Bachelor of Visual Arts

When undertaking the Bachelor of Visual Arts at the ANU, you will be immersed in a program of rigorous scholarship and intensive studio practice, tailored to your aspirations and informed by internationally renowned art practitioners within Australia’s top-ranking university. You will graduate with the essential creative skills and critical knowledge to address the grand challenges of a rapidly changing world.

You will develop deep disciplinary knowledge and learn specialist skills offered across the School of Art and Design studio disciplines, including ceramics, glass, painting, photography and media arts, printmedia and drawing, sculpture and spatial practice, and textiles. You will extend your study through access to courses in the Centre for Art History and Art Theory, combined with access to electives from across the ANU.

Visual Arts at ANU

Canberra has a thriving art scene and is home to many of Australia’s national cultural institutions. The ANU School of Art & Design draws on our strong connections with these institutions and Canberra’s local art and design organisations for its teaching programs. A long-established artist-in-residence program brings some of the world’s most experienced artists to live and work within the School, exposing students to the work and processes of artists of the highest calibre.

Bachelor of Visual Arts students learn to:

  • Apply technical skills and specialist knowledge to realise works, artefacts and forms of creative expression
  • Demonstrate skills and knowledge of the practices, languages, forms, materials, technologies and techniques in the visual arts
  • Adapt specific skills with a visual and/or aesthetic component.

Flexible Double Degree

The Bachelor of Visual Arts can be combined with degrees in Arts, Law, Social Science, Business, Science, Engineering or Advanced Computing as part of the ANU Flexible Double Degree program. For a full list of degree combinations see anu.edu.au/study/study-options/flexible-double

Study overseas

The ANU School of Art & Design international exchange program provides students with the opportunity to study overseas as part of their degree. The School maintains close connections with art and design partner institutions in Asia, Europe, Great Britain, Canada and the United States of America. A number of travelling awards are available to assist students with the cost of international exchange.

You will also have the opportunity to apply for hands-on learning through the Australian National Internship program. See anip.anu.edu.au for more information.

^Times Higher Education - Global University Employability Ranking 2021

Image: Angela Coleman, Contorted 1 (detail), 2017, felt and silk attached to linen with machine stitching as drawing and hand embroidery, 61 x 61 x 4 cm. Photography: Anita Grewel.

Key facts

3 years
Semester 1 & 2 intake
Honours option available

#1 in Australia for graduate employability^

UAC Code: 139104
CRICOS Code: 073991G

Career options

Graduates from the ANU have been rated as Australia's most employable graduates and among the most sought after by employers worldwide. Bachelor of Visual Arts graduates may find employment within Australia’s rich cultural sector and present work both in Australia and internationally.

Hear from our students

Samantha Miller , Bachelor of Art History and Curatorship/Bachelor of Visual Arts

My brilliant career

If you went to the Australian National University (ANU) during the early 2010s, you would find me at Union Court, handing out flyers, talking politics and trying to get you to vote for things.
Miriam Rizvi , BA, BVA ‘12

Watch the video

Fees, scholarships & apply

Tuition fees

Visit the handbook to see indicative fees and Commonwealth supported places for this degree.

Scholarships

ANU offers many scholarships both to overcome disadvantage and to recognise academic merit.

How to apply

You have decided that ANU is the right university for you. Ready to take the next step?

Learn more

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