Art Schools in the UK - Resources for Artists

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An Introduction to Art Schools in the UK

Are you interested in doing a fine art course? Are you trying to decide which art school to apply to? Do you know what your choice is if you want to do an undergraduate degree or postgraduate course in art and/or design?

This site brings together links to various art schools around the UK. It focuses purely on art schools which offer degrees and courses at an undergraduate level and/or postgraduate level.



If you know an art school which should be included here please leave a comment.

Why go to Art School?

Art School offers formal education in different aspects of art and design. How that education is offered depends on the type of art school and its basic philosophy of how to teach art.

What is an Art School?

An educational institution which primarily offers an education in art - specifically the Visual Arts - is called an Art School.

In the UK , the term Art School typically only applies to institutions with undergraduate, or graduate or postgraduate programs in the visual arts (ie part of tertiary education). They are places which people go after they leave school to do a fine art degree or similar.

Art Schools can be part of a bigger University or can be standalone institutions. Typically they are the former rather than the latter. In London there is a University which covers several different Art Schools based in London.

There are also Art Schools to which only postgraduates can apply - notably the Royal College of Art and the Royal Academy Schools in the UK

What gets taught at an Art School?

Visual Arts covers drawing, painting, sculpture, graphic design, illustration, photography, installation art and commercial art.

Art History might be taught as part of a History faculty



Image: Glasgow School of Art - designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

All About Art Schools

Includes evaluation of education and courses offering art and design

Guardian provides an in-depth guide to universities each year and below you can find links to the current relevant pages. There are also books which evaluate different courses and institutions

Art and design | Education | Education Guardian
Creation of visual work, from painting and sculpture to computer graphics and video games - includes crafts and fine art.
University guide 2012: Art and design | Education | guardian.co.uk
University performance: Art and design in our sortable table
Art school - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Art school From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.

Art Schools in London

The University of the Arts in London (Arts London) is Europe's largest university for art, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts. It's made up of a number of the art schools in London - but not all.

University of the Arts London - The UK's leading arts university
University of the Arts London consists of 6 colleges; Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London College of Communication, London College of Fashion and Wimbledon College of Art
Camberwell College of Arts Home
Part of the University of the Arts London, Camberwell College of Arts has over 100 years experience in art and design and a long line of high achieving graduates.
Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design
London based Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design has developed a reputation for pushing the boundaries of arts, design and performance.
Chelsea College of Art & Design
Chelsea College of Art & Design's reputation for excellence in teaching and learning attracts students, staff and visitors from all over the world, generating a lively community in which specialist and professional skills are imparted and shared.
Slade School of Fine Art : Introduction
The Slade School of Fine Art is concerned with contemporary art and the practice, history and theories that inform it. It approaches the study and practice of art in an enquiring, investigative, experimental and research-minded way, consciously contributing to the lively discourses of contemporary art, nationally and internationally.

Slade facilities and infrastructure for research support the discourse around painting, sculpture and fine art media.

All Slade staff are actively involved in research as well as teaching and between them have a broad and diverse range of interests and expertise.

From September 2009 the Slade will admit students to the new BFA in Fine Art. This is a three-year, full-time programme which will complement the four-year BA in Fine Art. In all, there are around 140 undergraduates, 120 graduate taught students and a dozen PhD students at the Slade. Each taught programme is studio-based and students develop their own work with tutorial and technical assistance according to their individual needs.
Wimbledon College of Art Home
Wimbledon College of Art has a long and distinguished history as one of London's major art institutions.
Goldsmith College - Department of Art
Goldsmiths College, Department of Art
The Department of Art specialises in producing, curating and writing on contemporary art practice across a range of media. It currently supports Fine Art, Textiles and Curating programmes alongside Fine Art and History of Art offered in conjunction with the Department of Visual Cultures. The Department has recently reconfigured its programmes and will now be offering Art Practice programmes at BA and MFA levels alongside joint BA and MFA Curating programmes.

