Foundation year in applied arts in Penninghen

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first year at penninghen
Duration :
1 Year
Degree :
Graduate School
Course start :
September 2025

Penninghen’s Foundation Year in Applied Arts is the first year of the 5-year curriculum offered at the school. Integrated preparation, this year is common to the 3 programs offered in Penninghen. It is a fundamental year that allows you to discover applied art in all its dimensions. It is the year of the discovery of a passion and the discovery of the school’s method.

DISCOVER THE FOUNDATION YEAR IN APPLIED ART

A year to discover one’s passion

For more than 50 years, the first year of Penninghen has been one of the most emblematic and renowned programs in art and creation. Once integrated in the first year, the foundation year - common to the three programs offered at school - leaves one year for each student to:

  • check their taste for creative studies
  • acquire the fundamentals of applied arts
  • validate their level of skills
  • choose their orientation in one of the three programs offered at Penninghen.

The foundation year is fundamental in the Penninghen method. It is the year to discover one’s passion through a daily practice of applied art in all its dimensions. By the end of this first year, students will have acquired:

  • an indispensable method and know-how for the continuation of their studies
  • solid foundations in graphic expression, design in space
  • a real methodology

All these technical discoveries and acquired knowledge allow students to refine their personal projects to continue in the training of their choice.

One year to discover work in a workshop.

The workshop practice from the foundation year develops:

  • the dynamics of collaboration
  • the spirit of cohesion

Supervised by 20 teachers, all working professionals, the 300 students are divided into 4 workshops of 75 students each. All progress together, energized through example. Teachers regularly lead them to compare their work by collective corrections in the workshop, in order to understand and benefit together from the remarks and advice

One year to choose your orientation

The assessment in the foundation year runs throughout the year and on the basis of continuous evaluation. At the end of the year, this continuous evaluation generates a ranking that determines the transition to a higher year in Penninghen.

180 places are accessible in the second year
3 programs
60 students per program

The three programs offered at Penninghen:

FIRST YEAR PROGRAM

The integrated applied arts degree represents:

  • 30 weeks of classes
  • 26 hours of weekly lessons
  • 27 hours of personal work on average per week

 

Its educational program highlights the importance of observation through drawing, mastery of design and ideation, that of graphic composition and space.  For one year, students in the preparatory year practice daily. The courses are structured around the fundamentals of 8 essential disciplines, through technical lessons and practical exercises beneficial to the 3 programs offered.

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Conception and Creation

  • Acquire visual creation techniques
  • Know how to describe, analyze and summarize
  • Create a narrative using produced images
  • Recognize different figures of speech
  • Learn about visual and written communication
  • Learn how to express a personal creation through practice

3 hours of lectures and 2 hours of personal work per week (langage and writers) 

3 hours of lectures and 6 hours of personal work per week  (creation)

Year-round teaching

arts graphiques 1ère année Penninghen - Pierre Hajzadeh

Language of space

  • understand the logics of shapes, structure and color
  • initiate the use of volume and spatial codes

1 hour of lectures, 2 hours of practical work and 6 hours of personal work per week
Year-round teaching

design d'espace 1ère année Penninghen

Graphic language

  • Understand the logic of shapes, colors, materials 
  • Introduction to the use of signs and graphic codes

1 hour of lectures, 2 hours of practical work and 6 hours of personal work per week
Year-round teaching

Dessin d'observation Julie Bassot

Observational drawing

  • Discover the perspective
  • Assess balance and proportions
  • Study framing, light, contrasts and textures
  • Select a view point
  • Learn to master the tools of line drawing

6 hours of workshop drawing and 3 hours of personal work per week
Year-round teaching

langage graphique

Illustration

  • Discover traditional tools
  • Learn to transcribe perspective, materials and light from realism to interpretation

3 hours of workshop drawing and 3 hours of personal work per week
Year-round teaching

Sketching

  • Develop analytic ability through observation
  • Know how to capture the moment
  • Create an individual formal style

3 hours of live model drawing lessons per week

Year-round teaching

histoire art penninghen

Artistic culture

  • Learn to look and analyze 
  • understand artistic development in history
  • Learn how to analyze a work of art

1 hour of lectures and 1 hour of personal work per week
Year-round teaching

INPI - Patent Office

  • Understanding Intellectual Property
  • Learn the basics of Intellectual Property, from patents to literary and
  • artistic property, from trademarks to designs, as well as the definition and
  • elements of counterfeiting.

