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 2025/26 will open on 2nd December 2024.
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.
learn morePainting 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.
learn moreDrawing 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.
learn moreChildren'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.
learn moreContemporary 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.
learn moreFigure 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.
learn moreLandscape 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.
learn more*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.
learn moreArtist'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.
learn moreOne 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.
learn morePrintmaking Course
Printmaking provides an ideal method of creating new and visually exciting images and offers the artist fresh and often unexpected creative outcomes.
learn moreGraduate 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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