Significant numbers of graduate students from the department over the last several decades are widely acknowledged as having achieved international acclaim and have regularly featured in such events as Turner Prize, Becks Futures Prize, John Moores Prize and Paul Hamlyn Awards. Five graduates have won the Turner Prize.
The Prince's Drawing School
The aim of the Prince's Drawing School is to raise the standard and profile of drawing through teaching and practise. It is one of only a few institutions in the world offering in-depth, quality tuition for those who wish to develop their observational drawing skills.
Heatherley's School of Fine Art
Heatherley's in Chelsea, London, teaches traditional skills and techniques of figurative painting and sculpture and life drawing classes.

Postgraduate Art Schools - in London

There are two very eminent art schools which for post-graduates only in London

Royal College of Art
The world's only postgraduate art and design school. Our staff, students and alumni comprise an internationally renowned community of artists, designers and academics who play a significant role in the shaping of modern culture.
RA Schools Prospectus - RA Schools - Royal Academy of Arts
RA Schools, one of the world's leading arts schools, offers the only free post-graduate fine arts course in the UK, situated in the heart of London.
Making a Mark

Art Schools in the South of England

The south of England offers a wide choice of art schools

The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. Oxford University
The Ruskin, as it is known, is the Fine Art Department of the University of Oxford. The school attracts students from all kinds of backgrounds who are seriously interested and engaged in art. The subject is taught as a living element of contemporary culture with a broad range of historical and theoretical references. The twenty students in each year are initially encouraged to work across all media and then to develop their own focus and interests during the final two years of the course.

The Ruskin is distinctive within the University because all the teaching takes place within the school. Ruskin students are also members of Oxford colleges that provide additional working relationships and support.
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design BIAD
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) is one of the largest faculties of art, design and media education in the United Kingdom. BIAD is a faculty of the Birmingham City University.

BIAD is the largest centre for art, design and media education outside London. The history of the faculty dates back to 1843, when the Birmingham School of Design was founded. The faculty provides education for nearly 4,000 students on five major campuses located in the centre and to the north and south of the centre of Birmingham.
home - University College Falmouth incorporating Dartington College of Arts
university college falmouth: college of art, design, media and new media - foundation, diploma, graduate and postgraduate courses

The study of Art at Falmouth is about exploring, challenging and developing your creative practice and pushing at the boundaries of the knowledge, understanding and processes that inform it. Our aim is to help you to establish your individual vision and expertise and, as a confident practitioner, to develop your ideas and your own creative voice
Bath School of Art and Design
The school has an established, long and successful history as a community recognised for its artistic excellence. Its special location in a world heritage centre enhances opportunities for the school to work in partnership with a wide range of national and international art and design agencies, all of which combine to provide an exciting specialist learning environment for students.
University of Brighton - Faculty of Arts and Architecture
The Faculty of Arts & Architecture at the University of Brighton enjoys a long-established reputation as an international centre of excellence in the creative arts, architecture, design and humanities.

The academic programme in Fine Art includes four undergraduate specialist BA courses in Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture and Critical Fine Art Practice, one postgraduate MA course in Fine Art and opportunities for post-graduate research for MPhil and PhD awards.

BOOKS: Choosing a University Course

books on Amazon

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Art Schools in the Midlands

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design BIAD
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) is one of the largest faculties of art, design and media education in the United Kingdom. BIAD is a faculty of the Birmingham City University.

BIAD is the largest centre for art, design and media education outside London. The history of the faculty dates back to 1843, when the Birmingham School of Design was founded. The faculty provides education for nearly 4,000 students on five major campuses located in the centre and to the north and south of the centre of Birmingham.
De Montfort University - Online Prospectus Courses for Art and Design
De Montfort University (DMU) is an academic institution situated in Leicester, UK. The DMU website contains information about DMU, listings of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, business and community services and details of our research.

Art Schools in the North of England

School of Arts and Cultures - Newcastle University
Newcastle University - School of Arts and Cultures
Leeds University - School of Fine Art
Leeds University
Cleveland College of Art and Design
The only specialist art and design college in the North East offering further and higher education courses
Making a Mark reviews......

