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Fine Art MFA

London, Bloomsbury

UK students International students

Study mode

Full-time

UK tuition fees (2026/27)

£16,800

Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)

£39,200

Duration

2 academic years

Programme starts

September 2026

Applications accepted

All applicants: 20 Oct 2025 – 06 Jan 2026

Applications closed

Find similar courses still open

Entry requirements

MFA applicants should normally be of graduate standing with evidence of a high level of achievement in the chosen studio discipline also being required. Exceptionally, an applicant may be considered whose previous education and professional experience are deemed by UCL to be equivalent to graduate level.

The English language level for this course is: Level 1

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The Fine Art MFA course provides a diverse, intellectual and experimental environment in which you can develop your potential as a professional artist and researcher in your chosen studio area. You are supported to expand your critical awareness within the context of Fine Art and to situate your practice within the wider cultural and social context of the contemporary world. The Slade's Fine Art MFA course supports interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to art making.

Who this course is for

This course will appeal to applicants interested in pursuing advanced personal research as a thorough preparation for professional practice and/or further doctoral study in the field.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

The Slade School of Fine Art at UCL is one of the UK's leading university departments for research in Fine Art, approaching the study and practice of Fine Art within in an experimental, discursive, and critical context. The two-year course affords the time and space to evolve and reconfigure your practice through sustained experimentation and supported critical reflection.

All academic studio staff are artists, actively involved in research as well as teaching, and have a diverse range of research interests and expertise. Our research focuses on five areas of expertise.

The UCL Slade School of Fine Art’s location in London enables easy access to unparalleled learning resources including major galleries, museums, libraries, cultural institutions, and theatres. The advantages of London are also reflected in the fact that it was ranked the #1 student city in the world (QS Best Student Cities 2025).

As a student at the Slade, you also benefit from the Slade Careers Programme, which allows you to consider the wider professional aspects of art making in relation to your work.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Alumni of the course working as practising artists include Ed Atkins, Ming Wong, Marianna Simnett, Sofia Mitsola, Shen Xin, Phoebe Boswell and Alvaro Barrington. Slade alumni hold roles in related careers worldwide, such as curation, museum and gallery management and within education. They have gone on to work for institutions and organisations such as the Tate, Maureen Paley, Sadie Coles, University of the Arts London, Royal Institute of Art Stockholm.*

*Graduate Outcomes survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), looking at the destinations of UK and EU graduates in the 2017-2022 cohorts.

Recent alumni have established international careers as professional artists through participation in public exhibitions, publications, and research events, receiving commissions, gaining gallery representation, winning prizes, and residencies, as well as developing artist-led initiatives. Others have roles in related careers worldwide, such as curation, museum and gallery management and education. News and achievements of alumni including recent graduates are profiled on the News section of the Slade's website.

Employability

The course aims to develop students' individual potential within the critical and cultural context of Fine Art. It also provides an excellent foundation for further doctoral research. The course enables students to develop their ability to initiate and manage a course of independent creative study, evolving their skills as independent thinkers who are able to communicate complex ideas.

Networking

The Slade provides you with opportunities to enhance existing skills and to develop new practical and technical skills, in the context of expanding your individual creativity and critical awareness in preparation for a career as a practising artist or within related fields.

The Slade has established partnerships and networks working with external organisations and professionals in the field of art.

Teaching and learning

On this practice-based course, you develop your work and research through individual and group tutorials, critiques and seminar presentations and technical guidance. The taught component is delivered through lectures, seminars, critiques, individual and group tutorials as well as technical workshops.

In order to progress into the second year, you must complete and pass the end-of-year practice-based assessment in your first year, assessed through a portfolio of work. This includes practice-based work, as well as written and oral Critical Studies submissions.

In the first year, assessment takes the form of a First Year Assessment via an online portfolio. In the second year assessment takes the form of a two-part Critical Studies submission via a written submission in Term 1 and oral presentation in Term 2.

The final assessment of work is made via the degree show in Term 3. This is a physical presentation of work in the Slade studios.

Contact hours are comprised of one-to-one tutorials, group tutorials and group critiques, which are scheduled during Terms 1 and 2. In addition, there are a wide range of other activities such as cross-School events, technical and research workshops, access to technical facilities, talks and tutorials by visiting lecturers, and Contemporary Art Lectures.

Your weekly contact hours are expected to total around 8 hours.

You are expected to use time outside the scheduled contact hours to develop your practice through self-directed study. Self-directed study takes place in the studios, workshops and technical areas through the production of work during times when programmed teaching is not scheduled. Students typically spend 28 hours per week undertaking self-directed study.

Modules

: The Fine Art MFA is an integrated degree course and does not have a modular structure. In the first year, you will follow the practice-based course, which includes regular critiques and seminars. In the second year, you will continue the practice-based course and develop your Critical Studies document assessed in the Critical Studies Exam Parts 1 and 2. The second year culminates with an assessed degree exam of practice-based work.

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

The Fine Art MFA (240 Credits) is an integrated degree course and does not have a modular structure. Upon successful completion of 240 credits, you will be awarded an MFA in Fine Art.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£16,800
Tuition fees (2026/27)	£39,200

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

As the Slade does not hold a materials store, you will need to supply your own materials throughout the course, including for the final degree exam. The cost of materials will vary depending on each student’s individual practice. The Slade has a media store where media equipment can be borrowed, subject to loan conditions.

As an aspect of your research, you may also wish to visit museums that charge entry fees and visit other site visits within central London and/or beyond which incur travel costs. There are also many galleries and museums that students visit for research purposes that do not charge entrance fees.

Some of the galleries and museums may accept the Student Art Pass which offers students free entry to 240 museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK, as well as 50% off major exhibitions at big national museums from Tate, National Gallery and the Science Museum to Cardiff Castle and Blenheim Palace.

The Art Pass costs approximately £10, and you can apply online. The Student Art Pass scheme is run by the Art Fund.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

The Slade School of Fine Art has a range of prizes, scholarships and travel awards available to graduate students. These include partial fee waivers for Home and International students amongst other funding opportunities. Following the interview process, successful candidates will be considered for Slade Awards, which are competitive.

For further information about MA and MFA funding, please visit the Slade's Fees and Funding pages.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Please note that due to the competition for places, applications will not be accepted after the deadline. You must also submit a portfolio. Details for portfolio submission will be sent to you once you have submitted your UCL application. Applicants will be considered for Slade scholarships as part of the admissions process.

There is an application processing fee for Slade School of Fine Art courses of £35 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application, we would like to learn:

why you want to study Fine Art at graduate level;
why you want to study Fine Art at the UCL Slade School of Fine Art;
how you will use the course, staff and resources to develop your work;
how your academic and/or professional background has prepared you for the demands of this challenging course;
where you would like to go professionally following this degree.

Together with your portfolio and essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to demonstrate whether your reasons for applying to this course match what the course will deliver.

Late applications will not be considered under any circumstances. All candidates are required to submit a portfolio with shortlisted candidates being invited for interview at the Slade.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This course only requires one reference in support of your application. Your reference should be academic unless you have been out of university education for more than four years. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.