The Ruskin School of Art

The Ruskin is uniquely positioned as an intimately-scaled art school (about 130 students) embedded within a research-intensive university. Its dynamic, inter-disciplinary structure allows artists and theorists to work closely together and to respond quickly and flexibly to developments within the contexts of Oxford University, the wider art world, and an increasingly uncertain international climate. The Ruskin remains at the top of the league tables among art schools in the UK, and was top of its category in the 2021 REF (Research Excellence Framework) exercise. One of its core commitments is moving towards an anti-racist future.

Our history

Dating from 1871, when Victorian art critic and writer John Ruskin first opened his School of Drawing, the School has enjoyed a variety of guises. As Oxford’s first Slade Professor, Ruskin intended to develop a course for the University leading to a degree in art. Equipped with a teaching collection of hundreds of watercolours, drawings and more than 400 prints, including works by Dürer, Tintoretto and Turner, the School was originally housed in the University Galleries, and continued its work in what became the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, finally moving to its current High Street site in 1975. Undergraduate degrees in Fine Art (BFA) were first awarded by the University of Oxford in 1981. A doctoral (DPhil) programme followed in 2006, and an intensive, one-year Masters of Fine Art (MFA) was added in 2015. The Ruskin operates across two sites in Oxford, including the Bullingdon Road building which houses purpose-built, state-of-the-art facilities and studios.

Your support

The Ruskin is immeasurably helped by your donations. Gifts will be used towards student scholarships and bursaries for those who need it the most. Any contribution, big or small, will make a huge difference to future generations of Ruskin students. Thank you so much for your support.