Fine Art BA (Hons)

Level: Undergraduate

Subject: Art

Year of entry: 2026

Key facts

UCAS Code

BAFA

Award

BA (Hons)

Duration of study

3 years, 4 years

Delivery

Full-time

Study location

Lauriston campus

Start date

September 2026

School

Edinburgh College of Art

College

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Study abroad

Available

Placement

No

Second year entry

Available

Open days and events

About the degree programme

Our BA (Hons) Fine Art is a four-year, intensive, studio-based programme designed to support you in developing your approach to creative practice and a critical understanding of contemporary culture.

You will work closely with specialist staff to take multiple approaches to your creative work and will develop an understanding of how fine art is produced, experienced and valued in society.

Our programme will help to shape you as an artist while introducing you to the many other creative, critical and cultural possibilities within the diverse and evolving field of contemporary fine art.  

We welcome all students who are interested in:

  • the creative process
  • the many practices and contexts of contemporary fine art
  • exploring the process of becoming an artist

We do not expect you to arrive as a fully formed artist, or to display a particular technical aptitude: we want to work with you to develop your confidence in these areas.

Discover what it's like to study BA Fine Art from our staff and students.

How long it takes to complete this degree programme

This programme is usually studied over 4 years, however, some students may be eligible to enter in the second year and complete the programme in 3 years.

Programme rankings

  • 11th in the UK for Art and Design in the Complete University Guide 2025

Programme benefits

  • Our studio-based programme establishes an inclusive and exciting studio culture which supports communities of peers to co-develop one another’s learning. You will get hands-on experience of how to use a studio space and develop relevant practices using a studio space. 
  • Our holistic approach to balancing and integrating practical and contextual studies of contemporary fine art prepares you for work across a range of related creative and cultural sectors. 
  • Experience specialist research-led teaching from internationally renowned practitioners who are practising artists, curators, and theorists. 
  • Experience a dynamic and evolving curriculum that encourages you to pursue paths of complimentary study and make use of a huge range of world-class facilities and resources across the wider ECA and the University of Edinburgh. 
  • Our programme provides a wide variety of event-based learning including visiting artist talks, workshops, exhibitions, screenings, special events, gallery visits, day trips, an overseas trip, projects with external organisations, and graduate shows.
  • In Year 3 of your programme you have the option to study abroad at a range of internationally renowned institutions. 

Find your entry requirements

Use the dropdowns to find out your entry requirements.

  1. Select the country where you are studying or where you studied your qualification.
  2. Select the qualification you are studying or studied.
United Kingdom,

Tuition fees for BA (Hons) Fine Art - 4 Years

View the tuition fees for one academic year of BA (Hons) Fine Art - 4 Years.

Tuition fees for this programme

Additional costs

Your materials costs will vary, depending on the media you choose to engage with and the materials you use to make your work at different points throughout your degree.

We have an ECA Shop that provides a wide range of artistic materials at reasonable prices, but it is up to you where you get materials from. You will not be disadvantaged within course teaching and assessment based on what material or media you choose to work with.  

We also have the Free-Use Hub where students and courses deposit previously used materials for reuse by peers across the college. This means there are always sustainable materials available for you to make use of. 

Free-Use Hub

Where fieldwork opportunities are offered during your studies, there is no additional contribution required for the teaching costs involved. However, for any residential fieldwork and individual fieldwork-based projects, you are usually required to pay for: 

  • accommodation 
  • food, drink and other everyday costs
  • the costs of travel to the fieldwork location 

Accommodation and living costs

You need to cover your accommodation and living costs for the duration of your programme.

We estimate that a single student can potentially spend a maximum of £920 to £2,257 on living costs each month, depending on your accommodation.

This estimate covers the costs of:

  • accommodation
  • food
  • utility bills
  • travel within Edinburgh
  • health and wellbeing costs

See a breakdown of living costs

Scholarships and funding

Funding information

You can find detailed information on financial support available, based on where you are living, in our funding section.

Funding

What you will study

You will undertake a variety of studio-based and context-focused courses within art. You will work closely with specialist staff who will encourage you to consider multiple approaches to creating and reflecting upon work.

