The Ruskin School of Art offers a three-year studio-based BFA course in which students work alongside each other in collaboratively organised studios. Whereas many fine art courses run in an environment devoted exclusively to art and design, Ruskin students, as members of a collegiate university, have the advantage of contact with their contemporaries on all of OxfordÕs other courses.
The Ruskin course aims to develop strong independent points of view and a mature grasp of the range of critical debate surrounding contemporary art and its many international histories. OxfordÕs short terms, coupled with the ambitious atmosphere at the Ruskin, suit highly motivated and resourceful students with a good sense of how to organise their time both in and out of Oxford.
The first year of the course is structured to introduce students to each other, to the resources of the school and to the staff involved in teaching and running the Ruskin. Students will familiarise themselves with their fellow studentsÕ work, take part in group criticism and engage in intensive dialogue with tutors and visiting artists.
The intimate working environment of the school, arranged in two buildings, allows art history, theory and criticism to be treated as integral to the development of studio work. The Ruskin also enjoys a strong and constructive relationship with Modern Art Oxford and students have full access to the many exceptional University libraries and museums, including the Ashmolean.