
This course is now closed for entry in September 2021.
On BA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, we recognise the breadth of possibilities in contemporary art, and will challenge you to develop an experimental practice. You will work in one of four pathways – 2D, 3D, 4D or XD – which encompass studio practice, theoretical studies and personal and professional development. This course is part of the Art programme.
Course patron for BA Fine Art:
Virtual open days:
The undergraduate online open days are now finished for the September 2021 intake.
At Central Saint Martins, the safety of staff, students and visitors is our priority. Following government guidance on social distancing due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, we’re currently unable to run physical open days at the College.
Virtual tours:
Instead you might be interested in checking out the College’s outstanding facilities and technical spaces through our virtual tours
Mead Scholarships and Fellowships
UAL EU Transitional Awards
Caline Aoun, BA Fine Art alum – Deutsche Bank’s "Artist of the Year" 2018
We take a look at the 2020 graduating students thinking through our digital lives.
Since 1989, the CSM Museum & Study Collection has actively purchased works from graduating students. Now, after more than 30 years, the process has taken on a new form in our first ever Deans’ Awards.
Saatchi Gallery invited the College to take part in its celebration of the 2020 class graduating from London’s art schools. We speak to students Mazzy-Mae Green and Greta Voeller who took on the challenge to produce an exhibition in a matter of
Today we are happy to announce the graduating students shortlisted for this year's MullenLowe NOVA Awards and declare voting open for the YourNOVA Award.
Welcome to the Fine Art BA where you will develop the creative and critical skills to challenge prevailing artistic conventions. You and your contemporaries are the creative practitioners of the future and together we can question and remake the cultural landscape of today.
BA Fine Art at Central Saint Martins asks two core questions in relation to art; what is the site of production and what is the site of encounter?
At CSM we continually challenge what we think art is. We recognise the broad diversity of social, political, cultural, economic and technological contexts in which contemporary art is made and exhibited. Working together, staff and students interrogate the multiple and varied ways in which artists make work and make work public.
The course is organised into four studios; 2D, 3D, 4D and XD. Each studio engages students with specific critical perspectives and technical inductions. You are encouraged to develop your work in relation to different forms of practice across any range of media. The studios embody an inter-disciplinary approach and this is reflected in the cross-studio events that are structured throughout the course. We make in ways that reflect the full range of materials, technologies and discourses exploited by artists today.
Your studio will provide you with an experimental space where discoveries can occur. For this to keep happening the studio has to be perpetually reinvented, functioning as laboratory, performative site, social space and discursive environment. The notion of studio refers to any space for making and exploration. Artists always find new ways to make work with different resources, finding new places to make work that utilise innovative and established production processes. At CSM, the studios reflect these trends. You will work with staff to develop and model the studio appropriate to the needs of the group.
Experimental forms of exhibition-making take place within each stage of the course. Exhibitions happen both in the University and in public venues, in conventional and non-conventional physical and non-physical spaces. Recent examples include, Camden Collective, Archway Tower, British Library, Camden Arts Centre, performances within the Tate Turbine Hall and Tate Exchange, Arts Media Islington School and Crumbles Activity Playground.
Students can also opt to take the year-long Diploma in Professional Studies between Stages 2 and 3, offering highly focused and personalised work placements which help them develop enhanced communication, networking, and organisational skills. In recent years, students have had placements at Tate Modern, The Royal Festival Hall, professional artist studios and the National Theatre.
We embrace the rapidly changing and broad contexts of the art-wold. Our intention is to radically question, challenge, disrupt and provoke to create answers to art futures and future art practices.
BA Fine Art integrates studio practice, Critical Studies and Professional Development through teaching both within the Studio structure and across the year group at key moments. Students are allocated to a Studio through a diagnostic process at the start of the course however pathway transfer is possible.
Each Studio has a distinct culture that is orientated around particular discussions, themes and resources. As the student progresses through the course, the relationship between the Studios is progressively porous. We encourage students to take a fluid and flexible approach to their use of media and understanding of artistic discipline.
