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.

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

Unit 1.1 Fine Art Practices: Studios 2D & 3D introduces you to the field of historical and contemporary Fine Art practice and a range of 2D and 3D skills, processes and techniques. You will choose from a selection of projects to test out employing a range of creative methods and materials, working with the contents of the Fine Art Studio 2D (two dimensional practices) and/or Fine Art Studio 3D (three dimensional practices). You will be introduced to a range of approaches, and  research and apply these to inform your practical work, example topics include scale, memory, environment, and the human body. Throughout the unit you will keep an online learning log that gathers together your practical and contextual learning and is a place for thinking, reflection, practical experiments and outcomes to come together. 

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 Fine Art Practices: Studio 4D builds upon your previous learning, introducing you to a wider range of creative processes and techniques, including time-lapse, video, sound, movement  and performance practices. You will use the Fine Art Studio 4D (four dimensional practices) as a resource to support your making. You’ll explore the field of historical and contemporary Fine Art, developing your research skills through experimentation and material exploration. The unit culminates in a self-directed project where you’ll apply your 4D skills to explore an idea of your own choosing. This project will be critically reviewed, allowing you to reflect on your learning and refine your artistic practice.

Unit 1.3 Materials and Making considers the qualities of your work, including form, time, space and language, extending your knowledge through investigation, exploration and risk taking. You will appraise your studio work and identify the most relevant Fine Art Studio (2D, 3D or 4D) in which to develop your practice during this unit. As you develop a deepening awareness of materials and making, you will be introduced to key artists, art movements and theories relevant to your chosen Fine Art Studio, and begin to explore connections between your ideas, making and contextual research. A greater emphasis will be placed on interaction with your peers and you will conclude the unit by forming a statement about your work and completing a critical review.

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

Unit 2.1 Ideas, Research and Writing takes an in-depth look at the communication of ideas through visual and written forms, extending your understanding of visual art by looking at different types of writing that examine our encounter with visual language and applying these to your studio work. You will be introduced to a range of contemporary artists working in a variety of disciplines. The introduction of different approaches to examine a diverse range of art practices will inform and contextualise your own studio practice as you develop an increasingly personal visual language and consider how curation can provide a critical lens on your work. The unit offers a range of assignment options that will enable those working in different disciplines to combine and balance practical investigation with theoretical study. 

Unit 2.2 Experimental Encounters focuses on collaboration and examines the opportunities and challenges when working across, and within disciplines, with other practitioners. This unit offers potential for student, and other collaborations exploring sound, live art, performance and the questioning of relationships with audiences. You will work alongside other practitioners,  to work collaboratively on a project, supported by study of the theory and practice of collaboration through case studies, discussion and adventurous creative exploration. Reflection on processes and the social context for practice forms an integral part of this unit, enabling you to identify themes and ideas for further future exploration. 

Unit 2.3 Presenting the Narrative aims to extend your understanding and ability to work with visual narratives within and outside the studio. Presenting the Narrative gives you the opportunity to work on a self-directed project developed and defined in discussion with your tutor and working within your chosen Fine Art Studio for this unit. You will use this project to expand on your ideas and to take these into a new context external to your usual field of reference. You will complete a critical review of your project that evaluates and identifies key learning points to take forward. 

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

Unit 3.1 Practice and Research provides a framework that enables you to foster an increasingly independent and professional approach to your studies. Your practical work will be underpinned by your academic research, and both aspects will inform each other. This approach provides room to build on your learning, test new ideas, and to identify areas of interest you may want to develop. Through your enquiries you will be encouraged to deepen your awareness of your area of practice and its connection with broader contexts, and to develop highly relevant practical, technical, and communication skills to articulate your ideas and outcomes. You will demonstrate your creative voice through a portfolio of self-directed work, a reflective online learning log and the articulation of academic knowledge; choosing from a range of presentation activities including talks, essays, blogs, podcasts, conference papers, workshops in virtual and/or real spaces or the basis of a dissertation.

Unit 3.2 External Projects provides a framework to identify outward-facing projects and opportunities to test and develop your work and ideas towards presentation, and lay the foundations for the long-term sustainability of your creative practice. The scope and ambition of your work on this unit will be shaped by your interests, motivations, and location and may include site specific working, community or socially engaged practice, curation or publication, but all will be externally-facing. Consequently, the shape and format of projects may vary, including student, tutor, or audience-led, investigating for example, the relationships between work and others – as collaborators, subjects, participants, co-creators, or audiences by responding to external challenges, connecting with networks that can support your practice, accessing new feedback opportunities, or finding appropriate ways to place your work into the world. The written or presentation project provides an opportunity to either extend the critical thinking assignment undertaken in the Practice and Research Unit into a dissertation, or to produce case studies, project reports, or business cases to support your chosen external activities.

Unit 3.3 Major Project offers a platform to focus on a specialist area of enquiry honed and developed out of your work to date as you undertake a substantial and sustained body of work. You will devise a project that allows you to explore your field of interest as you cement your emerging practice through refined and focussed production, showcased in an appropriate self-managed way, through physical or online exhibitions, networked presentation, contributions to publications, performances, art fairs or other commercial contexts, portfolio presentations, or other platforms. To support this you will produce self-promotional, and other outward facing material, and continue to apply increasingly professional personal and graduate skills in your dealings with other people. You will be asked to document and reflect on your work in your learning log, and to produce a short reflective presentation or document.

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) Fine Art 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.

The 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.