Art and Design

Unleash your inner creativity with the skills and confidence to fully realise your self-expression and solve problems with fresh thinking.

Studying art and design isn’t just about flexing your creativity. It’s about nurturing your critical thinking and problem-solving, so you can approach and tackle challenges with novel, unique perspectives.

Our BA Art and Design course empowers you to become a creative and critical thinker, able to explore practical uses for art and design. You’ll gain a wide set of skills that are adaptable throughout the ever-changing design landscape. You’ll learn about creative technologies, art and design theory, and how to tackle social and environmental issues with positive impact. Integral to fuelling your creative juices will be research and contextual study, giving you a solid foundation of knowledge.

You’ll work across various formats and with others to develop solutions to problems, demonstrating your ability to think outside the box. Exploring unconventional ideas and bringing them to life will showcase your creativity, innovation and adaptability.

Learning through doing, you’ll develop imaginative and responsive approaches to artefact and image making that utilise the exciting fabrication and digital opportunities of the School of Design.

"When I come into the creative space here in the School of Design, I feel at home. The friends you make from different parts of the world; your course mates that have grown with you just tend to encourage you and keep you going."

Abigail Egwunyenga, BA Art and Design

Why study at Leeds

• Hands-on practical experience: Work on exciting and authentic projects, with challenging briefs to meet.

• Supportive teaching: 92% of students surveyed say teaching staff have supported their learning well. (Discover Uni data)

• Learn in specialist facilities: Test your skills with our spaces and professional-grade tools, like our state-of the art equipment for polymer synthesis fibre extrusion, yarn and fabric development, digital printing studio, and laboratory for materials testing and characterisation.

• Access to experts: Glean insights from visiting industry and academic experts, including School of Design alumni.

• Showcase your work: Our graduates have used the skills gained from their course to exhibit their work in leading art galleries throughout the country.

Rankings and awards

• 6th in the UK for Art and Design, Complete University Guide 2026

• 53rd in the world for Arts and Humanities, QS World Rankings by Subject 2026

Where this degree could take you

University of Leeds Art graduates have worked for a wide range of companies and institutions, including:

• Victoria and Albert Museum

• Penguin Random House

• National Portrait Gallery

• Arts Council Collection

• Pinewood Studios

• Cath Kidston

• Channel 4

Some have also decided to move onto postgraduate studies in disciplines such as fine art, design, material futures, art and science, environmentalism, advertising, landscape architecture, illustration, set design, scenic arts, museum studies and curating. Others have stepped into careers in accounting, law, marketing, journalism, education, medicine and retail.

Careers support

Top 10 most targeted for 10+ years by the UK's leading employers, The Graduate Market 2026, High Fliers Research

At Leeds, we help you to prepare for your future from day one.

Our Careers Service has the global expertise and sector-spanning industry partnerships that, combined, go way beyond simply helping you get a job. They provide you with the resources you need to upskill and achieve the future you aspire towards – even in the face of lightning-paced change.