Fine Art

Fine art as a degree subject is the study and practice of visual art in its broadest sense, encompassing painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, installation, video and new media, with the emphasis placed firmly on developing your own creative practice and critical understanding rather than on mastering a single medium or technique. It is a discipline that asks difficult questions: what is art for, how does it create meaning, what is the relationship between art and the world it exists in, and what does it mean to be an artist in the present moment?

The University of the Highlands and Islands offers this four-year full-time fine art programme in a setting that is itself a significant creative resource. The landscapes, communities and distinctive cultural character of the Highlands and Islands have attracted and inspired artists for generations, and studying fine art in this environment gives your practice a particular context and set of possibilities that urban art schools cannot offer. The typical entry tariff is around 104 UCAS points.

You will develop your studio practice through sustained project work, tutorials and critiques, building a coherent body of work that reflects your developing artistic concerns and ways of working. Critical and contextual studies provide a framework for thinking about the history of art, contemporary practice and the theoretical debates that surround fine art. The programme is likely to develop your ability to articulate your practice verbally and in writing, which is an essential professional skill for practising artists.

Graduates of fine art programmes work as practising artists, often alongside other work in education, arts facilitation or arts administration in the early stages of a career. Teaching art in schools, colleges and community settings is one of the most common career paths, providing both income and a creative professional identity. Others work as gallery artists, exhibiting and selling work; as community artists and arts project managers; in heritage interpretation; in curatorial roles; or in the commercial art world.

The distinctive location and environment of UHI's fine art programme gives graduates an artistic identity that is shaped by a genuinely unusual creative context. Postgraduate study in fine art or art education is available for those wishing to develop their practice further.