Fine Art and Design

Lancaster's Fine Art and Design degree is one of the few programmes in the UK where fine art studio practice and contemporary design sit alongside each other as equals. Rather than treating them as separate disciplines, the course brings them into conversation, encouraging you to move between making, research, and critical thinking in ways that neither field could offer on its own.

Through studio projects, skills-based workshops, and live design briefs, you will develop both the practical skills and the conceptual grounding to work across a wide range of creative contexts.

Why Lancaster?

• Take a highly distinctive programme that combines fine art practice with the study of contemporary ideas and art movements

• Benefit from our Fine Art studio space, with expert technical support on hand

• Work with tutors who are practicing artists and scholars, offering you expert advice from professional experience of making, exhibiting and publishing. Be taught by experts.

• Join a supportive community of staff and students committed to making art and design relevant today, helping you build connections that will shape your future in the art and design industry

• Study in Lancaster, a vibrant and inspiring hub of award-winning arts festivals, events and places of cultural significance

Bring your vision to life

Our BA in Fine Art and Design at Lancaster is about finding your voice and deciding what matters to you in today’s creative landscape.

With a strong foundation in contemporary art practice, you will explore a broad range of materials, media techniques and methods alongside the history and context of art and design practices. You’ll discover how contemporary art and design can be bold, meaningful, and make change.

Our course will encourage you to explore big questions about society, business, technology and the planet. You’ll tackle real-world problems, learn how to design for sustainable futures and work with real clients in leading creative projects.

Studio space for hands-on learning

You’ll be encouraged to experiment with painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, video, digital art, and their many hybrids, discovering how these different practices can drive your creative impulse. As well as refining your practical studio skills, you’ll also become a critical reader, able to examine how contemporary art is constantly evolving to create new and exciting ways of looking at the world.

A thriving creative community

At Lancaster you’ll join our thriving creative community, working with experienced artists and designers who will help you build connections to shape your future in the art world and beyond.

Your Fine Art tutors are professional artists who are exhibiting, curating and writing across a range of art and ideas, including high profile residencies and commissions in museums, galleries and cultural industries worldwide.

In Design, you will be taught by researchers and practitioners from ImaginationLancaster, Lancaster University's internationally recognised design research lab. ImaginationLancaster works on some of the most pressing design challenges of our time, including smart environments, inclusive technology, service design, and design futures.

Lancaster is a hub of art and cultural activity, home to award-winning festivals such as, Lancaster Words and Litfest literary festivals and the stunning Light Up Lancaster festival of art and light.

You will be part of a creative and intellectually vibrant community building lifelong connections with artists, external partners, tutors and other students.

Creative futures

Opportunities to develop your practice beyond the studio will give you a head start in your career. The chance to exhibit your work throughout the course will help you develop your professional skills and build your confidence. Hands on projects build networks and enhance your employability skills.