Art Schools in Wales

Aberystwyth University School of Art
Courses, Exhibitions, Research and News at the School of Art - Aberystwyth University

The School of Art offers
  • specialised or combined courses in Drawing and Painting, Book Illustration, Photography, Printmaking, Multimedia (installation, digital art, video and sound) and Art History
  • a vocation oriented, hands-on education in Art History and Museum and Gallery Studies
  • joint honours degree schemes that combine Fine Art, Art History, and Museum and Gallery Studies with other university subjects
Cardiff School of Art & Design
Cardiff School of Art and Design aims to be a visible force in the arts and creative industries, with a reputation for courses, research and enterprise that befits a European capital city.
Glyndwr University.- North Wales School of Art & Design
The School states that it has an international reputation for innovation and excellence which is demonstrated by the number and range of prizes won by the School's students in national and international competitions, including the prestigious D&AD Awards and the Macmillan book prize.

Many staff retain important links with high profile professional agencies. Nearly all the staff exhibit regularly or undertake commissions and consultancies and show an unrivalled commitment and passion for their subject as well as engaging with "state of the art research".

The wide range of programmes on offer at the School cover traditional and contemporary art and some are unique in the UK - Glynd%u0175r University is one of the the only institutions in the UK offering a degree in Illustration for Children's Publishing, and is launching another exciting new undergraduate programme in 2009 (subject to validation) in "Graphic Novels." This explores the "comic book" genre.

Art Schools in Scotland

Glasgow School of Art
The Glasgow School of Art is internationally recognised as one of Britain's foremost higher education institutions for the study and advancement of fine art, design and architecture. It's a small, specialist and highly focused international community of artists, designers and architects.
Edinburgh College of Art - eca
Edinburgh College of Art (eca) has an international reputation as one of the most successful independent art colleges in the UK. This reputation derives from the highest quality of experience for our students and staff and by providing a learning environment that is both supportive and challenging.

eca is known for its creativity, its co-operative atmosphere and its people - one recent graduate described the College as 'an ideas factory'.
RGU: Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen, Scotland.
Gray's School of Art provides an important focal point in the creative culture of Aberdeen and Scotland.
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
Duncan of Jordanstone is one of the few art and design institutions in the UK that is part of a world class University, renowned for its pioneering research and creative practice. This commitment to excellence infuses all that we do.

The College believes that teaching and learning is led by research, which explains why it employs so many practitioners in art and design who are engaged in world class research. New knowledge, ideas and innovation in media and techniques flows from this research into the teaching environment.
Leith School of Art: An Edinburgh Art College
Central Edinburgh Art school offering foundation, full-time and part-time courses. Courses run in the summer and at the weekend or in the evening during term time

History of Art Schools

If you want to study art rather than make art

Bristol University: Undergraduate Prospectus - History of Art - Introduction
University of Bristol Undergraduate prospectus 2012
Based in a vibrant and world-leading research department, History of Art at Bristol is taught by experts recognised internationally for innovative research. The broad chronological, geographical and thematic range of our staff's research interests feed directly into our teaching, which places a unique emphasis on progression through a wide choice of research-oriented units.
University of St Andrews | School of Art History
A choice of over 50 modules in subjects such as Gothic Architecture and the Art of the Renaissance Court to Art Nouveau and New York Modernism. Faculty has a number of distinguished scholars and the university is an important centre for research on the history of architecture, history of photography, the fine and decorative arts and museum studies.
University of York | History of Art
The sixteen permanent members of the department teach and research art-historical topics that range from the medieval period to the present, and that demonstrate an especially diverse and lively set of approaches to the subject. Regular visits by distinguished visiting professors in the department. Close links with an international range of galleries and museums.
Applications from mature students enocuraged
University College London | History of Art
University College London - Gower Street - London - WC1E 6BT
The UCL History of Art department began awarding degrees in the subject in 1964, but the presence of the History of Art in the College goes back much further, even beyond the founding of the Slade School of Art in 1870.
Welcome to the History of Art Department at the University of Warwick
Department has an international reputation, which was recognised by having 70% of its research output graded 4* or 3* in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. Each member of staff is an active researcher, and regularly publishes books and articles with leading presses and in international journals. Undergraduate degree encourages students to design their own course. In the final year students opt either to follow a course in contemporary art, or to spend the Autumn term resident in Venice. This is an opportunity unique to Warwick.

