International Students


Online Courses


For students who live outside of the UK, our online Public Programme courses offer the opportunity to join the School's creative community from wherever you are. With over 45 courses to choose from each term, in drawing, printmaking, painting and sculpture, ranging from 5 - 10 weekly sessions, students are able to choose from a diverse programme that covers a range of themes and subject matter. Students are taught by our distinguished faculty, all of whom are practising artists, live via Zoom with time for individual feedback and group discussion. 

We have recently welcomed students from the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia and the UAE amongst others. If you have any questions about joining an online course from outside of the UK email admin@royaldrawingschool.org and our Public Programme team will be happy to answer them.


Hear from our international online students...

I am based in the central part of the United States. With a time zone difference of 6 hours, I had to rearrange my sleeping patterns. But, I had no problem being motivated to start class at 4:00am….it was worth it!!  Public Programme student (online course)

I live in Paris, France ... Wifi permits these connections and, as it was said on one of the courses, the whole life inside home allowed us to connect with people from everywhere! So, if I must give advice to someone I would like to say: just do your choice, and book it! Public Programme student (online course)

Your online courses were wonderful; I was very interested in the subjects and the teachers are remarkable ... We were safe, at home, with our tools and in our studio; and, the ambiance was friendly and warm, with constructive critiques and lovely comments on Padlet. Public Programme student (online course)

Read more in-depth student stories here.



Online Drawing Development Year


Designed by artists, for artists, the Online Drawing Development Year is an innovative new remote learning course that has been devised to allow arts graduates and those with a developing studio practice, to benefit from live online drawing tuition and a structured critical dialogue with tutors, mentors, and peers over the course of three terms.

As this course is taught exclusively online, it allows students with specific access needs or those living outside of the UK to take part. Find out more about the Online Drawing Development Year here

Applications for this course are currently closed and will open in June 2024 for a course start in January 2025.

If you have any further questions about the course please contact onlinedrawingdevelopment@royaldrawingschool.org



The Drawing Year 


The Drawing Year is a full scholarship postgraduate-level course offering up to thirty students the opportunity to focus on drawing from observation for one academic year. There are no tuition fees for The Drawing Year – all students are awarded a full scholarship and receive a free studio space. The course is based in our main campus in Shoreditch, London. Find out more about The Drawing Year here.


Applying to The Drawing Year as an International Student:

EU/EEA and international students who do not have a valid UK passport wishing to study on the Drawing Year will require either:

  • A valid UK passport
  • Settled or Pre-settled Status in the UK
  • A Graduate visa
  • Another form of valid visa for the duration of your studies 

As an independent school, we do not have a UK Border Agency Tier 4 License for this course and are not currently able to sponsor Student visas. Regrettably, we are therefore not able to consider applications from international and EU students who are not eligible for a UK visa, Graduate visa or don't already have Settled/Pre-Settled Status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

Please see our Applications page for further information.