The Newcastle Art School specialises in studio-based fine arts training for professional artists. Based at Hunter St Campus, it has fully accredited courses, facilities and staff.
The Newcastle Art School is located in a series of historically significant buildings and it has been Newcastle’s central art school since the late 19th century.
Courses are also offered at our Singleton Campus and at Ourimbah on the Central Coast
Our fine art courses are studio-focused and involve significant face-to-face teaching with student teacher ratios of around 15-1. The facilities are well-equipped with the latest technology as well as the traditional tools and equipment of the artist. 
Students are offered a range of studio electives including Painting, Sculpture, Photography and Printmaking alongside core studies in Drawing, Art History and Theory, Professional Practice and Digital Imaging.
Staff of the Newcastle Art School are highly qualified and professionally recognised artists with strong reputations as artists and teachers.
Facilities
- Drawing studios each of which can support over 15 students for research, experimental drawing and life drawing. The studios are backed by an extensive store of idiosyncratic objects, plaster casts and zoological specimens
- Painting studios with full ventilation and painting racks
- Printmaking facilities for screen printing, etching, relief printing, lithography. Our printmaking area includes full extraction and dedicated rooms for acids, screen cleaning, screen exposure, graining and other facilities alongside the studios
- Design room
- Photography Lab including Analogue (wet) darkroom, alternative process areas and Digital Photography lab equipped with G5 Macs and large format printer and scanners
- Sculpture facility includes general purpose space, metal fabrication area for welding and casting, woodworking space and external area
- Dedicated Arts Library
- The Front Room Gallery is a purpose built public art gallery and flexible delivery centre for exhibition practice and professional practice
Careers
The focus of our courses is on becoming an independent practising, exhibiting, professional artist. Our graduates have achieved recognition in national competitions and survey exhibitions of contemporary art, by inclusion in major collections and by achieving commercial success. Other careers include working in regional, commercial and other art galleries as well as working with art related organisations. Newcastle Art School has trained curators, press photographers, staff of state museums, independent arts entrepreneurs...
University Articulation
Our graduates are offered credit into Degree courses at various Australian universities for those developing research and academic art studies. Newcastle Art School has a credit arrangement with The University of Newcastle that provides three semesters' credit for a Diploma of Fine Arts graduate and four semesters' credit for an Advanced Diploma graduate. Arrangements are made to offer the best transition from TAFE to UNI to encourage students who wish to pursue research Honours and Masters qualifications. Articulation can also be made to Education programs for those interested in teaching at various levels including High School.
Sydney College of the Arts at The University of NSW also offers our Diploma and Advanced Diploma graduates one full year credit in their degree program.