Online learning at the Open College of the Arts provides a significant degree of flexibility in how and when you study the arts. Instead of being tied to a physical campus or rigid timetables, your learning happens where you are – whether that’s your home, studio, or any comfortable space – and you can access your course materials whenever best suits your personal schedule, allowing you to create a study plan that integrates with your existing commitments. Each 40-credit unit has a 12-month timeframe for completion (including an initial induction period) to ensure a focused and progressive learning experience. You’ll also join a diverse and inspiring global community of students, and gain access to a dedicated department space where you can engage with webinars and workshops in addition to your core learning materials.

Our online student platform, OCA Learn, becomes your central hub after registration, providing all your course materials and a space to connect with others. Through OCA Learn, you’ll conveniently submit your completed assignments online. Throughout your studies, you’ll receive expert guidance from a dedicated tutor, a practicing artist, who will offer constructive feedback on your submitted work. This feedback is designed to help you grow, highlighting what you’re doing well and  areas for improvement, often delivered through a mix of detailed written notes directly on your digital submissions within OCA Learn, and the chance to connect with tutors via video.

Pursuing a Creative Arts degree offers a unique opportunity to unlock your creative potential through exploring multiple disciplines. The programme allows you to design a personalised creative journey, selecting from a wide range of disciplines supported by the dedicated Skills Hub micro-courses platform, where you’ll gain skills, knowledge, and inspiration to apply within the programme’s core units.

The Skills Hub offers micro-courses across diverse areas, including Animation, Creative Writing, Drawing, Graphic Design, Illustration, Moving Image, Sound and Music, Painting, Printmaking, Photography, Sculpture, and Textiles. This variety empowers you to develop ideas through interdisciplinary approaches, producing innovative and contemporary creative outcomes.

Studying the Creative Arts degree online offers flexibility—learn at your own pace and from your own space, supported by OCA’s tutors and student community. The programme equips you to become a creative practitioner, developing skills to think and work creatively. By graduation, you’ll understand how to apply your creative skills to complex challenges across various creative industries.

Stage 1 comprises three 40-credit units that must be studied in order.

Stage 1 introduces students to various Creative Arts disciplines and contexts, establishing a foundation for developing independent creative practices. Students learn about interdisciplinarity and its application to their studies. Topics covered include time, place, global perspectives, cross-cultural influences, and utilising interdisciplinary research in practical work.

Unit 1.1 Experience Creative Arts introduces creative art and design practices, focusing on Time and Place. You’ll explore how creatives use archives to communicate ideas and form connections, developing interdisciplinary skills to enhance your practice. Creative exercises and research tasks will deepen your understanding of the creative arts and your role within the industry.

To move on to Unit 1.2, you’ll first need to successfully pass the assessment for Unit 1.1. Please be aware that this initial progression step might involve a slightly longer gap between unit enrolments compared to the transition between subsequent units. 

Unit 1.2 Creative Arts Skills builds and apply practical skills through the Skills Hub, offering micro-courses across diverse disciplines like painting, drawing, illustration, moving image, sound, sculpture, graphics, art writing, and textiles. This variety allows you to craft a unique skill set.

Unit 1.3 Creative Arts Dimensions expands your exploration of time, place, and the environment, linking creative methods with other disciplines. You’ll refine skills from the Skills Hub, adapting and combining them to develop your creative practice and personal voice.

Stage 2 comprises three 40-credit units that must be studied in order.

At Stage 2, students deepen their understanding of creative practice through interdisciplinary thinking, focusing on developing a distinct creative voice across disciplines. Advancing thier research and exploring perspectives on the world and connection to subjects of interest is essential. You’ll test your interdisciplinary approach, taking creative risks to prepare for Stage 3.

Unit 2.1 Creative Arts Relations builds on the skills acquired in Stage 1, expanding your skill set, disciplines, and contextual knowledge. You’ll explore diverse creative practices and their connections to the world, examining how practitioners develop ideas through case studies and interdisciplinary approaches.

Unit 2.2 Creative Arts Perspectives encourages you to question your worldview and how you position yourself within it. Through cross-cultural discussions and articulating your perspective, you’ll refine your creative language. You’ll independently explore your chosen theme, expanding your skills through tailored content.

