Last Updated on April 2, 2023
This article summarises what is expected for your AS Art Coursework Project (CIE).
CIE AS Art & Design students are required to submit:
- 1 x project (a two or three-dimensional final work, maximum weight 4.5kgs and maximum dimension in any direction of 750mm);
- A maximum of four A1 sheets of supporting work (research, recording, development and critical evaluation undertaken during the course, with emphasis on the development of ideas and the use of processes). Work may be presented on both sides. The supporting work must be selective (i.e. it should be artwork that best portrays your skill and ability, as well as that is relevant to your project and helps to illustrate your development of ideas). The supporting work should include:
- Source material (your ‘starting point’ / source of inspiration);
- Development of ideas into personal solutions (original finished pieces);
- Experimentations with media and processes including trial samples;
- The influence of historical, contemporary and cultural factors (evidence that you have learnt from other designers and/or artist models).
Coursework should be an individual response to a theme (if you are struggling to come up with a theme, see this article for help coming up with good A Level Art ideas).
Coursework must be focused on one area of study: Painting and Related Media; Textiles; Ceramics; Sculpture; Graphic Design; Fashion Design; Printmaking; Photography, Digital and Lens Media; Jewellery; Puppetry and so on. Schools usually select which areas are available for students based on the interests of their students and the strength and expertise of their teachers.
AS Art Coursework assessment
The AS Coursework project is worth 40% of your final AS grade and 20% of your final A Level Art grade. It is internally assessed, which means it is marked by the Coursework Accredited Art teacher/s at your school and then externally moderated by CIE examiners. Most countries send Coursework to Cambridge University to be moderated; other counties, like New Zealand, are lucky enough to have the examiners travel to them.
The final project and supporting work are assessed together and are given a single mark out of 100, using the following criteria:
AS Art Coursework examples
Further AS Level Art Coursework examples and case studies will be added here over the coming months.
This article relates to CIE AS Coursework, Component 2, 9704 A Level Art and Design – the International version of A Levels, assessed by the University of Cambridge. Information is sourced from the CIE A Level Art and Design syllabus.
If you wish to see examples of more great student artwork that would be helpful for AS Art & Design students, please view our Featured Art Projects.
Amiria has been an Art & Design teacher and a Curriculum Co-ordinator for seven years, responsible for the course design and assessment of student work in two high-achieving Auckland schools. She has a Bachelor of Architectural Studies, Bachelor of Architecture (First Class Honours) and a Graduate Diploma of Teaching. Amiria is a CIE Accredited Art & Design Coursework Assessor.