You will be supported to use a wide range of materials, media, techniques, methods, technologies, and tools associated with the discipline. You will achieve a well-developed understanding of how art is disseminated, consumed, and valued in contemporary culture and society.  

We provide purpose-built studios to work in, first class technical facilities and workshops, and a wide range of dynamic learning activities that will offer personal as well as professional development.  

Areas in which you will work

You can work across several areas within fine art creative practice, including:

  • digital media
  • drawing
  • installation
  • moving image
  • painting
  • participatory practice
  • performance
  • photography
  • printmaking (3D and traditional)
  • publications
  • sculpture
  • sound

Art context

A dedicated strand of art context courses provides a multidisciplinary context for your studies.

These courses will develop your experience and skills in:

  • imaginative research
  • analysis
  • communication of issues raised by the visual aspects of culture

In your art context courses, you will:

  • engage in a critical and creative dialogue with the work of your peers
  • gain an understanding of the nature of today's diverse visual cultures
  • study the artistic, intellectual, social and professional contexts that shape creative practice in fine art 
  • learn how to best communicate your developing knowledge and insight in a range of written, oral, visual and practical forms

Second year entry

If you are successful in applying for direct entry into second year, you will not be disadvantaged compared to peers who study their first year with us as you will have gained the equivalent level of study.

You will join the pathway of study described in ‘What you will study’, starting with Art in Context 2 and Art in Practice 2.

You will have the same option courses available to you. If you want to study art option courses, we will try to prioritise this for you.

We also ensure that you will have access to the same suite of workshop inductions available to our first-year students with the Information and Technical and Technology Services team.  

In Year 1, you will take two core courses, Art in Practice 1 and Art in Context 1. Both courses are taught in your studio spaces across the year and are worth 40 credits each. 

Art in Practice 1 

Art in Practice 1 will provide you with a blend of studio teaching, in the form of: 

  • group and individual tutorials 
  • critiques of individual work 
  • technical instruction through access and induction to ECA’s workshop provision and team 

The course is project-orientated. You will receive several staff-led briefs, which will encourage you to experiment with and expand upon the processes and practices of artistic practice within a studio context. 

By the end of the course, you will produce a portfolio of studio work for assessment. 

Art in Context 1 

In Art in Context 1, you will engage with the ideas, theories, and sites in which contemporary fine art is experienced and debated beyond a studio context. Learning environments can include: 

  • lectures 
  • seminars 
  • workshops 
  • field trips 
  • visiting artist talks 
Option courses 

You can choose to take option courses within the subject area of art that are based on particular mediums. The availability of these courses changes year to year depending on staff availability. In previous years, these have included:

  • Adventures in Drawing 
  • Black and White Photographic Practice: The Portrait 
  • Body as Artistic Material 
  • Drawn from the City 
  • Fine Art Printmaking: An Introduction to Multiples as Artistic Expression and Strategy 
  • Introduction to the Artist’s Book 
  • Introduction to the Moving Image: Expanded History of Cinema 
  • Outside Now (Site Specific Art, Research and Practice) 
  • Sustainable Sculpture Practice 
  • Textiles in Contemporary Art Practice: Making and Thinking 

These courses are intended to orientate and expand your experiences, conceptions of, and material techniques, skills and practices within contemporary art making. 

Beyond this, you can also choose from a broad range of option courses across ECA and the wider University. 

Find Year 1 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

The second year of your studies builds on the foundations of Year 1 to broaden and deepen your understanding and engagement with contemporary fine art. It will also conclude the pre-honours phase of your studies. 

You will prepare for your honours-level study by developing the necessary practical, intellectual and critical skills through two core courses: 

  • Art in Practice 2 
  • Art in Context 2 

Both courses are taught in your studio spaces across the year and are worth 40 credits each. 

Art in Practice 2 

In Art in Practice 2, you will continue to develop your engagement with, and understanding of, artistic studio practices. 

This is a project-orientated course and will involve working on several staff-led briefs. 

By the end of the course, you will produce a portfolio of studio work for assessment. 

