Overview
Fine Art at Aldermere is a studio degree with a serious grounding in art history. You will have your own studio space from the first term, weekly tutorials with practising artists and access to print, wood and metal workshops.
Every student exhibits in the degree show, held in the Old Library cloister and open to the public for two weeks each June.
- 1Studio of your own from day one
- 2 weeksDegree show in the cloister
- 4Workshops: print, wood, metal, digital
Course structure
The outline below shows a typical path through the course. Options change a little each year as tutors join and research moves on.
Year 1
- Studio Practice I
- Drawing
- Materials and Processes
- Art History: Renaissance to Modern
Year 2
- Studio Practice II
- Print and Sculpture workshops
- Contemporary Art Theory
- Exhibition project
Year 3
- Studio Practice III
- Degree show
- Written thesis
How you will learn
You will have two tutorials a week with one or two other students, where you discuss the essay or problem set you wrote that week with a tutor. Lectures, seminars of ten to twelve students and practical classes fill the rest of the week. Each student has a personal tutor for the whole degree.
Assessment
Studio reviews each term, a portfolio, a written thesis and the degree show.
Entry requirements
- A levels: AAB, including Art
- International Baccalaureate: 36 points
- A portfolio of 15 to 20 recent works
We make contextual offers, typically one grade lower, to applicants from schools that send few students to university. If your qualifications are not listed, the admissions office will tell you what we would expect.
Fees and funding
Tuition for 2027-28 is $38,400 a year, including college membership. Under the Aldermere Promise, students from families earning under $85,000 a year pay no tuition, and partial awards continue up to $150,000. Every undergraduate also receives a $2,000 grant each year for books, travel and equipment.
Careers
Graduates of this programme go on to a wide range of careers. Recent destinations include:
- Working artist
- Galleries and museums
- Art education
- Design and illustration
- Arts administration
- Art therapy
Having my own studio in the first week meant I stopped waiting for permission to make things.
Iris Kwan Second year
Questions
Can I change programme after I arrive?
Yes, at the end of the first year, if there is space on the programme you want to move to and your tutors agree. Around one student in twenty does.
Is there an interview?
Yes. Shortlisted applicants have a conversation of about twenty-five minutes with two tutors in December, in person or online. It is about how you think, not what you have memorised.
