Take a tour of the Auditorium
Fine Art
Graduate Diploma Fine Art
Campus Open Day – Friday 7 February 2025 - Register now
Virtual Open Day - Tuesday 18 February 2025, 6-8pm - Register Now
Award: Graduate Diploma in Fine Art
Duration: 1 academic year, full time
School: School of Arts
Campus: West Dean
UCAS code: GFA1
Scholarships and bursaries: See available funding
The Graduate Diploma in Fine Art is a one-year interdisciplinary programme designed to provide a route into postgraduate study. As a concentrated form of an undergraduate degree, the programme gives graduates of other disciplines the opportunity to transfer existing skills to the study of Fine Arts. As you progress through the programme, you can work across disciplines or choose to specialise in areas such as Painting and Drawing, Sculpture, or Tapestry and Textile Art.
Studio Work units run continuously throughout the academic year as the core of the Graduate Diploma programme, informed and enhanced by additional theoretical and professional units.
A variety of materials-based workshops are undertaken in the first semester, focused by critical engagement with the Ronald Lee Archive, a unique archival resource of visual and material culture that promotes the production of new artworks for a 'pop-up' exhibition.
A series of lectures and seminars introduces Philosophical Aesthetics and supports the writing of a critical essay.
The second semester incorporates Contextual and Professional Research, helping students to situate their own practices in a historical and contemporary context. The year culminates in a Summer Show open to the public.
Learning environment
- A stimulating and supportive learning environment in which to develop your creative practice
- A specialised programme of lectures, seminars and workshops
- Input from regular visiting lecturers and artists
- Expert support for a dedicated team of workshop technicians
- Professional development provision for gallery visits and other external events
- Contact with a regular series of professional artists-in-residence based in the studios throughout the academic year
- An immersive environment with rich connections to art history, particularly Surrealism, through the legacy of college founder Edward James
You can expect
- Low student : tutor ratio
- Dedicated individual studio space
- Access to advanced facilities, workshops and expertise
- Support in developing both interdisciplinary and specialist studio work
- Support in developing critical thinking and contextual knowledge
- Opportunities to display work in various contexts
- Support for developing transferable skills such as self-management, communication, collaboration, IT and research skills
- Increased independence and self-reliance applicable for further study, practice or employment
Virtual tour & gallery
Summer Show 2024
Take a tour of the Auditorium
Summer Show 2024
Exhibition opportunities
Each year students stage a series of public exhibitions, including an annual fundraising exhibition and the celebrated Summer Shows that are held at the College and in London. Through these students develop skills in the requirements of exhibition management, such as production, installation and marketing.
West Dean Summer Show
The West Dean Summer Show offers an opportunity for students on our Graduate Diploma and MFA qualifications to showcase their talents in a diverse range of practices including sculpture, installation, print, painting, film, ceramics, and textiles.
Artists in Residence Programme
The Artist-in-Residence programme sees a series of professional artists living and working onsite, amongst Visual Arts students. They offer tutorial sessions with students as well as public presentations on the work produced during the residency and their wider practice.
School of Arts
Explore and expand your work in a uniquely immersive environment with its own connections to art history. Our School of Arts students enjoy specialist studio spaces dedicated to painting and drawing, sculpture and tapestry and textile-based work as well as exceptional exhibition space.
Fees & funding
2025/26 Course Fees - UK & International Students
- £4,300 per term (£12,900 per academic year)
Lunch, accommodation and other living expenses are additional. Find out more
A £250 course fee and £200 accommodation deposit (if residential) is required to secure your place. Details will be provided to you in your offer. Fees are billed termly in advance. Please see the Terms and Conditions for further information.
We may routinely increase our course fees from year to year for one-year courses as well as courses lasting two or more years and may review and change such course fees without notice.
Funding
You may be eligible to apply for a Student Loan to cover course fees and/or maintenance; more information can be found on the Government Student Finance website.
Scholarships and Bursaries are also available based on individual need.
Entry requirements
- A qualification equivalent to a second year of successful undergraduate study e.g. HND, DipHE
- A relevant Foundation Degree in Fine Art or related subject
- E portfolio of work related to application (optional at point of application. A portfolio will be requested if shortlisted for an interview)
- Critical work example (optional at point of application. An academic writing sample will be requested if shortlisted for an interview)
- English language: CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) Level B2 or IELTS 6.5
How to create a portfolio
Do you need help creating a portfolio to apply for Graduate Diploma Fine Art? Read our portfolio advice to learn about the general requirements, what we look for in a good portfolio, and what it should reflect.
