Fine Art

  • Overview
  • Structure
  • Admissions Requirements
  • Careers
  • Fees and Funding
  • Studying at Oxford

Unistats information for this class tin can be found at the bottom of the page

Fine Fine art is the making and written report of visual art. Information technology educates and prepares students to become artists and to follow other practices that are aligned with the making of fine art. The curriculum is centred on the individual student'due south potential and imagination.

The Ruskin Schoolhouse of Art offers a iii-year studio-based BFA grade in which students work aslope each other in collaboratively-organised studios. Whereas many fine art courses run in an environs devoted exclusively to art and design, Ruskin students, every bit members of a collegiate university, accept the advantage of contact with their contemporaries on all of Oxford'due south other courses.

The Ruskin course aims to develop strong independent points of view and a mature grasp of the range of critical debate surrounding contemporary art and its many international histories. Oxford's short terms, coupled with the aggressive atmosphere at the Ruskin, suit highly-motivated and resourceful students with a good sense of how to organise their time both in and out of Oxford.

The starting time year of the course is structured to introduce students to 1 another, to the resources of the school and to the staff involved in education and running the Ruskin. Students volition familiarise themselves with their swain students' work, take part in group criticism and engage in intensive dialogue with tutors and visiting artists.

The intimate working environment of the school, arranged in 2 buildings, allows fine art history, theory and criticism to be treated every bit integral to the development of studio work. The Ruskin likewise enjoys a strong and constructive relationship with Modern Art Oxford (an exciting and influential gimmicky fine art infinite) and students have full access to the many exceptional University libraries and museums, including the Ashmolean and the Sackler Library.

Student studying

"Unlike ... other fine art courses in the UK, the Ruskin does non require you to specialise in any particular medium. [And] the interesting blend of bookish and practical that this course offers was perfect for me."
HOLLY

"My time at the Ruskin was extremely positive... The majority of the form is structured with independent practice, simply the studio environment means in that location are e'er people around to bounciness ideas off... The sense of community and back up at Ruskin is what makes it stand out, and the course volition assist nurture your practice in a caring and challenging way."
 JESSICA

A typical week

Most students' weeks will typically consist of several, or all, of the post-obit: a 1-to-ane studio-based tutorial focusing on the individual pupil's fine art work, a grouping critique of educatee art work, a skills-based workshop, a history and theory lecture and seminar, and a talk past a visiting speaker. You will spend much of your time working in your ain studio spaces, where you will be supported by specialists in the fine art-making techniques available at the Ruskin.

Tutorials are usually one:1 with a tutor. Typically there are ten-20 students in a group critique (in which 4 students present their work, and discussion is guided by two tutors). There are usually no more than 12 students in any workshop or seminar and around 30-40 for lectures and visiting speakers' talks. Well-nigh didactics is delivered past staff who are dedicated tutors in their field of study. Many are leading artists and writers with years of experience in teaching and research. Some educational activity may exist delivered by postgraduate students who are studying at doctorate level.

To find out more about how our teaching yr is structured, visit our Academic Year page.

Form structure

YEAR 1

COURSES

Students develop their studio piece of work in discussion with the schoolhouse's faculty, tutors and visiting staff. They are allocated a tutor at the start, who monitors progress, sets targets and directs them in their studies. Work is regularly presented and discussed at group critiques involving staff and students from across the school. Alongside this, workshops and projects designed to innovate a range of techniques and approaches are offered throughout the year. In addition, students attend taught applied classes in man anatomy as well as lectures, seminars and tutorials in the history and theory of visual culture. Experimentation is highly encouraged.

ASSESSMENT

Practical studio-based piece of work, including human being beefcake; three submitted essays in the history and theory of visual civilisation
YEARS ii AND 3

COURSES

Years two and three are similar in structure (with the exception of Anatomy), and go on the tutorial system introduced in the first year All students are required to keep the study of art history and theory and to submit three essays during the form of the second year.

In the first term of the tertiary year, Finalists agree with their tutor on the championship and subject field of an extended essay. This half dozen,000-word essay is submitted at the end of the second term of the third year equally part of the Final Examination. Students are expected to found a strong bail between the interests of the essay and their studio studies.

Cess(YEAR 2)

Submission of three history and theory essays, which are assessed as part of the Terminal Examination

ASSESSMENT(Year 3)

An extended essay; a portfolio of piece of work made during the 2nd and third years and an accompanying exhibition

Visit the Fine Art website for more than information.