Unit 2.3 Creative Arts Language develops strategies to advance your ideas by integrating practical skills and concepts. You’ll enhance your research methods, creating connections between themes and practical work to further your creative practice.

Stage 3 comprises three 40-credit units that must be studied in order.

Stage 3 equips students with intellectual, practical, and transferable skills essential for various creative art and design roles within the creative industries. At this level, students refine their interdisciplinary practice by defining their approach, articulating ideas, conducting research, and applying theory to their work. The course encourages progression through online collaboration, presenting work, and developing external projects for professional or personal application.

Unit 3.1 Practice and Research develops a personal project plan outlining your intended creative work, combining practical experimentation and research activities to underpin your contextual interests. Students also begin to define and develop the themes and ideas for their dissertation.

Unit 3.2 External Projects builds on your initial Practice and Research outcomes, students complete their dissertation during this unit, presented in written form or an alternative format, such as a presentation, whilst developing external projects relevant to chosen practical outcomes, such as exhibitions or publications with audience engagement.

Unit 3.3 Major Project focuses on your specialist area of inquiry, culminating in a significant, outward-facing body of work. This may include physical or online exhibitions, publications, performances, trade shows, or other relevant contexts.

When you complete a unit, you are invited to submit a portfolio of work and critical essays to the next available assessment event. There are three undergraduate assessment events held each year, and when you complete your unit decides which assessment event you submit to. In some instances, you will require your assessment results before progressing onto your next unit.

You have a total of 12 months to complete each 40-credit unit, starting with a two-week induction.

You will arrange your assignment submission dates with your tutor directly so you can study at your own pace within the unit timeframe (although it’s important to note that full-time study is not available). This means that the course completion time varies depending on the study hours dedicated, and when you submit to assessment.

After successfully finishing a unit, you have a six-month window to enrol for your subsequent unit of study. This six-month period begins from the date you receive your assessment results.

Programme Specifications

Programme Specification

The BA (Hons) Creative Arts course was updated in 2021. Students who enrolled before the update will continue with the previous version (the “Teach Out” programme) until they progress to a new stage of their studies. At that point, they will switch to the updated course.

Teaching Out Programme Specification

New students cannot enrol to the Teach Out programme.

Accessibility Guides

Accessibility guides give an indication of the type and format of content, teaching, and learning activities on the course, and how these are ordinarily delivered.

Review Accessibility Guides Here

Curriculum changes

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available units – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which OCA might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us. This description was last updated on 14 December 2022.

Academic Regulations for Subsidiary Institutions of The Open University are applicable to all taught courses offered by the Open College of the Arts (OCA).

Academic Regulatory Framework

The Academic Regulatory Framework (ARF) regulations are applicable to all taught courses offered by the Open College of the Arts (OCA). As of January 2024, this will lead to an undergraduate award of The Open University (OU).

You can review the ARF through the link below:

Academic Framework

Enjoy a flexible approach to both learning and financing. Our undergraduate degrees are delivered and paid for on a unit-by-unit basis. You only pay for the specific unit you are registered to study at the time. You’ll typically study one or two 40-credit units per year, depending on your study pace. Our 60-credit units are specific to Teach Out programmes for historic pathways.

While our fees are reviewed annually—meaning the total cost of a degree may fluctuate slightly over time—we are committed to keeping any adjustments to a minimum and always in line with our Student Fees Policy.

Based on 2025/2026 academic year fees, the approximate cost of a BA (HONS) is:

• £20,412 for UK based students
• £23,382 for international students.

Students pay for one unit at a time. UK students pay £2,268 per 40-credit unit, and international students pay £2,598 per 40-credit unit.

Unit fees are reviewed annually therefore the total cost of a degree will vary and may increase over time, however we aim to keep any increases to a minimum where possible and in line with our Student Fees Policy.

[Updated 23/04/25]

Other costs you may encounter will include software subscription, books, materials and equipment. These can be around £400 – £600 per stage of study, though costs will vary depending on your choice of medium and whether books are bought or loaned from a library. Most reading materials can be accessed through the digital library services and eBooks, or sent to you in the post if included within the course materials, and degree students also have access to The Open University online library.