Fine Art [with Placement year]

Develop your individual practice, explore and experiment with new processes and media, and engage with contemporary practice and theory by studying for our BA (Hons) Fine Art degree at Cambridge School of Art.

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

- Study on a course whose third-year students won the Freeland Painting Prize in 2023 and 2024.

- Get hands-on in your own studio space from the very start of your course.

- Join a school that recognises and invests in up-and-coming talent – we award an annual prize of £3,000 to the student with the best graduate work to support their ongoing practice.

- Attend our Fine Art Research Unit's lecture series to discover contemporary debates in fine art practice.

At ARU, studying Fine Art allows you to experiment with your creativity, explore materials and processes, and discover which media best communicate your ideas.

We encourage creative risk-taking, and you’ll have to the chance to explore many new practices and artistic platforms, including photography, printmaking, performance art, film and video, digital media, installation and site-specific approaches. Take a look at some of our students' work.

Our tutors, who are all professional artists, and expert technicians will be on hand to support you.

Get hands-on in your own studio space from the very start of your course, based next to our digital and traditional exhibition space Ruskin Gallery. You’ll work closely with fine artists in other years and students from across our creative community. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll get time, guidance and support from our team of practicing artists, dedicated to your creative development. We’ll support you to experiment with materials and across a range of different media, processes and techniques as you develop confidence and build a substantial portfolio of work.

We learn outside the studio too, with visits to local exhibitions, galleries in London and international trips to centres of contemporary art such as Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam and the Venice Bienniale.

Throughout the course there are opportunities to collaborate and exhibit your work - 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’ll also showcase your work in our graduating degree show and be considered for our annual £3,000 Supanee Gazeley Prize for the best Degree Show exhibition.

All our students are invited to attend the lecture series run by our Fine Art Research Unit, exposing you to contemporary debates in fine art practice. You’ll also study the history and theory of fine art, giving you a solid grounding for careers in the creative and cultural sector, such as curation, arts administration, or arts publishing and journalism – as well as teaching and education.

With an eye on your future career, you’ll receive ongoing support to find placements and work experience. Our students recently took part in a live brief with Cambridge Grafton Centre, using their available unit space to develop and curate an artist-led exhibition. Our course options also allow you to take an optional placement year.

As well as our dedicated fine art studio with your own workspace, you’ll have use of facilities including:

Ruskin Gallery, a professional digital art gallery
Life drawing studio
Dedicated Mac and PC suites with the latest software including Adobe Creative suite
Specialist printmaking workshop including etching, screen-printing, and lithography
3D workshops for physical media including wood, plastic, metal, and clay
Photography and media facilities including darkrooms; studios; film processing; digital printing suite; video editing; and professional equipment loans