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Studies & Degrees in Creative Arts

Creative arts is an umbrella term for study programmes in which students make original work: visual art, design, creative writing, music, theatre and performance, film and digital media. It is a family of disciplines more than a single one. A creative arts degree usually asks students to choose one discipline as their main field, while they share studios, workshops and projects with students from the others.

Most of the teaching is practical. Students work in studios and workshops, show their work to tutors and classmates for critique, and build a portfolio over the course. Alongside the practice they study the history and theory of their discipline. The Bachelor of Creative Arts of the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia is a typical example: students choose a major in the first year from Creative Writing, Music, Performance and Theatre, Visual Arts, or Visual Arts and Design.

Qualifications and levels

The name of the qualification and its length depend on the country.

  • Bachelor's degrees. The Bachelor of Creative Arts at UOW takes 3 years of full-time study. The Fine Art BA (Hons) of the University of Worcester in England also takes 3 years full-time, with a part-time option; the university describes workshops, studio critiques and individual tutorials as the core of the course. In Spain a bachelor's degree (grado) has 240 ECTS credits: the Grado en Bellas Artes of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (UFV), near Madrid, has 240 ECTS credits, lasts four academic years and is taught in Spanish.
  • Higher arts education in Spain. Besides the universities, Spain has a separate system of arts education (enseñanzas artísticas). The Ministry of Education's portal lists its fields: music, dance, dramatic art, conservation and restoration of cultural assets, plastic arts and design, audiovisual arts, video games, animation and cinematography, creative writing and circus arts. It includes both vocational cycles and bachelor's and master's level studies. The higher degree in Design, for example, has four academic years of 60 credits each, 240 credits in total, and is an official qualification.
  • Master's degrees. Official university master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. In other countries the length varies by university.
  • Courses at private art schools. Many specialised schools teach outside the degree system. Accademia Riaci in Florence, which has taught since 1983, offers one-year, semester, master and short courses in subjects such as painting and drawing, jewellery making, ceramics and fashion design. Ask the school what recognition its qualification has before enrolling.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 30 active schools for creative arts. Seven are in Spain, five in the United States, four each in the United Kingdom and Australia, and two each in Canada and Italy. New Zealand, Indonesia, Greece, Singapore, France and India have one each.

The schools are of different kinds. Universities with art, design or performance departments include the University of Wollongong, the University of Worcester, The University of Northampton, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria. Specialised private schools include ARTENEO Formación en Artes Visuales and IDEM: Instituto de Diseño, Estilismo y Moda in Madrid, Accademia Riaci and Le Arti Orafe Jewellery School & Academy in Florence, and MOD'SPE Paris. Holmesglen in Australia is a vocational (TAFE) and higher education provider.

Courses are normally taught in the language of the country. For English-taught degrees, international applicants need an English certificate: UOW asks for an overall score of 6.5 in IELTS Academic, with at least 6.0 in each part, for its Bachelor of Creative Arts. Art and design courses often ask for a portfolio as well, so check the admission page of each school early.

Careers

Graduates work as artists, designers, illustrators, writers, musicians and performers, and in jobs around the arts such as editing, publishing and content production. UOW lists, among others, artist, creative director, digital content creator, editor, graphic designer, illustrator, music producer, screenwriter and writer as careers for its creative arts graduates.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that employment in arts and design occupations as a whole will grow more slowly than the average for all occupations from 2025 to 2035, with about 76,400 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who leave. For craft and fine artists it projects a decline of 1 percent over the same period. According to the BLS, 58 percent of craft and fine artists are self-employed and many hold another job in addition to their work as an artist. It also notes that most fine artists pursue postsecondary education to improve their skills and job prospects, while a formal credential is typically not needed to be a craft artist.

Frequently asked questions

Is creative arts the same as fine art?

No. Fine art (painting, sculpture, printmaking and related practices) is one of the disciplines inside the creative arts. Creative arts programmes also cover fields such as creative writing, music, theatre and design.

How long does a creative arts degree take?

It depends on the country. The Bachelor of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong and the Fine Art BA (Hons) at the University of Worcester take 3 years full-time. A Spanish bachelor's degree, such as the Grado en Bellas Artes at UFV, has 240 ECTS credits over four years.

Do I need an English test to study creative arts abroad?

For English-taught degrees, usually yes. The University of Wollongong, for example, requires an overall IELTS Academic score of 6.5 for its Bachelor of Creative Arts. Each school sets its own level.

Are qualifications from art schools official?

Some are and some are not. In Spain the higher degree in Design is an official qualification of 240 credits. Private schools often award their own certificates, so ask each school what recognition its qualification has.