School of Creative Arts Introduces New Programme

The School of Creative Arts, University of Education, Winneba (UEW), has introduced a new programme, Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) in Creative Arts and Design Education, as part of the 2021/2022 academic year admissions. 

The programmme is designed to fill the gap in training competent creative arts teachers who have adequate knowledge in Visual Arts, Music, and Theatre Arts to build a core of teachers capable of implementing the pre-tertiary creative arts curriculum in Ghana.

The programme is also meant to train personnel for managerial positions in the Arts, Culture, Media Arts, and Tourism sectors. It will fill the wide gap in training solely one-sided art educators and solve the human resource gap in the teaching and learning of Creative Arts in Ghanaian schools.

Entry requirements have been put into four categories. Category A includes WASSCE Certificate holders who have at least six passes including three core subjects and any three electives. Passes in the Creative Arts subjects such as Visual Arts, Literature in English, General Knowledge in Arts, and Music. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is an added advantage. 

Category B also includes SSSCE Certificate holders who have at least six passes including three core and elective subjects. Category C considers mature applicants who must be at least 25 years by 1st September of the year of application. Also, applicants must hold Teachers Certificate A or WASSCE or SSSCE certificates or a certificate in TVET from recognised institutions. Such applicants must pass the General Aptitude Test (GAT) and Subject Area Test (SAT) entrance examinations. 

Category D caters for Diploma holders who must possess a Diploma or its equivalent from a Creative Arts or TVET related area from recognised institutions and must pass an interview at the Department.

This programme targets Senior High School graduates with Visual Arts and Home Economics backgrounds. Professional teachers who want to top-up their Diploma certificates are also targeted. Additionally, the School is also targeting first Degree graduates from other sister institutions. 

Professionals in the Movie, TV, Radio and the entire Creative Arts industry are a possible target for further studies. International students wishing to study African Traditional Dances/Drumming and African ritual theatre are all targets.

Of all the related Creative Arts training programmes in Ghana, none focuses on the holistic training of the Creative Arts teacher-trainees such that they have competencies in Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, and Musical Arts.  This new programme uniquely combines all these various components into one.