Fine Art graduates are entering a sector that continues to expand, with career opportunities in professional practice, arts management, public art, curatorships and art education. Our fine art graduates have an enviable record of success as professional artists. Many have works in private and public collections and have won scholarships and national and international awards. Others hold significant posts in the arts, education and administration.
Work by Fine Art student Stephanie Schulte
Studying fine art will provide professional creative opportunities both nationally and internationally. You will have rich opportunities to broaden and improve your employment prospects. A love of art with an enthusiasm to match will help you to achieve an exciting ever-changing challenge and will pave the way for an interesting career.
During Year 1, you’ll study core courses addressing basic skills and knowledge, as well as undertaking a Studio Foundation component. Continuing through Years 2 and 3, you’ll become professionally competent in fine art, as well as having the flexibility to study a second elective major.
Study Pathways
Undergraduate degree programs
The Bachelor of Digital Media degree program will enable you to take advantage of professional creative opportunities, not only on the Gold Coast, but nationally and internationally.
The Bachelor of Digital Media degree program offers you rich opportunities to broaden and improve your employment prospects, through cross-study and specialisation in digital design, 3-dimensional design, ePhotojournalism, fine art and graphic design.
The program offers the following research options: Studio research and Internship research, that will allow you to undertake Honours that best fits your area of study.
You have the flexibility to undertake a studio major within the degree and to choose an elective major or specialisation from another area of the degree or from other schools thereby completing a double major degree. Students may take up study options outside QCA including Journalism, Business, and Marketing. The Bachelor of Digital Media is offered 3 years full time at QCA, Gold Coast campus. You will undertake an industry project as part of your studio major. The project requires you to undertake industry-based practice for not less than 100 hours in an approved professional design environment.
New in 2011, the Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Digital Media degree program will enable you to develop extensive skills in both business management and creative design and software application skills. It is offered 4 years full time on the Gold Coast campus.
Postgraduate degree programs
The Graduate Certificate in Visual Arts award is available for students who successfully complete 40 credit points of study from the Master of Arts in Visual Arts degree program. The courses offered give students the opportunity to participate in the continuing contemporary debate about research issues within art practice and to acquire skills necessary for the production of the studio projects. The Graduate Certificate in Visual Arts program is offered 1 semester full time, or 2 semesters part time on the South Bank campus.
The Master of Arts in Visual Arts degree program is a flexible program that supports a proportion of independent project work. The program consists of coursework activities which include individually designed projects. A feature of the program is the opportunity for students to produce a body of practical work within their particular discipline and with relevance to their own interests.
The courses offered give students the opportunity to participate in the continuing contemporary debate about research issues within art practice and to acquire skills necessary for the production of the studio projects. The Master of Arts in Visual Arts program is offered 2 semesters part time, or 4 semesters full time on the South Bank campus. The Master of Arts with Honours in Visual Arts program is designed to either facilitate the acquisition of new skills or, more generally, to develop a portfolio of work that can be used for a variety of purposes.
Research degree programs
The Higher Degree Research Qualifying Program provides an alternative route for entry into the Doctor of Philosophy or a Master of Philosophy program if you do not have the required qualifications for admission. The Higher Degree Research Qualifying Program is offered 2 semesters full time, 4 semesters part time.
The Master of Philosophy degree program is awarded on the basis of a thesis prepared under supervision, which presents the results of original research in a scholarly form. Demonstrating your knowledge of the research topic and the disciplines it embraces, the thesis will be judged by independent experts applying accepted contemporary international standards. The Master of Philosophy program is offered 1 year full time (maximum 2 years), 2 years part time (maximum 4 years).
The Doctor of Visual Arts professional development program is an integrated program of independent research and coursework. It is designed for graduates seeking to extend their studio research and practice, and make original conceptual advancements within their chosen discipline. You will possess the necessary expertise to provide leadership in respective fields through the quality of your professional practice, research skills and the ability to articulate a theoretical position within a visual arts discourse. The Doctor of Visual Arts program is offered 2 year full time (maximum 4 years), 2 years part time (maximum 8 years) at the South Bank campus.
The Master of Visual Arts program gives you the opportunity to extend studio expertise by identifying challenges, exploring innovative solutions and advancing your understanding of the concepts underlying your work and the context in which it is produced. Graduates demonstrate high performance levels in their studio practice, having developed a strong theoretical understanding of that practice. The Master of Visual Arts is offered 2 years full time, 4 years part time at the South Bank campus.
The Doctor of Philosophy is our premier research training degree. A PhD is awarded on the basis of a thesis prepared under supervision that makes an original, significant and extensive contribution to knowledge and understanding in the relevant field of study, as judged by independent experts applying accepted contemporary international standards. The Doctor of Philosophy program is offered full time minimum 2 years , maximum 4 years, or part time minimum 3 years, maximum 8 years. The program can be undertaken in schools and research centres.
The Doctor of Philosophy by Publication allows for formal recognition of established researchers who do not already hold a doctoral level qualification, and who have substantial international standing in their fields based on their record of academic publication. The degree will be awarded to a student who through published work has made an original scholarly contribution to knowledge and demonstrated a capacity for independent research. The Doctor of Philosophy by Publication is offered 1 year full time.