Date updated: September 2022
If you have any questions that are not answered here please contact us.
Email: admissions@raschools.org.uk
Phone: 0207 300 5650
The programme is not accredited and is not a Masters’ degree. Those on the programme study here in order to develop as professional artists, and upon completion will receive a postgraduate diploma in fine art which is recognised internationally on prestige rather than as a formal qualification.
We offer one programme - the postgraduate programme in contemporary fine art.
No, our programme is full-time for three years (minimum 35 hours per week).
There is no upper age limit for studying with us. Our student cohort age range fluctuates as applicants come to us from varying stages of their lives and practice.
The academic year stretches from October to July and consists of three 10 week terms. There is usually a two-week break at Christmas and a three to four-week break at Easter.
Our programme is full time, Monday - Friday. This consists of lectures and talks, group crits and tutorials. There is a weekly lecture or artist talk. Year group critiques (crits) with your tutor and guest artists over four days in the autumn and again in the summer term, where each of your year group will present work for discussion.
In the spring term there are cross-year crits of which you will need to attend at least one. This will allow you to present work for discussion and discuss the work of your peers (however there is still the opportunity for informal cross year crits, throughout the year).
You will have one to one tutorials with your year group tutor and invited international artists and lecturers. Our Critical Fellow runs a reading group which meets throughout the academic year. You will exhibit twice, once as a part of a group show in your second year,with the graduation show taking place at the end of the three-year programme.
There is a requirement to complete two texts and an end of year reflective report each year. When not attending a lecture, talk, tutorial or crit, students are encouraged to be in their studios. The studios are open most days except Christmas Day and Boxing Day; 8am - 10pm.
It is very important that you attend all aspects of the programme.
During their time with us, all students are also offered the opportunity to do teaching placements as well as apply to participate in the RA’s attRAct programme which supports young people interested in Fine Art into Higher Education. The technical workshops are open Tuesday - Friday.
Prospective applicants are invited to attend our Open Day / Webinars. This typically takes place in October/November each year. Our Open Day / Webinar will give you a chance to see our studios and workshops and our staff will be on hand to answer your questions. Please note places are limited and timed booking is required (booking will open in September).
If you cannot attend our Open Day, we can sometimes arrange short visits for prospective applicants by appointment, under special circumstances. We do not have the resources to offer this to all applicants and encourage you to attend an Open Day. We are unable to accommodate visits without an appointment.
The application deadline is 11 December 2022.
In order to join the programme you will need to apply online via slideroom and complete an application. More information about the process including a summary of each stage, can be found on the How to Apply page.
To get started on your application, please visit raschools.slideroom.com.
If you need technical assistance with your online application, please visit Slideroom’s searchable support pages or email support@slideroom.com.
We do not accept deferrals to the programme. The panel views and reviews each artist at the time of their portfolio submission.
We aim to contact all potential applicants up to three weeks after their interview. Please see the Interviews Section in our Prospectus for more information. This can be found on the How to Apply page.
All interviews will be conducted in person, and will last between twenty and thirty minutes. Exceptions may be made for those based overseas. If you are based internationally this will be discussed with you when you are shortlisted.
The interview stages with us, will be an opportunity to discuss your portfolio, practice and any other submitted work with the panel in order to best gauge whether the Royal Academy Schools hold the best tools for your artist growth and how you can contribute, engage with (and artistically challenge) the programme, your peers and to shaping the community of the Royal Academy Schools as an individual and an artist.
Please note that we are now only requesting references from candidates who are shortlisted for an interview.
If you have finished a BA degree in recent years then we suggest you ask one of your BA tutors. If you do not want to use an academic reference then you may want to ask an artist or other arts professional with whom you have worked or collaborated.
You can only provide one reference.
If you are shortlisted for an interview, we will invite you to request a reference from your referee through SlideRoom. A reference request will be sent by email to your referee immediately after you have completed the Reference section of your Slideroom application.
Your referee will see the following statement when receiving your request:
Please specify how you know the applicant and include comments on their experience, personal qualities and suitability for the Royal Academy Postgraduate Programme. If the information is available to you please indicate the cohort size in the year that the candidate graduated. It would be useful to be made aware if there is any reason why the candidate may not do him/herself justice at interview.
Please submit your reference as soon as you can.
If your referee has not received their automated email please send the above to them and ask them to email your reference to admissions@raschools.org.uk.
You can submit up to 16 images or 15 minutes of video, or a proportion of both, i.e. If you want to submit 5 minutes of video, you should only submit 11 images. If your video is longer than five minutes we strongly recommend submitting shorter extracts.
For more information on the submission requirements including the number of images you can apply with, how you will need to upload them and other criteria for media, please see the How To Apply page on our Prospectus. Alternatively, see the following link to Slideroom help portal on working with and uploading your portfolio, as well as their searchable support pages.
At the application stage we want to see work that you feel is finished. We do not want to see unfinished or preparatory work as it is important for us to understand your intentions. If it has range then let us see that and perhaps you could talk your approach through in your statement.
We do not offer portfolio reviews to applicants. We always recommend applicants showing your portfolio to those whose decisions you trust as well as who you feel will give you constructive feedback and honest criticism.
We only look at the websites and instagram accounts of applicants if and where recent and relevant to their application and only if submitted as part of their portfolio.
The application fee is listed in USD because it is collected via Slideroom and they are based in the US.