Open University

History of Art undergraduate
Degrees
* Humanities
This degree allows you to combine courses on different aspects of the arts - what people thought, made and practised - and their meaning and values in the past and today.
* Humanities with Art History
This degree allows you to combine courses on art history and different aspects of the arts - what people thought, made and practised - and their meaning and values in the past and today.
* Open degree
The BA/BSc Open Degree provides a flexible way to combine a range of courses from different subjects either to suit your particular career or personal interests, or to complete studies you have started elsewhere.

Funding Art Education

Direct Gov. - Student Finance Guide
Aim Higher... Student Finance. We all face tough decisions in life, but going to uni needn't be one of them. You'll learn new things, meet loads of new friends and have the kind of experience you'll remember for the rest of your life - all this before you even graduate!
Student finance: an introduction : Directgov - Education and learning
An introduction to student finance for new higher education students from England: main sources of help for full-time and part-time students, and where to find information on extra help if you're disabled, have children or adult dependants or you get into financial difficulty
Student finance : Directgov - Education and learning
Going to university or college? Work out how much you could get through Student Loans, grants and bursaries, and apply online. Plus information on repaying Student Loans

Student Finance England will help you work out the financial support you'll get, apply for finance and keep track of your payments. You can:

* create an online student finance account and use it to apply earlier than in previous years
* manage your student finance account online
* if you're starting your course in 2009/2010, use the Student Finance Calculator for a quick guide to how much you can get - and to see what bursaries may be available at your preferred university or college
Student Awards Agency for Scotland
You should use this site if your home is in Scotland, or you are studying in Scotland, and you want to apply for tuition fees, loan or grants for a higher education course such as a Higher National Diploma or a degree.
Student Finance Wales
As NI, lots of info but poor website
student finance northern ireland
Lots of information but a poorly structured website
UKCISA
UK Council for International Student Affairs promotes and protects the needs of international students. UK Council for International Student Affairs provides advice and information to international students studying in the UK and to staff who work with them.
Top-up fees - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Top-up fees (not their official name) are a new way of charging tuition to undergraduate and PGCE students who study at universities in England and Wales from the 2006-2007 academic year onwards. Students who started degree courses before this year continue to pay the old fees.

Art Schools of the Past

East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing was an art learning environment established by Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines in East Anglia in 1937. It was run on very idiosyncratic lines based upon the "free rein" approach that was then current in French academies. It had a great influence on many Suffolk artists and made an important contribution to art teaching in the east of England for forty years.
Birmingham School of Art - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed[1] building on Margaret Street remains the home of the university's Department of Fine Art and is still commonly referred to by its original title.

Fine Art and the Masters Degree

Joanne Mattera Art Blog: Marketing Mondays: The M.F.A.
Colloquially known as "More F**king Artists," the Master of Fine Arts degree has become--depending on your point of view:
. essential for a career as an exhibiting artist
. a way to avoid the pressure of showing art in the real world
. an invaluable educational experience
. a colossal waste of money
. network central
. a clique with you on the outside
. the best thing you could do for your career
. a debt that virtually assures you'll never be able to buy a home

Resources for Artists - Alternative ways to get an art education

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Making A Mark - on Art Education

posts from Making A Mark - ranked as #3 in the top 25 art blogs in the UK

MAM Poll: What's the most effective way of improving your art education?
This post is about finding out what you think has been the best approach you've found so far for improving your art education - that knowledge about art which informs your personal effectiveness.
Living the dream - how conscious are you of your own competence?
In developing your knowledge and skills - how conscious are you of your own competence?