Art in Context 2 

Art in Context 2 provides dynamic learning environments through: 

  • lectures 
  • seminars 
  • workshops 
  • field trips 
  • visiting artist talks 

You will engage with the ideas, theories and sites in which contemporary fine art is experienced and debated concerning and beyond a studio context. 

On completion of the course, you will submit a piece of writing or audio that critically responds to a contemporary fine art exhibition or work that you have identified concerning the course themes. 

Option courses 

You can continue to take option courses within the subject area of art that are based on particular mediums. The availability of these courses changes year to year depending on staff availability. In previous years, these have included:

  • Adventures in Drawing 
  • Black and White Photographic Practice: The Portrait 
  • Body as Artistic Material 
  • Drawn from the City 
  • Fine Art Printmaking: An Introduction to Multiples as Artistic Expression and Strategy 
  • Introduction to the Artist’s Book 
  • Introduction to the Moving Image: Expanded History of Cinema 
  • Outside Now (Site Specific Art, Research and Practice) 
  • Sustainable Sculpture Practice 
  • Textiles in Contemporary Art Practice: Making and Thinking 

These courses are intended to orientate and expand your experiences, conceptions of, and material techniques, skills and practices within contemporary art making. Beyond this, you can also choose from a broad range of optional courses across ECA and the wider University. 

Find Year 2 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

Year 3 of your studies initiates the honours phase of your degree. It offers you flexibility to narrow the focus of your interests while introducing a third strand of teaching.

Your learning will focus on:

  • how to draw from and integrate practical and contextual studies into forms of artistic praxis
  • exploring how the work and projects you are involved in and are developing can move into the world beyond the university

You will study Art in Practice 3 and Art in Context 3.

Art in Practice 3

In Art in Practice 3 you will continue to develop your engagement with, and understanding of, artistic studio practices. It is a 40-credit studio-based component to your teaching and learning. It will support you to develop and conduct your own independent artistic enquiries while enriching your understanding of artistic research and professional practice within the field of art.

You will also have the option of taking our 20-credit Sites and Situations course. This course allows you to choose to participate in a range of external projects where the art produced is considered in the contexts of the sites where it occurs and the situations it creates.

Art in Context 3

In the third year of your studies the range of Art in Context courses you will study will continue in a similar format delivery as in the pre-honours phase of your studies, with lectures, seminars and workshops. However, they will become more specialised and research-led, reflecting the staff specialism within our faculty.

You will choose to study at least one of the following 20-credit courses based on staff availability:

  • Art as Process: Ways of Learning, Making, Working Together
  • Art and Ecology: The Intersection of environmental and social justice
  • Exhibiting at Large as Contemporary Artists
  • Gendered Soundings? Sound Art & Feminism
  • Popular Art and Folk Culture
  • Popular not Populist: Contemporary Art ‘Lost’ in the Mainstream
  • Themes in Contemporary Art
Making Things Public

In addition to your Art in Practice and Art in Context courses in the honours phase of your studies, you will begin taking courses that support you to transition your artistic work out of the studio and into the world.

In the third year of your studies, you will take one or both of the following 20-credit courses:

  • Making Things Public 1
  • Making Things Public 2

Both of these courses are ‘project space’ based, meaning you will work with and alongside peers to produce projects. This can include:

  • the exhibition of artworks
  • the staging of performances
  • the hosting of participatory activities
  • launching publications

You will be supported by tutors in the process of developing and delivering these projects and will participate in and receive critical feedback from peers during ‘critiques’ of your presentation.

These courses are intended to prepare you for developing your understanding of professional practices of display, presentation and communication of artistic work in preparation for your final year studies and work beyond the university.

Option courses

In addition to your compulsory courses, you will also be able to take 20 credits worth of courses outside the subject area of art. You can choose from the range of option courses available across the Edinburgh College of Art or wider University.

You may also have the option of spending a semester studying at one of our international partner institutions through our student exchange programme.

Edinburgh Global exchange opportunities

Learning outcomes

By the end of Year 3, you will have developed your understanding of practical, technical, contextual and real-world applications of your work and that of others.

Your work in Year 3 will prepare you for the more individually directed study you will undertake in your final year.