The way we work and create starts with exploration speculation and enquiry and this takes place through materials, processes of making, dialogue and criticality. Theory and practice are understood in relation to one another, integrating both studio and contextual studies contexts.
2D explores how making is informed by contemporary culture, politics and social forms as much as by questions of the image and abstraction. It considers the screen, the picture plane and surface as fundamental aspects of visual production. Technical inductions are positioned in terms of these questions. In the studio, we discuss how diverse disciplines, practices and forms of thought can be mixed.
3D explores matter, scale, production, material and immaterial form in relation to place and audience. Students are inducted into a range of traditional and new 3D technologies, and to the debates surrounding hybrid production processes. The studio is a place where the reading, writing and creation of spaces can take place and be questioned. 3D challenges a conventional understanding of the studio, the exhibition and institutional spaces.
4D explores time-based, durational performative and interdisciplinary practices. Critical and philosophical positions are explored in relation to practice and current ideas such as the post- medium condition, the apparatus of technology and temporality are considered. The Studio is experimental in approach and explores how this might challenge conventions of practice. In this context, the ‘open work’ is engaged as a site where collaboration and production take place.
XD explores the possibilities of not only ‘what does art mean?’ but also ‘what can art do?’ and ‘where can art be?’ The implications of working across different Studios and placing art in particular situations and communities’ throws into question the rights and responsibilities of the artist in relation to the audience and the environment. The studio is considered as a laboratory where ideas for interventions in the practice of everyday life can be generated.
Unit 1: ISHE: What and Where is an Art School?
Unit 2: What is a Studio?
Unit 3: What is Practice?
Unit 4: How is an Exhibition Made?
Stage 1 asks you to consider; Where do we make work and what is practice?
Starting with an introduction to Art School in which you will be guided through the various teaching methods and events deployed on the course. You will experience learning through each other, staff practice, staff networks, tutorials, lectures, critical discussion, seminars and self-directed study. Through this, you will actively shape and inform the teaching environment of the course.
The nature of the studio shifts in relation to what the studio community choose to do with it. You will be inducted to a wide range of workshops. Studio and Critical Studies staff will support you in beginning to identify interests and concerns that will nourish your practice as an artist.
In your final unit of the year, you will work with Stage 3 students to both support and document the construction of the degree show. This will culminate with the production of Stage 1 group publication that interrogates and explores the qualities of the degree show. This is presented as part of the show.
By the end of Stage 1 you will have established ways of making in the studio appropriate to your interests. With the support of tutors, you will be able to confidently self-direct the development of your own work.
Unit 5: How Do We Make?
Unit 6: How Do We Think?
Unit 7: How Can We Write?
Unit 8: How is Work Encountered?
Unit 9: Creative Unions: Socially Engaged Practices for an Ethical World
Stage 2 is about how we make work public.
You will continue to establish and develop your practice with an added emphasis on how and where to exhibit your work.
The year-group will have the opportunity to present work within the university in a number of cross programme curated exhibitions and in two open studios where the art programme opens its doors to the general public. You will also select from a range of external projects designed to further question the many ways in which you might make elements of your practice public.
In Critical Studies you will begin to focus on concerns specific to your practice and start to establish a habit of enquiry that directly supports your studio work, forms a part of it, and generates new ideas or thinking.
By the end of Stage 2, you will have identified a range of strategies for making your work public and begun to contextualise your practice exploring how your work might be publicly encountered.
Unit 10: Are There Any Questions? (Dissertation)
Unit 11: What is Fine Art?
Stage 3 is about how you extend your practice beyond CSM.
Stage 3 will give you the tools to theoretically, culturally, politically and socially contextualise your work. You will be supported to identify strategies for establishing a sustainable practice beyond the course and empowered to plan your own career trajectory within the cultural industries.
There are only two units in this year, culminating in your dissertation and the degree show. The nature of the degree show will be routinely questioned and reinvented. It is a site both of exhibition and of public engagement and needs to address the needs and interests of diverse practices and audiences.
