Year-Long Courses

Leith School of Art offers ten year-long courses in a variety of different disciplines including a Foundation Course.  The School also offers a Graduate Residency programme.  The School has a distinctive feel and seeks to create an intimate and supportive environment. With the highest calibre of tutors, each course is intensively taught enabling students to develop their practice in greater depth. Core materials are included in the course fees and are on hand for students to use, helping to make the most of time spent in the studio. Our year-long courses range from one to five days per week. Further details on all year-long courses can be found below or download our prospectus here. You are encouraged to discuss the variety of study options with School staff before you make your application. Based on your needs, skills and ambitions we will advise what the best programme of study is for you. As the U.K. has left the European Union, EU students will need to apply for a visa if studying on a course for 6 months or more. At present Leith School of Art is unable to issue visas for overseas students who wish to study for 6 months or more.
Applications for 2024/25 are now open.

Foundation Course

Guided by our artist tutors, students on the Foundation Course build up a specialised portfolio for application to higher education art schools and colleges in the UK and internationally. 

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Painting Course

For those who want to advance their knowledge, skill and application of painting. Practicing artists can challenge their current artistic position and newer students will develop the confidence to produce ambitious work. 

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Drawing Course

Drawing is the foundation of art. It informs the artist’s mind, brings rigour to observation and underpins work in any discipline. It can be used for many purposes: to inform, to explore ideas, to record or for its own sake. 

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Children's Book Illustration Course

This course is designed to help you explore how children’s books work, and to give you practical tips and ideas to help you develop your own story and to realise it in book form.

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Contemporary Art Practice

With an emphasis on enquiry and experimentation, the Contemporary Art Practice (CAP) course encourages students to consider new possibilities in making art, beyond disciplinary boundaries.

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Figure Course

Constantly reinvented, the human figure has been studied by artists for centuries. The Figure course provides a dynamic environment for students to develop and portray their personal vision of the figure.

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Landscape Course

Edinburgh and its surroundings is the inspiration for this course; its unique light, transient weather and dramatic topography offering the artist many options for expressing a personal view of the landscape. 

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*NEW* Advancing Studio Practice

This dynamic course supports the development of a confident self-directed studio practice. Tailored specifically to the needs of each student it creatively nurtures the growth of a personal and distinctive artistic voice. On completion, students may wish to further their independent learning on the Artists Mentoring Course or towards further higher academic study.

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Artist's Mentoring

This course provides the support necessary to develop an independent creative practice with the close supervision of an experienced personal mentor and the encouragement of fellow students. It is ideally suited for artists who already have experience in their chosen area of creative interest and are wishing to further develop work to an advanced level.

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One Day Painting Course

The One Day Painting Course provides a unique opportunity for anyone wishing to spend one day a week over an academic year refining their artistic skills through an intensive programme of teaching. 

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Printmaking Course

Printmaking provides an ideal method of creating new and visually exciting images and offers the artist fresh and often unexpected creative outcomes.

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Graduate Residency Programme

The Graduate Residency programme offers a unique opportunity to study full-time within an established art school, advance your practice from undergraduate study and develop a substantial body of new work.

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