Fine Art

Fine art is the discipline concerned with the development of a personal artistic practice, engaging with the full range of contemporary art forms, from painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture to video, installation, performance and digital media. At its heart, a fine art degree is about developing your own perspective and ideas within contemporary art, building the conceptual ambition, technical range and critical awareness that allow you to make work that is genuinely your own. It is as much an intellectual formation as a practical one: fine artists need to understand the history and theory of art, to situate their practice within contemporary debates and to be able to articulate what they are doing and why.

At the University of Sunderland, this three-year programme invites you to discover and develop your own perspective and ideas within contemporary art, to explore your creative interests and to work collaboratively with peers and professional artists within the community, as the university's own description puts it. A year abroad is part of the degree, giving you the opportunity to develop your practice in a different cultural and artistic environment, broadening your references and building the independence that a sustained artistic career requires. You will build a strong portfolio of work throughout your studies, which is the primary way fine art graduates present themselves to the world.

The degree develops creative confidence, conceptual rigour, the ability to work independently over sustained periods and the capacity to respond critically to feedback and to your own developing work. These capabilities have real professional value both within and beyond the arts.

Graduates go on to careers as practising artists, whether in their own studios or through artist residencies and commissions, and in arts administration, curatorial roles, arts education, community arts, gallery management, public art and the broader creative industries. Further study in fine art or arts practice at masters or postgraduate diploma level is also a common route, particularly for those seeking to develop a serious professional practice or to move into arts research and teaching.