Academic requirements

A-levels: AAA (or AAB for candidates who have undertaken or completed a post-xviii Art Foundation grade*)
Advanced Highers: AA/AAB
IB: 38 (including core points) with 666 at HL
Applied General Qualifications:

BTEC and Cambridge Technical Extended Diplomas: DDD

UAL Applied General Extended Diploma (2018-): HM (High Merit)

(As the Fine Art degree also includes a substantial history and theory component, applicants with vocational qualifications will need to demonstrate that they accept the disquisitional, research and essay-writing skills required for academic study at Oxford.)
Or any other equivalent (encounter other UK qualifications, and international qualifications)

* Post A-level applicants with AAB at A-level (or equivalent) volition be expected to submit an outstanding portfolio and to achieve at least a Merit or equivalent on their Foundation form.

If applicants are studying for the UAL Level 3 Applied Full general Extended Diploma in Art and Blueprint they would be expected to achieve a High Merit. As the Fine Fine art degree also includes a substantial history and theory component, such applicants will be expected to have successfully completed a range of modules that include art history.

Wherever possible, your grades are considered in the context in which they accept been achieved.  (See further data on how we use contextual data.)

Subject requirements

Recommended: The Ruskin recommends that candidates have studied Fine art at A-level or equivalent qualification. It is highly recommended that candidates have undertaken a postal service-xviii Art Foundation course before applying.

Applying

All candidates must follow the application process every bit shown in applying to Oxford. The data below gives specific details for students applying for this course.

Portfolio submission

Description:

Portfolios must be submitted digitally, via an online platform chosen SlideRoom , which will exist fabricated available on the Ruskin website presently after the application deadline; candidates who have submitted a UCAS application to written report for the BFA plan will exist emailed the link to SlideRoom.

At that place is no prescription for the content of a portfolio: candidates should aim to include a range of work which gives a sense of their artistic and intellectual interests and an awareness of contemporary fine art.

You lot will be able to upload your portfolio with videos, photographs, audio files and PDFs. Please see the Ruskin website for further information.*
Submission deadline: 6pm, Thursday 3 November 2022

*Read more than about the portfolio

Interview and applied test

TBC for applicants applying for entry in 2023.

What are tutors looking for?

All applicants are required to submit a portfolio of their art work. Tutors are looking for work that goes beyond the mere fulfilment of school curricula. Tutors will seek show of a breadth of engagement, a sense of purpose and an emerging creative phonation in the way the portfolio is edited. If you are shortlisted y'all volition be asked to present a small-scale number of additional recent pieces of your work to talk over during interview.

For more than detail on the selection criteria for this course, please meet the Ruskin Schoolhouse of Art website.

Careers

Later graduation, most students go along to work in the arts sector, every bit practising artists, teachers, curators and art writers, fabricators and technicians, in public and private museums and galleries, community arts organisations and for culture and heritage councils and institutions. Many also pursue careers in academia, architecture, and the film and digital media industries.

Many Ruskin graduates have won or been shortlisted for prestigious awards and prizes across many media. In 2019, Nazia Khan (BFA 1990) represented Pakistan at the Venice Biennale, and Nathaniel Mellors (BFA 1999) represented Republic of finland in that location in 2017. In 2016, Helen Marten (BFA 2008) won the Turner Prize and the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture, and Elizabeth Price (BFA 1988) won the Turner Prize in 2012. Paul Franklin (BFA 1989) was awarded the Oscar for Visual Furnishings for his piece of work on the science fiction film Interstellar in 2015. Conrad Shawcross (BFA 1999) won the Jack Goldhill Accolade for Sculpture in 2014.

Ruskin Alumni were included amongst the Bloomberg New Contemporaries in 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 including Lucy Mayes, Ruth Spencer Jolly, Melanie Eckersley and Emily Motto. Nathaniel Whitfield (2016/17) was selected to take part in the Whitney Independent Studies Program in New York. The works of Khushna Sulaman-Butt and Alvin Ong were included in the BP Portrait Laurels at the National Portrait Gallery, London in 2018.

Fees

Boosted Fees and Charges Information for Fine Fine art

In the first year of the BFA course, students are provided with basic materials and more specialist materials are available to buy at toll. There is no expectation for students to make it with any additional equipment or materials beyond those they may already possess.

Each educatee receives a materials grant (currently £475) from the Ruskin School of Art for each year of the class. Finalists as well receive a farther materials grant (£280) for their work in the concluding prove. Students in the second and tertiary years of the class are expected to meet whatever additional costs for materials, applying to their college for back up in the outset case. Colleges may also provide support for educatee projects and travel, including the optional work feel program for second year students who take part in the Ruskin's Professional Practice Programme.

Throughout the course, students are able to infringe an all-encompassing selection of equipment on a sign-up basis. In the first week of their first term, all students pay an equipment deposit of £100. The deposit system is to secure against the borrowing of departmental equipment (and library books) and the deposit is returned to the student at the end of the form.

Final year students normally stage a public exhibition of their work following the final test and they collectively raise funds for this through sponsorship, art sales and other activities.