Careers with a Fine Art degree

A degree in Fine Art opens up a variety of paths for you to take as a graduate. A lot of our graduates continue as independent practicing artists, others establish their own businesses and organisations, while others remain in academia. 

Here we'll go through all of the potential career opportunities available to you, as well as all of the career-specific skills and experience initiatives that we provide. 

1. How we support your career

   • LifeWorkArt

   • Career skills

   • Experience

2. Careers with a Fine Art degree

   • Graduate careers

   • Postgraduate education

1. How we support your career

Whether you're choosing an undergraduate or postgraduate programme, you'll learn the skills and get all of the practical experience needed for a career in Fine Art. 

Career skills

You'll develop a good range of subject-specific, technical, and transferable skills. These skills include:

• critical thinking
• people skills
• creative problem-solving,
• presentation and research,
• project management
• workplace skills

Many employers seek graduates who are lateral thinkers, creative problem-solvers and have the skills gained through a fine art degree.

Students regularly arrange exhibitions and events within the department and at external venues. Each year there are around 50 student exhibitions outside the university.

These exhibitions begin in Stage 1 with a major external exhibition coinciding with the Late Shows in May.

Collaborations have included placements with:

• Newcastle City artists residency programme
• the Welcome Trust Mitochondrial research project in the Medical School
• art therapy workshops with the North East Trust for Aphasia
• an exhibition exchange with students at Liverpool John Moores University

2. Careers with a Fine Art degree

Graduate careers

A lot of our graduates continue as independent practicing artists and establish their own businesses and organisations. Many have remained in the North East to take up opportunities in our thriving visual arts scene.

Some graduates also go into jobs in the arts and the Creative Industries. This can include running art galleries, acting as arts advisers to local councils, or working as:

• curators
• arts associations teachers
• arts specialists in the community
• film makers
• illustrators
• primary and secondary school teachers

Other graduates find that their skills allow them to find work in areas unrelated to art and design, in fields such as:

• finance
• journalism
• publicity
• advertising
• marketing