Find Year 3 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

The fourth year of your studies finalises the honours phase of your degree. Your Year 4 studies will encourage a high level of self-direction and independent study supported and guided by the School of Art faculty.

You will build from your experiences over the previous three years to establish independent projects in your core courses:

  • Art in Practice 4
  • Art in Context 4
  • Going Public

These integrated courses will extend, deepen and ultimately conclude your investigations into:

  • subjects, skills and practices of your work
  • your research into the work of others
  • your final project outcomes
Art in Practice 4

Art in Practice 4 will conclude your studio-centred studies. With the support offered through tutorials and critiques, you will continue to develop your works, as well as your broader practice and artistic personhood through processes of:

  • research
  • action
  • reflection
Art in Context 4

Art in Context 4 will allow you to define a research area you wish to investigate and write about. You will receive close supervision and support to develop a critical and/or creative written component for assessment.

Going Public

The 40-credit core course Going Public is underpinned by the other two core courses and will build on your experiences in Making Things Public 1 or 2. This course will offer you the opportunity to pursue a final project that best suits the development of your work during your degree. Course outcomes may include:

  • participation in ECA’s annual Degree Show
  • establishing external artistic project
  • staging performances
  • screening events
  • workshops
  • talks
  • hosting symposia
  • developing art educational resources
Option courses

You will also have the opportunity to take the 20-credit optional course, Building Futures. This course will introduce you to a range of creative and cultural practitioners from across the visual arts who have transitioned from study on arts programmes into notable career paths.

Speakers will discuss thematic issues which new graduates and emerging artists must face and will include:

  • alumni of ECA
  • specialists from related professional bodies and organisations

This course will also:

  • encourage you to self-identify and articulate your skill needs for entering careers after study
  • equip you with transferable skills and an understanding of your employability after study

If you choose not to study Building Futures, you can still pursue other option courses across the wider University in your final year.

Typically, at the end of Year 4 you will have the opportunity to take part in our Graduate Show. This is a chance to exhibit your work. You can see work submitted by previous graduates on our 2024 Graduate Show page.

School of Art Graduate Show 2024

Find Year 4 courses (2024-2025 academic year)

Study abroad

We offer exchange opportunities with partner institutions across the world. Exchanges usually take place during Year 3. 

Studying abroad allows you to:

  • become immersed in a new culture
  • make new friends
  • expand your working knowledge of another language
  • realise a degree of self-reliance, which future employers will regard as an asset

What are my options for going abroad?

Field trips

In Years 1 and 2 you will go on regular field trips to galleries, exhibitions, arts organisations and events across Edinburgh as part of your scheduled teaching.  

In Years 3 and 4 there will be more focused opportunities for you to work closely with arts organisations across Scotland via our Sites and Situations course and Building Futures course. These opportunities change year on year but have recently included: 

  • Hospitalfield 
  • Wester Hailes Medical Centre 
  • Granton Castle Walled Garden and other community gardens  
  • The National Museum of Mining 
  • University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Research Collections 
  • Newhailes House 
  • Lauriston Castle 
  • The Anatomy Museum 
  • COP 26 
  • Art Walk Porty 
  • Marine Science and Scottish Landscapes (St. Abbs) 
  • Royal Scottish Academy 

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

Most of your teaching for core courses on this programme will take place in a studio environment and will involve a range of hands-on projects and environments.

For the optional courses that you will choose during your first three years of study, teaching and learning methods vary.

This programme sees research and critical thinking as essential to your development as a creative practitioner. You will therefore study and participate within diverse professional contexts for contemporary fine art creative practice. This includes taking part in exhibitions and live projects throughout your degree studies.

Teaching methods

Methods we use to explore conceptual, material and technical subjects within fine art include:

  • critiques of individual and group work
  • lectures
  • seminars
  • group and individual tutorials
  • workshops
  • visiting artist talks
  • field trips
  • technical instruction
Critiques

Largely unique to art studies, the critique (or 'crit') is a collective form of learning that involves a facilitated presentation, analysis and discussion of work between peers. It is an opportunity to see how your work is viewed and understood by others. This model encourages the development of:

  • specialist language skills
  • analytical thinking
  • public speaking
  • professional practices in the discipline of art including art criticism
Lectures

Lectures will inform you about critical and contextual concerns within the field of contemporary fine art. You will develop critical listening and thinking skills, along with technical note-making and close reading skills.