If you are experiencing financial difficulties that may prevent you from being able to submit your application, please contact us at admissions@raschools.org.uk, and we will endeavour to help you.
Candidates have usually gained a BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Art (or similar) or have equivalent experience. In recent years we have accepted candidates straight from BA, but the majority have been working independently as artists. Candidates may have exhibited in group or solo shows, but it is by no means required.
If you do not have a BA in Fine Art (or similar) then you will need to demonstrate in your application that you have equivalent experience to someone who has gained this qualification.
How you do this will vary for each applicant, but it should be evident that you have spent a considerable amount of time interrogating and developing your artistic practice.
For candidates who do not have a BA in Fine Art (or similar), other professional experiences as an artist – such as taking part in exhibitions, residencies, or other art projects / events – would be beneficial to your application.
We consider applications from those who have an MA but currently none of our students have this qualification.
We will consider all applicants with the view that they can benefit the most from the three year post graduate programme; if the panel feel that a student with an MA or otherwise - is at a level in their practice whereby they are either a) not ready to join the programme and need to develop their individual practice, further or b) are already at a level where they may not need any of the aspects of the programme - they may not be shortlisted for interview.
We do not ask for any language certifications, but we do require candidates to be fluent in English. Fluency will be informally assessed in your written application and at interview (if applicable).
We do accept applications from artist duos. If accepted onto the programme, you would be treated as one student. Therefore, you would share a studio, the bursary, and academic allocations i.e. tutorials, critiques, etc.
To apply, you will need to submit one application on SlideRoom.
This is communicated within the How to Apply page.
You are considered an international applicant and will need to be eligible to live or study in the UK, or be eligible to apply for the UK Global Talent Visa. For more information please visit the Arts Council Website for The Global Talent Visa.
Unfortunately we are unable to review a candidate’s application. We advise that you view the criteria for the Global Talent visa and make the decision as to whether you are eligible. However, should you be offered a place, we will guide you through the visa application process.
Our independent status renders us ineligible for International Student Visas. I am currently living in the UK but I do not have UK citizenship. Am I considered an international candidate? Do I still need to be eligible for the UK Global Talent (Exceptional Promise) Visa? If you hold British Citizenship or Permanent Residence status (e.g. Indefinite Leave to Remain) in the UK you are eligible to join our programme without a UK Global Talent (Exceptional Promise) Visa. If you hold Permanent Residence status in the UK, you will need to provide evidence of this should you be offered a place. If you do not know whether you formally hold this status we recommend you speak to the UK Home Office to find out, and obtain formal documentation.
We cannot accept anyone onto the programme who does not have the right to live and study in the UK for a minimum of the three years of our postgraduate programme. This right needs to be confirmed before you apply.
We cannot accept anyone onto the programme who does not have the right to live and study in the UK for the three - year duration of our postgraduate programme. i.e. if you do not have an existing visa that lasts for the full length of the programme you will need to apply for the Global Promise Visa.
There are no course fees. A key principle of the RA Schools is that our programme is free of charge to every applicant offered a place.
The Royal Academy secures funding to support our student bursaries. Successful applicants are typically provided with an annual bursary of no less than £3,500 per academic year, divided into three portions which are then transferred at the start of each term. You will not need to apply for this.
As the bursary will not cover the full cost of living in London students are encouraged to manage this bursary themselves and often use it to contribute towards living expenses, art materials or other costs they might have.
While we provide a bursary for students. Students also occasionally pursue additional funding privately.
As a student at the RA you would be free to use the UK Charity Commission website to search for trusts and foundations etc. that may consider supporting you during your time at the RA. However we work with many of the applicable supporters, therefore we ask that you first get in touch with our office team to check that we don’t already have an existing relationship with the funding body.
It is also worth noting that subject to funding, we are able to provide some students with significant financial need with additional bursary funds.
All bursaries are allocated on a financial need basis.
In addition to the bursary, we also contribute to the costs of some consumable materials through our Workshops. This support will not cover the cost of all your materials.
We are also often able to offer students experiencing significant financial difficulty additional funding through our Student Support Fund. Students apply by providing a detailed Financial Assessment.
We are occasionally able to allocate additional funding to students and do so whenever possible. This funding is allocated based on financial need assessed through the student’s Financial Assessment. However our bursaries are dependent on funding as we are a charity; this means the amounts students receive can therefore fluctuate depending on the success of funding applications throughout the year. Additional funding is allocated based on financial need.
Yes and we encourage you to do so, whilst communicating who you are applying to prior to do so, in order for us to make sure you are not applying to one of our existing supporters.
We do not offer student accommodation and we are not able to help you secure accommodation. However upon accepting an offer of a place on the programme, we can put you in touch with the existing student and graduate communities to be kept in the loop with housing opportunities.
Alternatively we recommend searching on known letting websites such as, spareroom.co.uk and gumtree.com for permanent rented accommodation.
Although all students are awarded bursaries, these do not cover the full cost of living in London and the majority of our students work part-time to support their studies. However, as our programme is full-time and intensive, we request that students only work on evenings and weekends.
There are a number of opportunities for our students to work at the RA Schools while studying here, these range from regular bar work, cleaning, social media, admin and working at events. Additionally, there are opportunities to work part-time at the Royal Academy, in front of house/ visitor experience roles or in the RA shop.