Arts
Develop your own creative style. Capture a moment in time using photography, make beautiful glass and ceramic creations, or create a fine art masterpiece. Graduate with a portfolio of work to impress prospective employers.
Courses we offer
Our Art courses are ranked 7th in the UK (The Guardian University league tables, 2022), combining practical skills with academic rigour. You will work with our award-winning academics to build up a portfolio that will impress prospective employers and display your practical skills, leading to a rewarding and creative career. Take a look below to find the right course for you.
Undergraduate courses
BA (Hons) Photography, Video and Digital Imaging
Work alongside like-minded students within a creative and supportive environment, and gain work experience through projects and commissions managed by our Photography department.
Find out more about Photography, Video and Digital Imaging
BA (Hons) Fine Art
Study a wide range of modules to suit your interests, including Fine Art Media Skills, History of Art and Fine Art Contemporary Practice which will culminate with an exhibition in your final year giving you the opportunity to showcase your work to a public audience.
Find out more about Fine Art
BA (Hons) Artist Designer Maker: Glass and Ceramics
Master making skills in a range of materials, including Glass and Ceramics. Develop individual creativity and skills through cutting edge and established methods of practical making and conceptual thinking. Foster reflective and critical approaches to creative practice by promoting diagnostic, communication and digital skills. Work alongside like-minded students and within a creative and world-class environment. Celebrate and showcase your creations in the final year Degree Show.
Find out more about Artist Designer Maker: Glass and Ceramics
BA (Hons) Photography, Video and Digital Imaging with Integrated Foundation Year
Work alongside like-minded students within a creative and supportive environment, and gain work experience through projects and commissions managed by our Photography department.
Find out more about BA (Hons) Photography, Video and Digital Imaging with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) Fine Art with Integrated Foundation Year
Study a wide range of modules to suit your interests, including Fine Art Media Skills, History of Art and Fine Art Contemporary Practice which will culminate with an exhibition in your final year giving you the opportunity to showcase your work to a public audience.
Find out more about BA (Hons) Fine Art with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) Artist Designer Maker: Glass and Ceramics with Integrated Foundation Year
Master making skills in a range of materials, including Glass and Ceramics. Develop individual creativity and skills through cutting edge and established methods of practical making and conceptual thinking. Foster reflective and critical approaches to creative practice by promoting diagnostic, communication and digital skills. Work alongside like-minded students and within a creative and world-class environment. Celebrate and showcase your creations in the final year Degree Show.
Find out more about BA (Hons) Artist Designer Maker: Glass and Ceramics with Integrated Foundation Year
Foundation Diploma in Art, Design and Media Practice
This BTEC in Art, Design and Media Practice helps you develop new ways of working by providing broad exposure to a range of pathways including Fine Art, Fashion, Visual Communication, Lens-Based Media, and Glass and Ceramics. The course is free for school-leavers aged 18 at the start of the course.
Find out more about Foundation Diploma in Art, Design and Media Practice
Customised Awards Scheme
Pick and choose the modules you want to study to build a tailor-made course. Available at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, this course allows you to gain a qualification that closely matches your particular needs.
Find out more about Customised Awards SchemePostgraduate courses
MA Visual Practice
Follow a chosen visual practice discipline, from Contemporary Fine Art, Photography, Glass or Ceramics. Re-evaluate, experiment and test new ideas, while collaborating with peers to extend your contemporary practice. Grow your practice in a creatively stimulating environment and establish yourself as a creative professional.
Find out more about Visual Practice
MPhil Master of Philosophy
Take your education to the next level. Choose the areas you want to study, and which questions you want to research. Take the initiative while we support you with advice, guidance and facilities.
Find out more about MPhil Master of Philosophy
PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Refine your own agenda and do what you find interesting every day. Develop mastery of research methods that are appropriate to your chosen field. Discover things that no-one else has ever discovered.
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DProf Professional Doctorate
Study for a doctoral qualification based on your professional role. Reflect on contemporary issues in the workplace.
Find out more about DProf Professional Doctorate
PhD by Existing Published or Creative Work
Take the fastest route to a PhD. Convert your previous research outputs into a qualification which will increase your employability and open up new opportunities. Progress your academic career and add credibility in applications for research funding.
Find out more about PhD by Existing Published or Creative Work
Higher Doctorate
Take your academic career to the highest level. Make a very significant and sustained contribution to your subject. Gain an elite qualification that will mark you out as an outstanding contributor to your field.
Find out more about Higher Doctorate
Customised Awards Scheme
Pick and choose the modules you want to study to build a tailor-made course. Available at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, this course allows you to gain a qualification that closely matches your particular needs.
Find out more about Customised Awards SchemeOutstanding facilities
Develop your intellectual and technical abilities, maximise your creative potential and generate a professional working practice. Join one of our Fine Art courses and you’ll be allocated personal studio space and have access to digital, video, sound editing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, woodwork and metalwork facilities. We have workshops, project spaces, a student gallery, a digital studio with video, sound editing and screening facilities and digital suites with Apple Macs.
Europe's largest glass and ceramics department
You’ll be based at the National Glass Centre, a nationally recognised glass production and exhibition environment, and home to our glass and ceramics department - the largest in Europe. You'll have an abundance of opportunities to network with professionals, as we hold up to 15 exhibitions per year with world-leading artists, and you can use that inspiration to exhibit your own work at the 'New Designers' exhibition in London.
Our staff include award-winning professional artists, designers, curators and writers with extensive international contacts, giving you the opportunity to enhance your networking skills. You’ll be at the heart of an international network of glass and ceramics professionals, giving you access to world-class production facilities, and you’ll showcase your work in the end of year Degree Show.
Life through a lens
At Sunderland, you'll develop your own personal style, be based at the fantastic Northern Centre of Photography and have the opportunity to display your work in our student gallery and Edition magazine, created by students. You'll have access to leading practitioners and theorists. You'll use our state-of-the-art chemical and digital photography facilities, including black and white and colour chemical darkrooms, and access a range of industry-standard cameras such as Mamiya, Hasselblad and Nikon. We have extensive studios equipped with Tungsten and flash lighting kits and specialist equipment for you to use, and you'll have the opportunity to print from 35mm to 5x4 plus a large horizontal enlarger to enable you to create extra-large prints. You'll also have access to Apple Macs with industry-standard video and editing software.