Seminars

Seminars are small or large group discussion learning environments, facilitated by academic members of staff in which critical and contextual materials are collectively:

  • analysed
  • discussed
  • critiqued
  • debated

Seminars will help you to develop research and preparation skills, along with oral presentation and debate skills in combination with soft skills required in group work and discussion.

Tutorials

Tutorials happen both in one-to-one and group settings. During tutorials, you will engage with academic staff in focused specialist discussions about your creative practice and that of your peers. This format stimulates an exchange of ideas and opinions, encouraging you to develop skills in receiving and giving constructive criticism.

Workshops

Workshops within this programme are both technical and research-focused. They require experiential engagement and the development of technical and critical skills that deepen your understanding of:

  • what creative practices and processes are
  • how they can be developed
  • why they are applicable beyond the discipline
Studio-based work

The BA (Hons) Fine Art will be predominantly studio-based. This means you will have an allocated studio for each year in which you can work independently, but will also receive direct tuition such as tutorials and group critiques. 

Specialist workshops

You will be taught across a range of specialist workshop environments. These include but are not limited to workshops for:

  • woodworking
  • metalwork
  • casting
  • glass
  • printmaking
  • photography
  • jewellery and garment making
  • 3D printing
  • laser cutting
  • digital provisions for Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, InDesign, Arduino, and film editing

Workshops are staffed by specialist technicians and practitioners, who will support and guide your technical development during your studies. 

You will be able to borrow specialist and professional equipment through ECA's Bookit system, allowing you to become familiar with professional standard equipment and produce high-quality work.

ECA's Bookit system

Assessment

Academic staff provide regular tutorials and points of formative assessment throughout your studies. You will receive meaningful feedback which encourages and guides your future development in both your studio work and contextual studies.

Among other things, assessment can take the form of:

  • research documents and sketchbooks 
  • portfolios of artworks 
  • reflective accounts of your work 
  • individual and group presentation of work 
  • written or audio essays 
  • artist statements and project designs 
  • documentation of projects 
  • dissertation 

Assessment and grading of this coursework are directly aligned to learning outcomes for each course you study so you can identify what you have achieved.

Each course you study has its specific learning outcomes and forms of assessment. We have a shared responsibility to ensure you understand how you are being assessed and how you should engage with these processes.  

A typical week for you in Year 1 will look like this: 

  • Monday PM – Art in Context 1 
  • Tuesday AM or PM – Art in Practice 1 
  • Wednesday AM – Art in Practice 1 workshop with the Technical Team 

Your two selected option courses will occur in time slots that do not clash with your core teaching.

You will be expected to undertake self-directed study in the remaining time. This will involve:

  • completing formative tasks and assignments related to your courses
  • undertaking independent research
  • making use of our technical facilities

Support for your studies

ECA’s Student and Academic Support Service (SASS) supports students throughout their studies in all degree programmes at ECA.

You will have a dedicated Student Adviser, based within SASS, who is specially trained to support you during your studies. Your Student Adviser will be your first point of contact for any support, including questions about your studies or your well-being. Your Student Adviser can support you with:

  • personal or wellbeing issues that you are facing, including how to access specialist support
  • queries related to your programme, such as course enrolments, programme transfers and academic progression
  • applying for extensions and special circumstances
  • advice about how to take a break from your studies
  • registering with the Disability and Learning Support Service

If you’re unsure who to ask, you can contact your Student Adviser as a first point of contact.

Support for your studies

Our academic staff

You will join a community of practising artists, writers, critics and curators working across visual, and material culture. We think, make and critically reflect.

Staff on the BA (Hons) Fine Art programme include:

The majority of our faculty members in the subject area of Art teach in the programme.

You will meet, and work with most of them during your studies. You can explore the ECA People Directory to discover more of the staff you will learn from.

