PREPARING FOR THE COMPETITIVE EXAMS
FOR MAJOR FRENCH AND INTERNATIONAL ART SCHOOLS

Foundation year in art

The aim of this year is twofold: to refine your career orientation and to develop the necessary skills to develop a portfolio that meets the expectations of art schools entrance exams.

The ‘Foundation Year in Art’ program is designed for students with a minimum C1 level in English and offers more specific preparation for entrance exams at international art schools.

Next school year: September 2025

Succeeding in art school entrance exams

Every year, the Foundation year in Art students pass the competitive entrance exams of prestigious, highly selective art and design schools.

These include: in France, ENSCI, ENSAD, EPSAA, HEAR, Ecole des Beaux arts de Paris, Cergy, Lyon, Nantes, Nice..., ESAD Reims and Amiens, HEAR Strasbourg, Institut français de la mode, Camondo... and in Europe: HEAD Geneva, ECAL Lausanne, Gerrit Rietveld academy, Design Academy Eindhoven, KABK The Hague, La Cambre and Saint Luc Brussels, UAL London (Chelsea, Saint Martin School, LCF...).

These schools offer specialized sections in design, graphic design, interior architecture, fashion, photography, cinema and the artistic disciplines present in the field of contemporary art.

 

Intensive preparation for competitive examinations

Students are immersed in a pedagogy aligned with the demands of the higher education schools in Art competitive examinations.

The pace is fast, commitment and rigor are required, and autonomy is encouraged.

Lecturers and teachers are professionals from the art world: painters, visual artists, designers, architects, film-makers, scenographers, illustrators, ceramists...

A busy schedule

Preparation in 3 stages

The art foundation course is a very intensive year which requires a great deal of commitment on the part of the students. The timetable at Atelier de Sèvres combines theoretical instruction, intensive practice of various artistic disciplines, preparation of an artistic portfolio and preparation for the entrance examinations to the major art schools.

Acquiring the fundamentals

From September to mid-December, the students of the art foundation course acquire the fundamentals of representation techniques, develop their creativity and their general culture. This first term is punctuated by classes, subjects, reports and corrections, and ends with a presentation before a jury in order to evaluate the student's progress.

Preparing the artistic portfolio

From mid-December to the end of February, the students focus on the creation of their artistic portfolio. This will be presented to the juries of the art schools during the entrance exams. Students in the art foundation year can use the work they have done in their option. The art foundation students are also accompanied by a teacher dedicated to their portfolio until the end of the year.

Competition preparation

From the beginning of March to mid-May, the art foundation students put the finishing touches to their artistic portfolio and take mock exams (written and oral) with a test situation. In the run-up to the competitive examinations, the timetables of art foundation students are adjusted in order to meet the final demands (covering letter, meeting with the artistic portfolio director, etc.).

Discover the projects students have presented at
the competitive exams for art and animation schools

PORTFOLIOS

Discover the projects students have presented at
the competitive exams for art and animation schools

WORKSHOPS

Atelier de Sèvres comprises 2,500m² of spaces dedicated to creation. Students work in creative workshops that then become exhibition spaces when their projects are finished. Atelier de Sèvres provides students with a photography/video studio equipped with cutting-edge technical equipment, as well as a construction workshop and an engraving studio. These self-service tools enable students to shape their creativity and projects as they wish in an ideal setting.