Fine Art main entrance

Fine Art

Welcome to the web pages for Fine Art, part of the School of Arts and Cultures at Newcastle University. In these pages you will find information about our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, our research and everything you need to know about studying Fine Art at Newcastle University.

Newcastle continues to be one of the best cities in the UK in which to study and make contemporary visual art. Its diverse and lively arts scene goes hand in hand with the University’s long and distinguished history in the practice of Fine Art.

The first School of Art at Newcastle University was established in 1838 and it has consistently maintained an excellent reputation as one of the UK leading centres for art education.  Many distinguished artists have been associated with Newcastle, either as students or as teachers.

We have a long-standing commitment to the full range of both traditional and emerging studio-based practices, augmented by Art History and Critical Theory. We encourage and expect students to question orthodoxies and to cross boundaries. This vibrant creative and intellectual culture provides the basis for cutting-edge practice, research and scholarship for both staff and students.

At Newcastle you will be taught by some of the best researchers working nationally and internationally. In the recent national UK ‘Research Assessment Exercise’, 85% of our research was rated ‘internationally excellent’ or better, placing us in the top three of all British art schools. Many of our staff have their studios in the Fine Art Building, which means that you will have the opportunity to work alongside a range of leading artists.


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10 reasons to study Fine Art at Newcastle University:

  • We have a committed and dynamic team of academic staff, all of whom are excellent teachers, active researchers and artists of international standing. Staff are very accessible and there is an excellent student-staff ratio.
  • Newcastle University is ranked 2nd in the UK for Fine Art in the Sunday Times University League Tables 2012; we are ranked 3rd in The Guardian University Guide 2012; and we are ranked 3rd in The Complete University Guide for 2013 .
  • Our weekly Visiting Lecture Programme presents a range of visiting national and international artists, curators and art theorists.
  • We are housed in some of the best-resourced and spacious studios, workshops and gallery spaces in the UK.
  • Our undergraduate and postgraduate Degree programmes provide a diverse and stimulating educational experience in a diverse and stimulating university, situated in the centre of a great city.
  • Our innovative ‘LifeArtWork’ programme gives the aspiring artist the professional tools they need to work and thrive in the contemporary international art world.
  • Our graduates continue to gain employment in and make significant contributions to the arts arena, nationally and internationally, as professional artists, curators, educators, gallery owners, arts administrators, critics, art historians………
  • We are committed to supporting an artist’s individual practice, as well as actively seeking ways to collaborate, both with other artists, art professionals and more widely across the university.
  • We have an enviable success rate in gaining external UK Research Council awards: 5 AHRC Fellowships in the Creative and Performing Arts within the last eight years, and a further 19 postgraduate studentships available from the AHRC through the Block Grant scheme over the next five years for study on the MFA and PhD programmes.
  • The School of Arts and Cultures is home to a great variety of practice and research: Fine Art, Music, Media and Cultural Studies, Digital Media, and Museum, Gallery and Heritage studies, providing exciting possibilities for interdisciplinary research.