ECA People Directory

Where you will study

Study location

The majority of your teaching, including lecturers and seminars, will take place at ECA's Lauriston Campus in the Central Area. Each year, you will be assigned a studio in our main building.

You will also get to experience lectures and classes across the wider University of Edinburgh campus.

Academic facilities

Throughout your studies, you will have access to a wide range of spaces, facilities and equipment to aid you in experimenting with artistic processes and making work.

Our purpose-built Main Building includes painting studios and studios for sculptural work.

Specialist workshops

In addition to the studios, you will be taught across a range of specialist workshop environments, which are predominantly located in the ECA Main Building, Hunter Building and our Evolution House building.

You'll have access to:

  • foundry and casting rooms
  • hot and cold glasswork facilities
  • metal workshops
  • wood workshops
  • specialist analogue and digital photography suits
  • printmaking suite
  • digital fabrication facilities

In addition to these facilities, we also have the ECA Store on-campus where you can purchase materials for your artistic projects, along with our Free-Use Hub where you can access free recycled materials.

You will also have access to Bookit, where you can access and loan a wide range of digital and technical equipment for free as part of being a student.

Bookit - Equipment loans and studio booking

You can find out more on the ECA website.

Facilities and resources at ECA

Investing in our learning environment

Edinburgh College of Art is excited to be undertaking a capital redevelopment of ECA’s Lauriston Campus over the next three years, from April 2024 to April 2027. ​

The project aims to maximise the use of existing space, improve accessibility, and create a vibrant campus that fosters collaboration and innovation.​

The project involves refurbishing and repurposing various spaces across the Lauriston campus, including technical facilities, student and teaching spaces, and the relocation of the Reid School of Music from Alison House to the Lauriston Campus. New social spaces, seminar rooms, and studios are being created to accommodate our growing community.

You can find more about the project on our website:

Building work starts at ECA’s Lauriston Campus - Edinburgh College of Art

Virtual tour

You can take a closer look at the Edinburgh College of Art and explore our facilities and campus with our virtual tour.

Take a virtual tour of Edinburgh College of Art

Career paths

Studying towards a degree in fine art is a highly transferable qualification, providing you with a significant foundation upon which to build a dynamic and fulfilling career.

Art careers

Many graduates pursue careers as artists, completing residencies and commissions. A high percentage of our graduates are establishing themselves in studios, workshops and artist-led organisations, and are developing international profiles as exhibiting artists and creative practitioners.

Many of our graduates also enter other art-related professions, including (but not limited to):

  • teaching (from primary to tertiary education)
  • art education in community settings
  • work in galleries and other art organisations
  • jobs in the wider creative industries
  • postgraduate study and research

Find out more about art careers on the ECA alumni website

Skills

Our BA (Hons) Fine Art degree provides a progressive education in, and induction into, contemporary fine art practice. 

You will develop:

  • analytical and practical skills
  • the ability to work with others in an organised manner
  • lateral thinking skills

These attributes can be applied to a wide range of career possibilities.

Other career paths

A BA (Hons) Fine Art allows our graduates to work across a range of exciting roles, jobs and opportunities both nationally and internationally in vibrant sectors. These can include working within the cultural sector as either a freelance artist or within organisations and institutions such as galleries and museums that support public development and engagement with the arts.

Students of fine art are not limited to pursuing careers only in art. The liberal arts basis of our degree, combined with the technical skills and competencies you will develop during your studies, provides you with a range of options when you graduate.

The cultural sector and the creative industries are the primary sectors employing graduates from programmes such as our BA (Hons) Fine Art.

Careers Service

Our Careers Service can help you to fully develop your potential and achieve your future goals.

The Careers Service supports you not only while you are studying at the University, but also for up to two years after you finish your studies.