How to apply
UCAS - If you are applying for more than one institution, all applications must be made through UCAS
Direct - If you only wish to apply to West Dean, applications for this course can be made by submitting a completed application form and emailing it to [email protected]
Ask a question
Need more information? Have a question? Speak to our course advisors
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 01243 818 300 and select option 1
School of Arts news
West Dean Collection and Archives
5th December 2022
Alumna's donation of Salvador Dalí lithographs, installed at West Dean College
We are delighted to have recently received a generous donation of Salvador Dalí lithographs by the family of the late John Crowley. John Crowley’s daughter, Karen Gardner, is an alumna of West Dean College of Arts and Conservation, having graduated with an MA Visual Arts in 2008 (now Master of Fine Art). The lithographs include four works from the Papillons Anciennes series an...
Fine Art
3rd November 2022
MFA year one reflections
As she heads into her second year on the MFA programme, Chantal New reflects on her experiences on the programme so far, including the significance of receiving a bursary to fund her studies.
Fine Art
8th June 2022
The Size of a Cow
Insights into the practice of MFA student Philippa Clarke My ongoing research focuses on the areas where art and agriculture come together. By paying attention to this intersection, I aim to prompt questions about farming, food production, and the way we regard rural life.
Fine Art
16th September 2021
Law Quilt: A response to Edward James' writing on homosexuality
By Robin Bray-Hurren, MFA student Law Quilt was a response to some of the materials from the Edward James Archive, where Edward James was writing about homosexuality, morality, and the law, including a description of a friends' experience of police entrapment and subsequent court case in LA in the late 1950s. There were so many potential places to take work in response to ...
Fine Art
19th June 2020
The Etching Press: A generous gift
By Dr. David Stent, Fine Art Subject Leader At the beginning of the year, through the support of Mary Dalton (printmaker and West Dean Short Course Tutor), it came to our attention in the Fine Art department that there was a possibility of a floor-standing etching press being donated to us. Without knowing any further details, we expressed our interest in adding to the existing printmaking f...
Fine Art
7th May 2020
Student Commission and Residency at Cherryburn
Earlier this Spring, current Fine Art Graduate Diploma student Phoebe Connolly was awarded the prestigious Cherryburn commission and residency, supported by The National Trust and The Society of Wood Engravers. Holding off strong competition, Phoebe secured the chance to spend time at the Northumberland birthplace of renowned artist, wood engraver and naturalist, Thomas Bewick, over a period of...
Commendations
Commendations from the University of Sussex include:
"The high quality student experience and strength of student representation within the College."
"The changes to units so they draw on and make use of specific collections within the archive."
"The linking of theory and practice, and delivery of theory by studio technicians."
Tutors
David Stent
Subject Leader - Fine Art
Dr David Stent is an artist, writer, curator and performer. His practice has drawn on various media, from drawing and painting to film, video, sonic and sculptural installation. He holds a PhD in Fine Art from the University of Reading, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Philip Sanderson
Subject Tutor - Tapestry, Fine Art
Studio Leader - West Dean Tapestry Studio
Philip Sanderson is Leader of the Professional Tapestry Studio and a Subject Tutor on the MFA in Fine Art. He is also the Tutor for the Tapestry Foundation Diploma and a short course tutor. During his time at West Dean Philip has translated the work of a number of artists into large-scale tapestries including Marta Rogoyska, John Hubbard, Tracy Emin, and Eva Rothschild.
Sarah Hughes
Programme coordinator - BA (Hons) Art &Contemporary Craft
Subject tutor - Fine Art
Sarah Hughes is the Programme Coordinator for the BA (Hons) Art and Contemporary Craft, and a subject tutor on our Fine Art programmes. Sarah, is an artist and composer with an interest in spatial practice.
George Charman
Subject tutor - Fine Art & BA (Hons) Art & Contemporary Craft
Short course tutor
George Charman is an artist and lecturer based in London who teaches on the GD and MFA programmes at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation. Charman's practice-led research focuses on embodied social knowledge, exploring connections between dialogic social experiences and physical sensation in modes of creative production/fabrication.
Mary Dalton
Mary trained at the Royal College of Art, graduating with an MFA in Printmaking. She has been teaching since 2008, including running the lithography studio at the famous Curwen. Her work is in the collections of the Imperial War Museum and the Tate Library as well as international museums.
Student Information
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Funding
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