Fine Art [with Placement year]

Develop your individual practice, explore and experiment with new processes and media, and engage with contemporary practice and theory.

Experiment with your creativity, explore materials and processes, and discover which media best communicate your ideas in a collaborative studio environment.

We encourage creative risk-taking, and you’ll explore many new practices and artistic platforms, including photography, printmaking, performance art, film and video, digital media, installation and site-specific approaches.

Our tutors, who are all professional artists, and expert technicians will be on hand to support you to build a substantial portfolio of work.

Join a course that scored 92% for ‘Freedom of students to express ideas, opinions and beliefs’ in the National Student Survey 2024.

Get hands-on in your own studio space from day one.

We offer an annual prize of £3,000 for the student with the best graduate work.

Benefit from our Fine Art Research Unit's lecture series.

Careers

Our degree opens the door to many different creative and professional opportunities.

As a student, you’ll have opportunities to exhibit your work, and develop professional skills in curating, group work, event management, and marketing and promotion.

Our modules cover professional practice and include live briefs, and there’s careers and employability support on offer from day one. You can be sure you’ll develop skills and experience you need to stand out.

Throughout the course there are opportunities to collaborate and exhibit your work and it’s a great way to develop professional skills in curating, event management, marketing and promotion.

Our students have recently held exhibitions at Cambridge ArtSpace and created site-specific installations at the Institute of Astronomy, the Botanic Gardens and the Museum of Technology. You can take part in competitions, too. Students from ARU won the Freelands Painting Prize in 2023 and 2024, which celebrates outstanding painting practice at undergraduate level.

You’ll also showcase your work in our graduating degree show and, as a BA (Hons) Fine Art student, you’ll be considered for our annual Supanee Gazeley Prize, a £3,000 award for the best Degree Show exhibition.

With an eye on your future career, you’ll receive ongoing support to find placements and work experience. Our course options also allow you to take an optional placement year.

As a graduate you might work in fine art practice, community arts projects, prop and set making, art therapy, or museum and gallery administration and education. Or you could pursue creative roles in advertising, art direction, marketing, digital content production, as well as lecturing and teaching.

Graduation doesn’t need to be the end of your time with us. You might also choose continue your studies on our MA Fine Art degree. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and get 20% off your fees.

Teaching

You’ll start by exploring a range of approaches to observational drawing and experimenting with a variety of media, as well as gaining key knowledge of the theory and history of art.

In your second year, you’ll work on establishing your individual art practices and start planning your future career – but you’ll still have plenty of space to explore and experiment.

In your final year, you’ll focus on advanced studio practice and your Degree Show exhibition, as well as a Research Project and preparing for professional life after graduation.

*=optional.

Year 1: Fine Art Practice 1; Critical Histories of Art; Ways of Seeing, Into ARU; Approaches to Drawing*; Experimental Practice*; Anglia Language Programme*.

Year 2: Fine Art Practice 2; Critical Issues and Debates; Ruskin Module; Printmaking Ideas and Processes*; Spatial Practices*; Archive: Creative Futures*; Exhibitions in Context*.

Year 3: Placement.

Year 4: Fine Art Major Project; Research Project*; Working in the Creative Industries*.

You’ll show your progress in a number of ways. On critical and contextual modules you’ll produce essays or shorter written assignments, while on studio modules you’ll either submit portfolios of artwork, or install exhibitions.You won’t have to take any exams on our BA (Hons) Fine Art course.