With the Careers Service, you can:

  • access digital resources to help you understand your skills and strengths
  • try different types of experiences and reflect on how and what you develop
  • get help finding work, including part-time jobs, vacation work, internships and graduate jobs
  • attend careers events and practice interviews
  • get information and advice to help you make informed decisions

Visit the Careers Service website

Further study

After you complete your programme, you may want to go onto further study at Edinburgh or a different university. You could progress to:

  • a masters degree
  • a postgraduate diploma or certificate
  • a PhD
  • a second undergraduate degree

Find out about options for further study 

Postgraduate degrees you might be interested in could include:

Graduate profiles

Hear from two of our graduates on the ECA website:

Alumni profile - Thomas Adam

Alumni profile - Hannah Lim

How to apply

You must submit a full application through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) before the relevant deadline.

Guidance on applying through UCAS

What you need to apply

As part of your application, you will need:

  • your academic qualifications
  • a personal statement
  • evidence of your English language skills (with relevant qualifications)
  • a reference

Portfolio

You need to submit a digital portfolio to show your artistic skill and potential. 

The portfolio guidance for 2026 entry will be released in August 2025.

How we select

If you have met, or are predicted to meet, all our entry requirements by the relevant deadline, then your application will go into our selection process.

As part of this selection process, we will review all the information you submit in your UCAS application when we decide who to select for this degree programme.

How we select applicants

When to apply

  • 2026 entry UCAS deadline: 14 January 2026 (6:00pm GMT)

This is the deadline for all UK, EU and international applicants to non-medicine and veterinary medicine programmes.

To find out if any degree programmes have spaces after 14 January 2026, search the University of Edinburgh on the UCAS website.

Search degrees that are open on the UCAS website

Key application dates and deadlines

After you apply

After you have applied for your degree programme, we suggest you have a look at the following information to help you prepare for university:

Applying as an international student

As an international student, you apply for this degree programme through UCAS.  

Find out more about applying through UCAS  

Visas and immigration 

If you do not have the right to live in the UK, you will need to apply for and secure a Student visa before the start date of your degree programme.  

Our Student Immigration Service can help you with the Student visa application process. 

Applying for a visa  

Agents  

An education agent is someone who can help you with the application process as an international student. 

We work with education agents around the world and have a list of local offices you can contact.  

Find contact details for an education agent

What our students say

What is it really like to study here? Our students share their experiences on our social media.

You can find out what a day in the life is like for an Edinburgh College of Art Student, from late nights in the library to their favourite walks around the city!

Instagram: Edinburgh College of Art

Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of University accommodation for all new, single undergraduate students from outside Edinburgh. To be eligible, you need to meet all criteria and apply for accommodation by 16 August in the year of your entry to the University.

University accommodation website

Accommodation guarantee criteria

If you prefer to live elsewhere, we can offer you advice on finding accommodation in Edinburgh.

Accommodation information from the Edinburgh University Students' Association Advice Place

Societies and clubs

Our societies and sports clubs will help you develop your interests, meet like-minded people, find a new hobby or simply socialise.

Societies

Sports clubs

The city of Edinburgh

Our vibrant capital is a blend of culture, history, nature and modern city life. A fantastic place to live, it is also the perfect location to study fine art.

Edinburgh’s dynamic cultural scene boasts the largest collection of historic buildings, museums, art galleries and theatres of any city in Scotland.

The University of Edinburgh’s museums and galleries include:

  • the Talbot Rice Gallery
  • Centre for Research Collections
  • St. Cecilia’s Hall: Concert Room and Music Museum

Edinburgh is home to several major annual festivals, each bringing talent from around the world to our streets and stages, making the celebration of diversity an intrinsic part of the city’s culture. These include the:

  • Festival Fringe
  • Film Festival
  • Art Festival
  • Book Festival
  • Jazz & Blues Festival

Some of our students even participate in our annual festivals.

Health and wellbeing support

You will have access to free health and wellbeing services throughout your time at university if you need them.

The support services we offer include:

  • a student counselling service
  • a health centre (doctor's surgery)
  • support if you're living in University accommodation
  • dedicated help and support if you have a disability or need adjustment

Health and wellbeing support services

Contact us

Contact us through our enquiry team if you have any questions about this programme.

Open days, events and visits

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This information is part of a government initiative to enhance the material that higher education institutions provide about their degree programmes.

It is one of many sources of information which will enable you to make an informed decision on what and where to study.

Some programmes do not have Discover Uni data available.