Skip to content

Studies & Degrees in Jewelry and Metals

Jewelry and metals is the study of how to design and make jewelry and small objects in metal. It combines workshop craft with design: students learn to saw, file, solder, forge and cast metal, to set stones, to engrave and to enamel, and they learn to draw and plan a piece before making it. In the United States the field is often called metals or metalsmithing; in the United Kingdom and Italy the usual words are jewellery, silversmithing and goldsmithing.

Digital tools are now part of the training next to hand techniques. The Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University, for example, describes its programme as one in which students master traditional methods and add computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), including 3D printing. Many courses also include gemology, the history of jewelry and project work that ends in a final collection or exhibition.

Qualifications and levels

  • Short and workshop courses. Private jewelry schools teach single techniques or a complete basic training in weeks or months. Aziz Escuela Taller de Joyería in Barcelona runs a traditional jewelry course of 3 months and 36 hours, with one 3-hour session per week. Le Arti Orafe in Florence lists a basic jewellery making course of 150 hours with a fee of €3,000, according to its course list in October 2026. These courses lead to the school's own certificate, not to an official qualification.
  • One-year to three-year school programmes. Le Arti Orafe offers six-month, annual, two-year and three-year courses in jewellery, design, engraving, stone-setting, enamels and CAD. Accademia Riaci, also in Florence, offers semester, one-year and master courses in jewelry making.
  • Vocational qualifications in Spain. Jewelry belongs to the professional art and design studies (enseñanzas profesionales de artes plásticas y diseño), which are taught as intermediate and higher cycles (grado medio and grado superior) of two years each. The Escuela Técnica de Joyería del Atlántico in Vigo teaches the official grado medio in Procedimientos de Joyería Artística and the grado superior in Joyería Artística.
  • Bachelor's degree. At universities and art schools jewelry is a studio major within a fine arts or design degree. Temple University's Bachelor of Fine Arts in Metals, Jewelry, CAD-CAM has 126 credits.
  • Master's degree. The Master of Fine Arts is the usual graduate degree for studio practice. Temple's MFA in Metals / Jewelry / CAD-CAM is a two-year, 60-credit programme.

Where to study it

SpainExchange lists 17 active schools for jewelry and metals: 6 in the United States, 3 in the United Kingdom, 3 in Italy, 2 in Australia, 2 in Spain and 1 in Canada. The list mixes two kinds of institution. Universities and colleges, such as Temple University in Philadelphia, London Metropolitan University and The University of Edinburgh, teach the subject inside an art and design degree. Specialised jewelry schools, such as Le Arti Orafe and Accademia Riaci in Florence or the two Spanish schools in Vigo and Barcelona, concentrate on bench practice.

Florence has three of the listed schools, and international students do not need Italian to start: Le Arti Orafe has courses taught in English, and Accademia Riaci teaches its courses with an English interpreter. The Spanish official cycles are different. The grado superior in Vigo runs for 2 academic years, from October to June, is taught entirely on site and includes subjects such as history of goldsmithing and jewelry, artistic and technical drawing, jewelry projects, technology and casting, modelling, gemology and a jewelry workshop, followed by a work placement in companies, studios or workshops.

Careers

Graduates work as bench jewelers (also called goldsmiths or silversmiths), stone setters, engravers, jewelry designers, CAD modellers, gemologists and appraisers, or set up their own workshop and brand. Formal study is one route among several. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, jewelers and precious stone and metal workers typically enter the occupation with a high school diploma and learn on the job, and some complete an apprenticeship or a trade school programme.

The same source projects that employment in the occupation in the United States will decline 3 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,700 openings a year that come from replacing workers who leave. It is a small trade in which a portfolio, bench skills and contacts made during placements count for much.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a degree to become a jeweler?

No. Many jewelers learn in a workshop, in a trade school or through an apprenticeship. A degree or an official vocational qualification adds design training and a recognised title, which helps for teaching, further study or work abroad.

How long does it take to study jewelry?

It ranges from a 36-hour introductory course to full programmes. In Spain each official cycle lasts two years; in the United States a Bachelor of Fine Arts is a full undergraduate degree, and an MFA such as Temple's adds two years.

Can I study jewelry in Italy in English?

Yes. In Florence, Le Arti Orafe offers courses taught in English and Accademia Riaci teaches with an English interpreter.

Is an official jewelry qualification available in Spain?

Yes. The grado medio in Procedimientos de Joyería Artística and the grado superior in Joyería Artística are official two-year cycles; other courses at private schools give the school's own certificate.