Here are some different ways of looking at competence. This analysis had a huge impact on me the first time I came across it. It really helped me to sort through what I knew and what I didn't - and how far I was from where I wanted to be.
Outstanding performance - a talent or 10,000 hours of practice?
Gladwell highlights the need to put in the hours as a really important explanation of why some people become very successful. He identifies 10,000 hours as being the minimum requirement for becoming seriously good at whatever you do based on various research which has been done.
The Open College of the Arts
The Open College of the Arts is an educational facility based in the UK which makes a structured set of courses available to any student of any age anywhere in the world. It was founded to cater for people who wish to develop their abilities but who see no present way of engaging in the traditional pathways of full-time education.
Life drawing in the Royal Academy Schools Life Room
On Saturday afternoon, I did a life drawing workshop in the Life Room at the Royal Academy Schools. To be honest I really did it to be able to see this famous Life Drawing Room and to sit on the benches sat on by very many famous British artists - such as Turner and Constable - who studied at the Royal Academy Schools.
Drawing on art and the Prince of Wales
Art Education

One of the Prince's ambitions is to help young people realise their full potential. Here are some of the organisations he's helped to stimulate and create and/or sponsor as a patron.
The Bulldog Bursary - an apprenticeship in portraiture
The Bulldog Bursary is that rare privilege - an educational project and a national bursary created to promote professional and artistic development within the field of painted portraiture. It's a prize which is subject to competition and comprises:

* a bursary of £5,000,
* studio space at the Art Academy, close to Tate Modern and
* most importantly, it offers a talented up and coming artist the opportunity to work alongside and be mentored by the members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (RP).

Making A Mark

Artist and writer Katherine Tyrrell draws and writes about art for artists and art lovers

Topics include: drawing, painting, art blogs, visual artists, art competitions, art exhibitions, art history; art techniques and tips; art business and marketing; the art economy and making a mark with pastels, coloured pencils and pen & ink

Ranked #3 in the top 25 art blogs in the UK | Over one million visitors to date
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Making a Mark reviews......

a consumer's guide to quality and value in art books, art supplies and services to artists

This blog highlights:
- book reviews (art instruction and art history)
- reviews of art media, art materials and art equipment
- reviews of places where you buy (art shops, online art suppliers and art bookshops)
- reviews of other products or services used by artists
- summaries of good quality and relevant reviews by other practising artists
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Comments and Feedback

comments are welcome - but please do not spam

ANYBODY can comment BUT please note that:
* All comments are moderated before publication
* All html is stripped out of comments. Spam is not published.

  • nancy May 20, 2012 @ 4:47 pm | delete
    are there ant primary schools with a heavy art focus?
  • makingamark May 20, 2012 @ 5:35 pm | delete
    Not so far as I am aware
  • makingamark May 17, 2011 @ 6:56 am | delete
    To those people trying to drop links to art schools in other areas of the world please note:
    1) This site is about the UK
    2) spam is not published. I investigate all links left and only relevant and good quality links are published.
  • Maureen Nathan Jun 8, 2010 @ 12:26 pm | delete
    I wonder why you haven't included Heatherley's School of Art in your London list? It seems to me to be on a par with the Princes Drawing School offering similar courses and having a similar attitude to traditional drawing and painting skills and an emphasis on teaching them.
  • makingamark Jun 8, 2010 @ 12:59 pm | delete
    Purely because I forgot! Now included.
  • makingamark Feb 15, 2009 @ 9:14 pm | delete
    I started with the organisations which are art schools in their own right but am now adding in universities which have faculties or schools of art and design

    I've also updated the lens since it was published
    - sections for the Midlands and Wales have now been added (I've added in De Montfort University)
    - I've deleted the Distance Learning to make this site purely devoted to institutions offering undergraduate degrees and/or postgraduate courses
  • MelGB Jul 20, 2011 @ 8:12 am | delete
    Hello,
    Can you recommend any schools in the UK that offer post-grads through distance learning? I am an art and design educator in Canada and would like to study whilst staying at my current job.
    Congrats on such a comprehensive and succinct collection of resources for artists!
    Many thanks,
    Melanie
  • David Feb 13, 2009 @ 5:16 am | delete
    with apologies - I've just reread the bit about 'institutions with a primary focus'. DMU doesn't qualify... David
  • David Feb 13, 2009 @ 4:23 am | delete
    DeMontfort University, Leicester.
    http://www.dmu.ac.uk/Subjects/Db/index.php?index=fac&list=2

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