This course, in partnership with INPI, leads to a badge, a certificate of achievement.
16 hours of online courses

 

French as a Foreign Language - FLE

  • Obtain the B2 level for entrance to the 2nd year

Compulsory course for those who do not have the B2 level (high intermediate) in French. The B2 level in F.L.E. must be validated by a test at school at the end of the 1st year to move up to the 2nd year.
2 hours of weekly classes, year-round teaching

 

Portfolio and method

The entirety of work created in all the subjects, coupled with the practical work carried out throughout the year (lectures, workshops, ongoing work, competitive exams) allows the student at the end of the first year to build a rich and varied portfolio (more than 200 pieces of work).

 

The teaching method in the preparatory year allows the student to confidently envision the continuation of their creative journey in order to make the choices that meet their needs and abilities.

TRAINING IN ART AND CREATION

At the end of the preparatory year, students can choose from Penninghen’s three training courses to professionalize in the creative professions:

Artistic Direction Training

 You are led to understand the components of the artistic direction, the development of vocabulary and grammar related to creation and production, you learn to manage and deploy an artistic direction project in its entirety.

This training trains in the professions of artistic director, creative director, graphic designer, graphic designer, photographer, director, webdesigner, motion designer, image manager, production director, publisher, illustrator, etc.

Communication Training

You learn the codes, the technical rules of communication; the rules of graphics, layout; the rules of writing and formats; you learn to manage and deploy a communication campaign. This training trains in the professions of Communication Director, Strategic Director, Brand Director, Marketing Director, Event Director, Innovation Director, Sponsorship and Partnership Manager, Press Secretary, Public Relations Manager, copywriter, media planner, community manager…

Interior Architecture Training

You learn to understand the components of interior architecture, vocabulary and grammar of forms related to creation and production; technical codes and rules; the balance between volume and space.

This training course teaches interior designers, architects, scenographers, designers, project directors, space planners, creative managers, etc.

HOW TO INTEGRATE THE PREPARATORY YEAR IN APPLIED ARTS OF PENNINGHEN?

First year registration in Penninghen is done outside of Parcoursup. It is open to all, subject to availability.

  • Proof of the baccalaureate level
  • Be at least 17 years old
  • No interview, competition, school record, or portfolio
  • Registrations within the limit of 300 places available

FIRST YEAR RATES AND TUITION

For the year 2025/2026, the amount of the preparatory year is 10.990 €. A fee of 590€ is payable at the time of registration. Discover the tuition fees in Penninghen

What should I do if I don’t pass the first year ?

The profile of the students from the preparatory year of Penninghen is appreciated by many artistic formations, applied arts workshops, schools of architecture or schools of communication. Students who decide to reorient will have acquired:

  • a method and know-how rewarding for the rest of their career solid foundations in graphic expression,
  • design in space a real methodology,
  • which will refine their future personal artistic projects
  • a rich portfolio of nearly 200 original works that demonstrate the strength of the achievements

TEST

WHY CHOOSE PENNINGHEN ?

  • A renowned school for more than 55 years, regularly ranked #1 in artistic training
  • Very solid foundations acquired in the first year
  • Professional training based on real cases for prestigious brands
  • Coaching by the greatest professionals in their field, in business, who teach and transmit their expertise
  • Opportunities for multiple and regular professional meetings throughout the training
  • A strong network of more than 3,700 graduates
  • 97% placement within 6 months of graduation in the intended functions

 

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