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About the School of Art

School of Art from the upstairs terrace

The ANU School of Art (SoA) prepares students for professional careers in visual arts, media arts and design. It has built a reputation as a leading arts educator offering specialist training in Art Theory, Ceramics, Glass, Gold and Silversmithing, Painting, Photography and Media Arts (including digital video, computer animation, networked art and electronic sound), Printmedia and Drawing, Sculpture, Textiles and Furniture

The School's philosophy embraces the use of new technologies such as computer-based design and multimedia applications which are used to develop both new visual forms and to enliven and expand traditional media.

Academic Programs offered include both award and non-award programs. Award programs are:

Undergraduate programs
Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours year available)
Bachelor of Design Arts (Honours year available)
Diploma of Art

Graduate programs
Coursework programs: Graduate Diploma, Master of Visual Arts, Master of Arts (Visual Arts), Master of Visual Effects, Master of New Media Arts
Research programs: Master of Philosophy, PhD

non-award programs include short evening and weekend courses, run through Visual Arts Access, and summer and winter schools.

The School has good connections to the wider community, and the public are encouraged to visit the gallery spaces as well as attend the regular public lecture program, Art Forum, and attend the School of Art Annual Lecture, delivered each year by a distinguished scholar from the arts community.

We enjoy strong international connections with other art schools and, through an International Exchange Network, students from the School are able to study at a wide range of prestigious institutions around the world. The Exchange also encourages students from countries outside Australia to come and work in the School's excellent facilities.

A long-established artist-in-residence program brings some of the world's most experienced artists to live and work within the School, exposing students to the work and processes of artists of the highest calibre.

Canberra has a thriving art scene and and is home to many of the nation's premier institutions and the School draws on these for its teaching programs. Finally, the world-class research culture that ANU is renowned for provides a stimulating backdrop to study in the School.