UCL Prospectus: Please read this section in conjunction with the UCL Undergraduate Prospectus

Entry requirements: see the UCL Undergraduate Prospectus

Fees and funding:  See the Funding for students on undergraduate courses UCL webpage for further information.

• develop the individual visual intelligence each student brings with them to the School
• develop in each student a critical awareness and understanding of fine art and its contexts
• provide the intellectual and practical resources to enable each student to realise his or her creative potential as a professional artist
• provide studio-centred teaching and a forum for debate through which students become increasingly professional and articulate in their questioning

Tutorial system

Each student has a personal tutor within their year group and meets at least twice per term. One-to-one tutorials can be arranged, subject to availability, with other Slade tutors from across the undergraduate, graduate and PhD programmes.

Content-led seminars

Content-led seminars are arranged around themes, such as photography. Some are pre-organised, with some slots left empty to respond to students’ current interests. These seminars aim to relate the students' practice to specific ideas and subjects to develop critical awareness.

Studio Crits

All students will take part, both as observers and as presenters in studio crits. The crits provide a forum for students to present their work to students and tutors across all the years and subject disciplines. The aim is to relate the work to a broad context beyond the year groups and subject disciplines in which it is produced. The crit also aims to develop students' understanding of how to locate, place and present their artwork for exhibition, performance or public setting.

Core programme

All Year 1 BFA Students must complete the Core Programme, which is led by tutors from the History and Theory of Art programme, with contributions from studio staff. The Core Programme introduces students to key histories and theories that have shaped the making, reception and circulation of art from the mid 19th century to the present. This provides a solid grounding from which to begin the Critical Studies programme for BFA students.  

Visiting artist programme

Each area has a programme of visitors including artists, critics and curators who give tutorials, lectures and participate in seminars. Recent visitors include: Recent visitors include:  Valerie Amani, Alvaro Barrington, Adham Faramawy, R.I.P. Germain, Andrew Pierre Hart, Vlatka Horvat, Hannah Catherine Jones, Rachel Jones, Christopher Kirubi, Phillip Lai, Ghislaine Leung, Rene Matic, Emily Moore, Goia Mujali, Milika Muritu, Naira Mushtaq, Harold Offeh, Shenece Oretha, Janette Parris, Jaimini Patel, Freddie Powell, Reman Sadani, Prem Sahib, Zeinab Saleh, Jenkin van Zyl, Jala Wahid, Ellie Wang, Gray Wielebinski, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and Vivien Zhang.

Painting

Tutors from the undergraduate painting aim to enable each student to pursue their ideas in and around painting in all its forms in the most committed, imaginative and experimental way. Work may manifest itself in a wide variety of different mediums and materials. Interaction with each other is an essential aspect of the painting course. One-to-one tutorials are a crucial part of the course and regular seminars and crits take place where students are encouraged to discuss and present their work to fellow students and staff. Workshops are programmed to introduce painters to stretcher-making and materials. An integral part of the course is the extensive programme of visiting artists and critics, who give tutorials and lectures and participate in seminars.

Sculpture

The undergraduate sculpture academics embrace an expansive idea of sculpture towards the expression and exploration of ideas in space, using material or dematerialised processes. We encourage experimentation, invention and intervention which may incorporate object making, installation, the uses of appropriation and the found object, drawing, still and moving image, sound, text, printed matter and performance. Staff and students engage in rigorous conversation, exploring and developing the ideas generated by student activity, and the subject of sculpture and its possibilities. We consider production in its broadest sense, the contexts of space and place, audience, process, temporal and haptic encounter through the discussion of work, the contexts of art practice and relevant historical and contemporary models of thought. Field visits are made to galleries, studios, factories and sites. Technical support is provided in the use of wood, metal, plastic, ceramics, construction, casting, carving and moulding techniques, moving, still and 3D digital image, sound and printed media.

Fine Art Media

The undergraduate fine art media tutors encourage a diverse approach to exploring media and ideas. The area allows students to specialise and develop expertise in a chosen medium or a combination of approaches that test the boundaries and relationships of different media. Students can develop their practice through a broad range of technologies and approaches that include film, video, photography, print, electronic and digital media, drawing, performance, sound, object-making, installation and the production of texts and publications. An experimental and critical approach is encouraged, and a wide range of conceptual and practical expertise is provided by staff who are practitioners specialising in the field. Technical tuition and theoretical and philosophical discourse relevant to the area are introduced to students through workshops, gallery visits and seminars, when permitted.

The teaching of History and Theory of Art at the Slade supports students to develop their knowledge of art history and theory, enabling a critical awareness which in turn supports their studio practice. 

The programme is structured to encourage increasing independence in research and writing. In the first two years the courses are thematic, and provide a grounding in key practices, debates and methods, enabling students to contextualise their practice and engage with how contemporary and historical art is made, interpreted, displayed and circulated. 

In the third year, students work on an Independent Study focused on a topic of their choice, closely supported through regular supervision with a member of the History and Theory team.

Students are expected to participate actively in the History and Theory programme by reading set texts in preparation for seminars and to contribute to discussion. Through lectures, seminars, tutorials and assessments, students develop their intellectual capacities and confidence in articulating their ideas in writing and speaking. 

BA Fine Art students take one additional course from a vast range of options offered in other UCL departments (subject to availability), normally in their second year. This may relate to their practice-based work, for example, a course in anthropology, psychology, architecture or film, or it may provide an additional skill such as mathematics or computing. Students may apply to take an intercollegiate module at other University of London colleges.

Practice-based work in the BA

Students receive an annual tutorial report and present a portfolio of practice-based work for assessment at the end of each year. Students must demonstrate development of their practice, critical awareness, and their participation and contribution to the programme. These end-of-year assessments lead up to the final-year degree exam and progression to a career as a practising artist.

The degree exam contributes 80% of the final degree mark for BA Fine Art students.

History and Theory of Art in the BA Fine Art

In the first year, students complete one written exercise for the Core Programme in Term 1, and one written exercise for one of the Term 2 short courses. Both essays are formative (the mark does not count towards the final degree). 

In the second year, students complete one written exercise for the Term 1 course, and one written exercise for the Term 2 course. The aggregated mark of these essays contributes 10% to the final degree mark. 

In the third year, students complete a longer Independent Study, supervised by a member of the History and Theory of Art team. The mark from the Independent Study contributes 10% to the final degree mark. 

This should be read in conjunction with the UCL Scholarships and Funding web pages and the Slade’s own Fees and funding page.

Tuition fees

UCL’s tuition fees are set annually and cover registration, tuition and supervision for each academic year, or part of an academic year that you are enrolled. Tuition fees may be subject to an annual increase. The fee does not cover artists' or other academic materials. Current fees and further information about fee status, how to pay and living expenses can be found on the UCL Money pages.