and dimensions.
This course attends to design fundamentals as applied to the two-dimensional picture plane. It introduces students to the basic visual elements of design: point and line, shape and form, texture, value, colour, and space. With hands-on activities and assignments, a distinctive sense of aesthetics and an eye for strong design is developed. Beyond the basics, advanced methodologies and strategies of design are also brought into focus using specific exercises, brainstorming, and a variety of techniques. Students’ developmental and manual skills to cope with design problems and to establish visual values for structuring and articulating two-dimensional spatial compositions in different media. The concepts and laws taught in the latter part of this course pertain to gestalt groupings, depth, and perception which are learned through lectures and demonstrations. Students are made capable of confronting their responsibilities (and idiosyncrasies) in designing and develop a greater familiarity with the subject matter.
The course encompasses exploration and learning of converting 2D shapes into 3-Dimensional Form & the characteristics of Space vis-a-vis the understanding of Material, Structure and Volume. In the first semester, the learning is focused on the understanding of basic geometric forms with regard to elements and principles of design. The Form is studied in detail via the breakdown of its components in relation to surface, grids and material exploration. In the second semester, students are presented with problem-solving activities that tackle the development of overarching concepts of Form & Space.
The studio practice works alongside the workshop and its tools. Here, students involve cognitive, strategic and practical methodologies to learn about various materials and processes. Within the scope of each assignment is an overlap of multiple areas of learning that help students identify and tackle 3D Design in the real world. Throughout the year, students engage in primary & secondary research. This includes visual identifications and academic readings which inform a broader understanding of the design fundamentals.
In the foundation year, all students take the Liberal Arts core courses in Art History, Theory and Critical Studies, and Reading and Writing. These courses adopt an expansive approach to the study of art, design, and architecture, converging at various points in ongoing studio programmes. The courses emphasize the development of skills in analysis and understanding the complexities of practices.
The use of written language as a medium of communication is a skill that requires precision, continuous, and constant revision. Therefore, all Liberal Arts courses contain an element of writing practice, but a few concentrate specifically on the transfer and reinforcement of formal writing skills. One of the courses being offered by Liberal Arts is Academic Reading and Writing (ARW) which is a rigorous year-long university-level course that focuses on developing critical thinking and academic writing and reading skills. In the first semester, Academic Reading and Writing 1 (ARW I) deals with the technicalities of academic reading and its implementation in writing. In the second semester, Academic Reading and Writing 2 (ARW II) builds on material covered in the first semester, placing an emphasis on secondary research, and increasing in complexity through assigned readings and writing.
The second course being offered by Liberal Arts is Histories of Art, Design and Architecture which is based on three modules of art, design, and architectural history that is part of the LA core curriculum at IVS. The three modules provide broad surveys of movements and developments in cultural and civilizational histories that are manifest in the art, design, and architecture from pre-history to pre-Contemporary. The two modules are taught in the foundation year whereas the third module is introduced in the second year.
Department
Faculty & Staff
- Permanent Faculty
- Adjunct Faculty
- Staff