Skip to content

Studies & Degrees in Arts

Arts is a broad heading. At its core are the visual arts: drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography and, more recently, digital image, video and installation. Around them are art history and theory, the crafts, and the performing arts of music, dance and drama, which some institutions teach under the same roof. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) draws a useful line: fine artists such as painters, sculptors and illustrators make work mainly for its aesthetic value, while craft artists make objects such as pottery, glassware and textiles that are designed to be used.

An arts degree is built around studio practice. Students work in several media before choosing one, study art history and theory alongside, and present their work for criticism by teachers and visiting artists. Over the years they assemble a portfolio, the collection of work that shows their style and abilities and that employers, galleries and clients ask to see.

Qualifications and levels

  • United States. Universities usually offer two bachelor's degrees. The Bachelor of Arts (BA) gives a general education in the visual arts; the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is the studio degree, in which each student builds an individual programme around one area of interest. At Florida Atlantic University, all art students start in the BA in Studio Art, and those who want the BFA pass a portfolio review after the core courses. The same department offers a BA in Art History and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA). The BLS notes that independent schools of art and design also award certificates and associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees.
  • Spain. There are two official routes. Universities teach the bachelor's degree (grado) in fine arts: the Grado en Bellas Artes of the Universidad de Sevilla has 240 ECTS credits over four years, is taught in Spanish, and covers traditional disciplines (drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking) and newer ones (digital image, photography, video and performance). Outside the universities, the higher artistic education system (enseñanzas artísticas superiores) covers music, dance, drama, conservation and restoration, design, visual arts and audiovisual arts. Its degrees are organised in two cycles, bachelor's and master's level, and the law makes the first equivalent to a university bachelor's degree for all purposes. Entry requires a specific admission test in the discipline.
  • Australia. The Bachelor of Fine Arts of UNSW Sydney is a three-year full-time degree with four streams: Animation and Moving Image, Art Theory, Music, and Visual Arts. The music stream requires an audition. The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) teaches a three-year Bachelor of Creative Industries with specialisations that include theatre and performance, creative writing, screen media and music.
  • Peru. At the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, the Escuela Profesional de Arte is an art history school: its study plans specialise in art research and in heritage and cultural management, and lead to a licenciatura.
  • Master's degrees. The MFA is the usual postgraduate studio degree in the United States. Official university master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits.

Where to study arts

SpainExchange lists 129 active schools for arts. The United States has 65, the United Kingdom 9, Spain and Australia 7 each, Canada 5 and Mexico 4. Examples are The Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Kentucky, Florida Atlantic University and LIU Post in the United States; UNSW Sydney and UniSC in Australia; the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru; and, in Madrid, the visual arts school ARTENEO.

When comparing schools, ask what kind of qualification the programme awards and what recognition it has, how much of the timetable is studio work, which workshops and equipment students can use, whether a portfolio, audition or entrance test is required, and in which language classes are taught. Private academies often teach specific skills such as illustration or animation; ask the school what recognition its qualification has.

Careers

Graduates work as practising artists, illustrators and animators, in museums and galleries as curators and cultural managers, in art education, and in design, media and the wider creative industries. The Universidad de Sevilla also lists illustration, comics, video games, set design, exhibition installation and cultural management among the outlets of its fine arts degree.

The labour market is demanding. According to the BLS, 58 percent of craft and fine artists in the United States are self-employed and many hold another job in addition to their work as artists. It projects overall employment of craft and fine artists to decline 1 percent from 2025 to 2035, and notes that illustrations generated by artificial intelligence may compete with illustrators.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a BA and a BFA?

Both are bachelor's degrees. The BA gives a general education in the visual arts, while the BFA concentrates on studio practice and often requires a portfolio review for admission.

Do I need a portfolio or an entrance test?

Often. Florida Atlantic University reviews a portfolio before the BFA, the music stream at UNSW requires an audition, and Spanish higher artistic education has a specific admission test.

Do I need a degree to work as an artist?

Not formally. The BLS notes that most fine artists pursue postsecondary education to improve their skills and job prospects, and that a formal credential is typically not needed to be a craft artist.

How long does a fine arts degree take in Spain?

Four years: the Grado en Bellas Artes has 240 ECTS credits. At the Universidad de Sevilla, students must also show a B1 level in a foreign language before the degree is issued.