The dissertation and degree show are strategically placed next to each other to give you both the agency and resources to address relevant public and professional realms.
The building and studios are vibrant and busy working environments where students learn together by being active and giving time to their studies. The course team will offer structured teaching and informal learning through events and projects. Students learn the best and are most productive when they are fully committed to their practice and to each other.
You should expect to spend 40 hours per week on independent and collaborative practice and in teaching events such as workshops and discussions.
Critical Studies tutors are fundamental in the delivery of theory within the course. Writing and presentation skills and the ability to articulate practice are a key focus and are essential for the practicing artist.
Critical Studies supports a student’s theoretical exploration and provides the methodologies and a conceptual framework for developing practice. This takes the form of; lectures, seminars, tutorials and presentations.
Through Stages 1 and 2 there are a number of different forms of written submission leading up to the dissertation in Stage 3. Teams of critical studies and studio tutors jointly supervise this.
Between Stage 2 and Stage 3 of the course there is an option to take a year out and complete a Diploma in Professional Studies. This separate qualification (rated at 120 credits) involves researching, undertaking and reflecting on a 20-week (minimum) placement related to your professional interests and aspirations. The Diploma provides a valuable opportunity to make professional contacts and to develop your personal employability skills. In recent years BA Fine Art students have had placements at Tate Modern, the Royal Festival Hall, Anthony Gormley’s studio and the National Theatre.
Students enrolled on BA Fine Art have the opportunity to spend time studying outside of the UK at a partner institution. Studying overseas allows you to experience a new culture, an alternative perspective on the course’s subject discipline, and different learning and teaching methods. The application process for these opportunities is competitive. Alongside this, BA Fine Art is actively engaged in the University’s Study Abroad scheme, with the incoming international students bringing an important additional dynamic to the course.
BA Fine Art runs for 90 weeks in full-time mode. It is divided into three stages over three academic years. Each stage lasts 30 weeks. You will be expected to commit 40 hours per week to study, inclusive of teaching time and independent study.
The course is credit-rated at 360 credits, with 120 credits at each stage (level).
On successfully completing the course, you will gain a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (BA Hons degree).
Under the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications the stages for a BA are: Stage 1 (Level 4), Stage 2 (Level 5) and Stage 3 (Level 6). In order to progress to the next stage, all units of the preceding stage must normally be passed: 120 credits must be achieved in each stage. The classification of the award will be derived from the marks of units in Stages 2 and 3, or only Stage 3, using a dual algorithm.
If you are unable to continue on the course, a Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE) will normally be offered following the successful completion of Level 4 (or 120 credits), or a Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) following the successful completion of Level 5 (or 240 credits).
Should you choose to extend your study through the Diploma in Professional Studies, between Stage 2 and Stage 3 of the degree, your success will gain you an additional Diploma award.
During your course you will engage with learning and teaching that includes both online and face-to-face modes.
Your primary means of learning will be through studio practice. This is supported by:
Critical Studies: Jon Cairns
2D: Adam Saad; Joey Bryniarska; Martin Westwood; Alaena Turner,
3D: Toby Christian; Anthony Davies; Vlatka Horvat; Karen Alexander
4D: Hilary Lloyd; Erika Tan
4D+: Helena Goldwater
XD: Margot Bannerman; Ben Cain; Sarah Cole; Annie Goh; Shep Manyika
Critical Studies: Stuart Elliot, Dr Paul O'Kane
Critical Studies: Dr Owen Parry; Sarah Jones; Helen Robertson; Dan Hays; Mark Waller; Dr Linda Aloysius; Dr Kimathi Donkor
Admissions Tutor and Stage 1 Tutor: Lynn Hewett
Diploma in Professional Studies Pathway Leader: Anne-Marie Creamer
Visiting Practitioner: Beth Bramich
We are committed to making university education an achievable option for a wider range of people and to supporting all of our students in achieving their potential both during and after their courses.
