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 Drawing for Painting explores how drawing informs painting, from foundational skills like observation and perspective to more experimental approaches. It considers the verb drawing in several senses; drawing from, drawing together and drawing out of in order to introduce the potential of a studio process. Whether you’re new to art or a seasoned practitioner, you’ll find a range of exercises to suit your needs. The core options focus on building essential  skills, such as observation, tone, and perspective; providing a strong foundation for representational drawing. The extended options encourage experimentation with materials and processes, exploring drawing as a generative tool. This approach, while accommodating traditional methods, emphasises contemporary ideas about ‘drawing’ and its role in a studio process. 

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 What Paint Does uncovers the role of painting media in production of artwork, and experiment with a variety of paints and techniques, gaining a deeper understanding of their unique properties and how they can be used to achieve different effects. Whether you’re eager to try new media or delve deeper into a specific technique, this unit will provide you with the knowledge and confidence to express your creativity through paint. You’ll learn about the working methods of artists throughout history and explore how contemporary artists are using paint in innovative ways. This unit will help you deepen your understanding and your relationship with paint as an exceptionally versatile and evocative medium.

Unit 1.3 Painting in Practice is designed to support you to develop a personal response to some core principles of painting by focusing on key aspects of how paintings operate. You will consider how observed colour, form and space exist and have a set of relationships of their own within a painting. You will be able to consider the expressive and creative potential of an expanded painting ‘toolkit’ through critical reflection and inventive experimentation. A particular richness of contemporary painting is its relationship to its long history. You will be presented with research tasks to build your knowledge of some of the key contexts shaping the discourse around painting. This unit takes a particular art historian from a certain art historical tradition and uses his framework as a springboard to explore anew. You will be encouraged to be critically engaged in evaluating the ideas.

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

Unit 2.1: Ideas Lab considers the social and political contexts that shape your role as a painter, and explore a range of themes, selecting at least two for in-depth study, to develop a deeper understanding of contemporary art and its relationship to the world around us. You’ll also dedicate significant time to your own studio practice, allowing time for new ideas to reveal their potential and become part of your process. This includes independent studio work, research, and regular reflection on your progress. By combining thematic research with your own studio practice, you’ll gain valuable insights into your artistic practice and how it connects to the wider world.

Unit 2.2: How Paintings Work looks at the history and emerging practices of painting to enable you to position yourself with confidence as a practitioner in relation to key processes, material practices and painterly positions. In studying this unit you will investigate the formal operations of painting, the parts of a painting and what makes a painting effective and potent. This will include a consideration of how you might conjure, other spaces and/or places, and what stories your work might tell, of paintings as objects in their own right, of colour and tonal value, of the uses of redaction, of the contemporary landscape, of abstraction, of the potential of hybridity and the expanded field, of the potential of the digital realm, of the importance of performativity and of curation.

Unit 2.3: Understanding Painting Media selects at least two themes to explore in depth. Each theme has been constructed by a professional painter and provides resources and opportunities for practical and intellectual inspiration to help you understand your role as a painter within contemporary art. Alongside this thematic exploration, you’ll develop your own independent studio practice. This involves 200 hours of dedicated studio time, including painting, research, and reflection. You’ll work closely with your tutor to develop a personal study plan and engage in group discussions with your peers. By combining independent studio work with in-depth research on chosen themes, you’ll develop a unique and meaningful painting practice. This will prepare you to understand what you might like to pursue for your state 3 studies.

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

Unit 3.1: Practice and Research encourages you to  fully immerse yourself in the development of a personal artistic practice. You’ll conduct independent research, developing strong critical and creative thinking and making skills. By combining creative practice with research, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your own practice and its place within discipline boundaries. You’ll develop a fully considered studio process and complete a critical review or literature review.

Unit 3.2: Site, Audience and Context encourages you to engage with the world beyond your studies by developing and undertaking projects that connect your creative practice with real-world contexts. This could involve working on smaller public facing projects, or finding innovative ways to present your work to the public. It will require you to consider your developing body of work in relation to specific opportunities and challenges that you have identified for a sustainable ongoing creative life. The aim is to equip you with the skills and knowledge to sustain your creative practice beyond your studies, whether through professional work, further education, or other meaningful engagements. The work you do on this unit will direct the solutions for your final unit. 

Unit 3.3: Major Project allows you to bring together everything you’ve learned throughout your stage 3 studies. You’ll undertake a significant, self-directed project to a professional standard. You’ll be encouraged to be ambitious and consider how to present your work to the public, whether through exhibitions, publications, or online platforms. You’ll also develop self-promotional materials and refine your professional skills. Throughout the project, you’ll document your process and reflect on your learning journey. Tutors will provide guidance and support as you develop and present your work.

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 which decide 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) Painting 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

Based on 2024/2025 academic year fees, the approximate cost of a BA (HONS) is:

• £18,558 for UK based students
• £21,258 for international students.

Students pay for one unit at a time. UK students pay £2,062 per 40-credit unit, and international students pay £2,362 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.

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.