About

With a broad canvas and a wide lens, the diversity of the Queensland College of Art fosters a colourful, dynamic learning environment, focused on creative, studio-based activity.

Established in 1881, the Queensland College of Art is one of Australia’s longest-running art and design colleges. It offers the widest range of visual art programs in Australia, and includes the Griffith Film School, which moved into new purpose-built premises at South Bank in March 2007. The College traces its origin to a drawing class at the Brisbane School of Arts, which was attended by 22 students. We celebrated our 125^th anniversary in 2006 and today we are a community of around 1200 artists, designers, animators, photographers, film-makers.

Over the years we have brought together some of the finest practitioners and academics in the areas of visual arts, design, Indigenous art and the moving image, and produced some of Australia’s leading visual artists and designers who have helped to shape the art and design culture of Queensland and Australia. Over the past 125 years, we have brought together some of the finest practitioners and academics in visual art and design and produced thousands of professional artists, designers, photographers and film-makers who have helped shape art and design culture in Queensland, Australia and internationally. Many of our programs have an industry focus, and have been developed with the assistance of professional art and design bodies.

We have a strong commitment to community partnerships and internationalisation. Students work with community organisations, business and government on a variety of projects throughout their programs. The business community supports students through scholarships, travel prizes and exhibitions. We have received generous contributions from Philip Bacon Gallery, Dell, Mirvac, Motorline, Thiess and Art Galleries Schubert.

This support, and the assistance of Griffith International, help us provide a rich array of international experiences for our students. Many students take up the chance to study in cities such as Los Angeles, Edinburgh or Alberta for a semester during their degree. These experiences are complemented by the strong international student enrolment here, which enriches the everyday experience of students during their studies.

The Queensland College of Art also values strong collaboration with South East Queensland schools and visual arts teaching professionals. The college also contributes to the GUESTS program, that allows year 12 students to sample university life, while simultaneously undertaking semester one or two of Year 12.

QCA Gold Coast:

The genesis of the Bachelor of Visual Media Degree flowed from the Queensland College of Art review presented to the University in late 2004. The business of concatenating three existing QCA Gold Coast degrees and one QCA Logan degree into a single integrated degree structure at the Gold Coast campus began in earnest in late 2005. The Bachelor of Visual Media became a reality with our first student intake in February 2006 and has since evolved into the current Bachelor of Visual Media.

Recent growth in domestic and international student numbers demonstrates growing confidence in this region’s potential. The steady internationalisation of the degree, the embedded Work Integrated Learning (WIL) courses, and the establishment of the Liveworm Gold Coast studio show the seriousness of the College’s commitment to developing an industry cluster at the Gold Coast.

National and regional awards have become a regular feature of student experience and demonstrate the professional and creative strengths of students. The diversity of student work evidences the strengths of the interdisciplinary structure of the Bachelor of Digital Media.

While the styles and forms of student work easily fit into global economies, they also express a strong sense of place and a deep awareness of the unique culture of the Gold Coast. From 1996 onward, graduates from the QCA Gold Coast have played a key regional role in professional creativity.

From its inception in 1881, the College has maintained a well-deserved reputation for its leadership in developing high-calibre professional graduates. In terms of creativity and professionalism, the Queensland College of Art has always been well in front of the ‘J-curve’ of the creative industries.

We offer a full range of undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees, including:

Fine Art