We welcome applications from people with disabilities. If you have a disability (e.g. mobility difficulties, sensory impairments, medical or mental health conditions or Asperger’s syndrome) we strongly encourage you to contact us on disability@arts.ac.uk or +44 (0)20 7514 6156 so that we can plan the right support for you. All enquiries are treated confidentially. To find out more, visit our Disability & Dyslexia webpages.
The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:
One or a combination of the following accepted full Level 3 qualifications:
And three GCSE passes at grade 4 or above (grade A*–C).
Entry to this course will also be determined by assessment of your portfolio.
Exceptionally applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
Or a combination of these factors.
Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.
IELTS score of 6.0 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking (please check our main English language requirements webpage).
We offer English Language Development for Overseas students. See how we can help you with your studies.
Learn MoreApplicants are selected according to their demonstration of potential and current ability to:
Work imaginatively and creatively in visual media:
Demonstrate a range of skills and technical abilities that:
Provide evidence of intellectual enquiry within your work:
Demonstrate cultural awareness and/or contextual framework of your work by:
Demonstrate an ability to articulate and communicate your intentions with clarity:
Indicate the relevance of this course to your personal development through discussion around:
We are interested in students who are prepared to question and to take a critical perspective and who show potential to develop as innovative artists.
This course is now closed for entry in September 2021.
You should apply through Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and you will need the following information:
University Code: U65
UCAS Code: W100
If you are currently studying somewhere else on a course in an equivalent subject area and would like to transfer to this course, you can transfer to:
Year 2, if you’ve completed 120 credits in Year 1
Year 3, if you’ve completely 240 credits in Years 1 and 2
Apply via UCAS and choose Year 2 or 3 for your POE (Point of Entry). Please check our Student Transfer Policy for more important information and be ready to provide us with your current course handbook and Year 1/Year 2 unit transcripts.
Please be ready to provide an official document (translated into English) from your current university, explaining the learning outcomes of the units you have completed.
Central Saint Martins does not accept applications for deferred entry. You should therefore apply in the year you wish to study.
We recommend you apply by 29 January 2021 for equal consideration. However this course will consider applications after that date, subject to places being available.
After you have successfully submitted your application, you will receive an email confirming we have successfully received your application and providing you with your login details for the UAL Portal. We will request any additional information from you, including inviting you to upload documents / portfolio / book an interview, through the portal. You should check your UAL Portal regularly for any important updates and requests.
Please add csm.ukeu@arts.ac.uk to your contacts to ensure that you do not miss any important updates re: your application to UAL. Also consider altering your spam or junk mail filter to ensure that emails from @arts.ac.uk get through to you.
This course is now closed for entry in September 2021.
There are three ways international students can apply to an undergraduate course at Central Saint Martins:
You can only apply to the same course once per year whether you are applying via UCAS, UAL representative or using the UAL online application system. Any duplicate applications will be withdrawn.
If you are applying via UCAS you will need the following information:
University code: U65
UCAS Code: W100
If you are currently studying somewhere else on a course in an equivalent subject area and would like to transfer to this course, you can transfer to:
Year 2, if you’ve completed 120 credits in Year 1
Year 3, if you’ve completely 240 credits in Years 1 and 2
Apply via UCAS and choose Year 2 or 3 for your POE (Point of Entry). Please check our Student Transfer Policy for more important information and be ready to provide us with your current course handbook and Year 1/Year 2 unit transcripts.
If you are an International applicant and studying outside the UK, please complete your Direct application and then contact us via your UAL Portal to ask to be considered for Year 2/Year 3.
Please be ready to provide an official document (translated into English) from your current university, explaining the learning outcomes of the units you have completed.
This course does not allow offer holders to defer. If you would like to start at a later date, please re-apply in the year you wish to study.
We recommend you apply by 29 January 2021 for equal consideration. However this course will consider applications after that date, subject to places being available.
Whether you are applying online via UCAS or through a UAL representative or direct application you will need to complete an immigration history check to establish whether you are eligible to study at UAL. If you do not complete the check we will not be able to proceed with your application.
