This course has studio communities and facilities for painting, sculpture, and performance and digital practices. Led by an experienced team of practising artists you will learn how to explore, navigate, and define your own specialism. 

You are encouraged to pursue your individual interests through tutorials, seminars, workshops, and group critiques; while engaging in wider social, political, cultural, environmental, economic, technological contexts and contemporary issues.  

Located in our purpose-built studios and aligned to painting, sculpture, or performance and digital, you will develop a strong artist identity shaped by your specialism and any interdisciplinary approaches you take. Access to workshops and facilities, specialist staff, mixed discipline and cross year critiques, and opportunities to collaborate ensure that you can challenge the boundaries of your practice.

Throughout the course there is an emphasis on technical skill and critical thought that synthesises thinking and making. You will acquire a range of creative and technical strategies to support the development and sustainability of your creative practice. Through exhibition proposals, projects, and collaborations you will develop the essential skills and experience you need as a practicing artist, expand your networks, and make lifelong contacts.

We have several cultural institutions on our doorstep and make regular visits to galleries and exhibitions which have included Leeds Art Gallery, the Henry Moore Institute, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and The Hepworth. National and international trips have included events such as the Venice Biennale. We also have a programme of visiting practitioners who engage in a range of arts practices and roles within arts organisations.


Apply now

Please apply direct to the University for our BA (Hons) Fine Art course using the links below.

Home applicants

Click here to apply via UCAS

International applicants

Click here to apply

If you need any assistance completing the form please contact the Admissions team at admissions@leeds-art.ac.uk.

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course details

What You'll Study

Year One – Your first year focuses on community building, making, and experimentation. Through a range of introductory workshops, seminars, and critiques you will explore materials and processes alongside developing your critical thinking.

Year Two – In your second year you will develop your work within your specialist studio community, with specialist teaching, tutorials, and critiques to extend your practice. You will enhance your professionalism by implementing artists’ strategies and exhibition practice.

Year Three – In your third year you will consolidate your informed and positioned practice and begin to work beyond your studio community. As a confident and emerging professional artist, you will extend your networks and learn how to develop proposals and applications for local, national, and international projects and exhibitions. Supported through critiques and tutorials, your final body of work is curated to form a public facing exhibition.

Work Experience

Work experience covers a broad range of activities and students are encouraged to undertake work placements during their time at university. As well as guidance from the course team our Careers, Employability and Enterprise team offer support that enhances employability skills and underpins engagement with industry.

Work experience that our alumni have negotiated has included ‘Think Out of The Box’ supported work experience with East Street Arts, Leeds; bronze foundry work experience at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop in Aberdeenshire; work experience with the British Art Show 8 external project at Leeds Art Gallery; mentored awards by AON, a national project organised by Work Place Consultancy; and undertaking volunteer positions in the Learning Department at The Hepworth Wakefield and at Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Accolades

Our students win many prestigious awards and prizes. Recently, these have included:

  • Associate Artists for Yorkshire Sculpture International
  • Winner Ingram Collection Purchase Prize
  • The Kenneth Armitage Student Sculpture Award
  • The British Art Medal Project Award
  • Aon Community Art Awards
  • Winner of The Northern Art Show Award Bursary
  • Winner of The Drawing Year at Royal Drawing School

Our students have also been shortlisted for the Royal British Society of Artists Rome Scholarship, John Moores Painting Prize, The Lynn Painters and Stainers’ British Painting Prize and the Royal Academy Summer Show.  

Course Specification

Contact Hours and Teaching/Learning Methods

Undergraduate degree courses at Leeds Arts University are delivered and supported through a range of teaching and learning strategies. Courses are made up of modules, these are elements of study that are taught and assessed separately. Each module carries a clearly identified credit value, the accumulation of which will allow you to progress to the next level of the course. Around 100 hours of learning are expected for every ten credits of the course. Each level (year) of the course is made up of 120 credits and therefore requires 1200 hours of learning. Teaching is split over 2 semesters; each semester has 13 weeks of teaching and 2 weeks of assessment. 

For further information visit Undergraduate teaching & learning at Leeds Arts University.

Destination Careers

Graduates go into a wide variety of careers including independent art practice, community arts, curating, arts management, arts therapies, and teaching. Graduates also continue to postgraduate study. 

Entry Requirements

We’re looking for students with the best potential to succeed - irrespective of their background. That’s why we welcome a wide range of qualifications and experience.

Click here to view our entry requirements

Tuition Fees and Other Costs

Tuition Fees

Our current fees are listed here

Other Costs

Further costs of study are related largely to the costs of materials and depend very much on how individual students choose to respond to University briefs.

The costs below are the result of asking our students to state how much they spend during the year and creating an average, as such they are indicative only.

Equipment and Materials

  • Level 4 (First Year)
    Materials - Approximately £10-£150
  • Level 5 (Second Year)
    Materials - Approximately £10-£200
  • Level 6 (Third Year)
    Materials - Approximately £20-£300

It is advisable that you possess a portfolio for carrying your work to and from the University in order to keep it in good condition.

Computers and Digital Equipment

Teaching and learning are supported through access to some online events and learning materials. This might include visiting speakers or the chance to review lectures that have been recorded. The University also uses a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to support learning. There are a range of computer facilities across the University available to access Monday to Saturday including weekday evenings. If you are intending to buy a computer we suggest you wait until you start your course. You will quickly find out what you do and don’t need. The Course Team will be able to offer you advice on what to buy and where to purchase it from, based on your creative needs and budget.

Educational Visits and Off-Site Activities

Educational visits to enhance your experience may take place throughout the course and can range from a visit to a UK conference, exhibition or gallery, to a European or international study trip. All trips requiring a student financial contribution are optional and costs will always be kept as affordable as possible. We do not guarantee that we will run international visits. The decision is made annually based on availability, cost and the number of students required to make the trip viable.


We provide support for undergraduate students dependent upon their financial circumstances. Visit Undergraduate Finance for further information.

Terms & Conditions and Key Information

International Opportunities / Visiting and exchange students

We are delighted to welcome undergraduate visiting and exchange students from Europe and around the world who would like to spend a semester or a full academic year taking credits from our exciting range of courses. You will be fully integrated into the academic and social life of the University during a period of full-time supervised study and your credits transferred back to your home institution.

You can join us through programmes such as Erasmus+, individual university partnerships or as an independent applicant. Please see here for more information and how to apply.

Leeds Arts University students interested in spending some time overseas can find information on the international opportunities available during your course here.

Questions? Contact international@leeds-art.ac.uk

Duration
3 Years
Study Mode
Full Time
Term Starts
September
Institution Name
Leeds Arts University
Institution Code
L28
UCAS Code
W100
Awarded by
Leeds Arts University

Gallery

BA (Hons) Fine Art

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BA (Hons) Fine Art student awarded Second Grand Prize in British Art Medal Society’s Student Medal Project 2023

BA (Hons) Fine Art student awarded Second Grand Prize in British Art Medal Society competition …

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