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Art and Design

Subject Benchmark Statement

Subject Benchmark Statements describe the nature of study and the academic standards expected of graduates in specific subject areas. They show what graduates might reasonably be expected to know, do and understand at the end of their studies.

Below you will find the full Subject Benchmark Statement for Art and Design. Alongside it, we have also published a summary designed to provide a short and accessible overview of the main Statement for students, employers and academics.

Subject Benchmark Statement: Art and Design

Publication date: 09 Apr 2026

About this subject

students painting inside art room class at school
Art and Design courses create environments to explore, comment on and imagine how to understand the world. They foster creative curiosity, visual expression, material knowledge, digital literacy and critical reflection. Art and Design practices are characterised by the conception, experimentation, creation and dissemination of processes and outcomes that shape visual and material culture. To practise Art and Design, students need a broad knowledge base and awareness of historical, social, cultural and technical contexts, alongside specialised creative and research skills. Art and Design students contribute to, and participate in, social narratives, working across different areas. Through research, imagination, analysis, synthesis, making, practice and communication, the study of Art and Design develops creative thinking and innovation. These are translated into meaningful expressions and interactions that contribute to wellbeing and economic transformation, social change, culture-enhancement and sustainable development.
Professor Hua Dong - Chair of the Advisory Group
Director Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and Vice-Chair of Design Research Society (DRS), Royal College of Art

I am thankful and proud of the achievements we realised as a team of subject experts, with employer and student representatives, in developing the new Art and Design Subject Benchmark Statement (SBS). We have managed to distil the distinctive features that unite various disciplines of Art and Design, resulting in a succinct summary of threshold, typical, and excellent standards at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The SBS reflects our profound, long-term thinking regarding Accessibility, Sustainable Development, and Artificial Intelligence, in addition to other themes. We were pleased to receive positive feedback from public consultation which also helped with the further refinement of the SBS. I hope the outcome resonates with the community.

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