After you have successfully submitted your application, you will receive an email confirming we have successfully received your application and providing you with your login details for the UAL Portal. We will request any additional information from you, including inviting you to upload documents / portfolio / book an interview, through the portal. You should check your UAL Portal regularly for any important updates and requests.
Please add csm.international@arts.ac.uk to your contacts to ensure that you do not miss any important updates re: your application to UAL Also consider altering your spam or junk mail filter to ensure that emails from @arts.ac.uk get through to you.
We check your application to see if you meet the standard entry requirements for the course. If you do, you will be invited to submit a mini portfolio through UAL’s online portfolio review system.
Your portfolio should be no more than ten pages comprising your best work showing your skills and thinking. You can create the pages in any layout (For example: presentation boards) but they should be uploaded as jpeg images. It should include:
The only files that can be uploaded as part of the portfolio are:
Following the review of the portfolio we select a small number of applicants to move on to the next stage of the process. These applicants will be invited to an interview.
Pathway choices are considered during the admissions process. We therefore advise applicants to describe any specific interest they have in their personal statement, taking into account the descriptions of the programme pathways we offer. These interests or preferences will also inform the selection and presentation of their work.
The full portfolio should demonstrate a range of skills appropriate to the subject area, containing examples of work completed within recent years, whether for a college project or personal work. It is important that the work applicants include reflects their engagement in creative practice, critical thinking and technical abilities and also that they include evidence of background research, e.g. sketchbooks, preliminary work and written material.
Ideas, visual research and experimentation are more important than finished work and can be shown in 2D work, made objects, photographs or through recorded moving image/live events.
Please remember:
For more portfolio advice please visit: https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/apply/portfolio-advice
Following the review of the portfolio we select a small number of applicants to move on to the next stage of the process. These applicants will be invited to an interview either online or by telephone.
You will receive the final outcome of your application through UCAS track.
This course receives a high number of applications, and unfortunately we cannot provide feedback to everyone who is unsuccessful. We can only provide feedback after you have had an interview.
If you would like to request feedback – please email csm.ukeu@arts.ac.uk. We are only able to provide feedback to you directly, or to someone you have told us in writing can receive it on your behalf.
Each and every application is carefully considered by a member(s) of our academic team. With so many strong applicants to choose from, it is often a very difficult decision to make. If you are unsuccessful, you are welcome to apply to us again in the future.
£9,250 per year
This fee is correct for 2021/22 entry and is subject to change for 2022/23 entry. Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students.
Home fees are currently charged to UK resident nationals. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees.
From 2021/22 entry, most EU students will be charged the International tuition fee rate, depending on your individual circumstances. If you started your course in October 2020 or earlier, you’ll continue to pay Home (UK) fees for the duration of your course. Read more advice for EU students.
£22,920 per year
This fee is correct for 2021/22 entry and is subject to change for 2022/23 entry. Tuition fees for international students may increase by up to 5% in each future year of your course.
Students from countries outside of the UK are currently charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about our tuition fees.
From 2021/22 entry, most EU students will be charged the International tuition fee rate, depending on your individual circumstances. If you started your course in October 2020 or earlier, you’ll continue to pay Home (UK) fees for the duration of your course. Read more advice for EU students.
You may need to cover additional costs which are not included in your tuition fees. These could include travel expenses and the costs of material. Find out more about additional costs.
Find out about accommodation options and how much they will cost.
Find out more about bursaries, loans and scholarships.
Find out how you can pay your tuition fees.
BA Fine Art students leave with a broad and valuable understanding of fine art practice. Skills acquired enable graduates to become versatile practitioners in exciting and diverse contexts.
Many BA Fine Art graduates work as artists, or pursue art-related careers as curators, critics or teachers. Others work in graphics, IT, media, film, fashion and advertising.
BA Fine Art graduates often go on to postgraduate study, progressing to a wide range of Masters subjects that include fine art, philosophy, film, communication, landscape architecture, art history, gallery and museum studies, literature and broadcast journalism.
BA Fine Art alumni activity demonstrates the breadth of student activity within the subject:
For details of the wide range of careers support provided for students, please visit our Careers support page.