History and Background
Edinburgh College of Art is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and considered an international leading art college. ECA’s vision is to be internationally recognised for its open and participatory research and teaching environment. It has been known as Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) since 1906, following a major reorganisation of higher art education in Scotland. At that time, the college was governed by the City Council and it was divided into four Schools which are Design and Crafts, Drawing and Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. In 1960, ECA became independent of the city Council and over the next quarter-century, it increased its collaboration with industry and Heriot-Watt University. In 1970, an arts centre opened in the Old College Quad and later became the Talbot Rice Gallery, named after the visionary art historian David Talbot Rice. In 2011, ECA formally merged with the University of Edinburgh, bringing together all five subject areas which are architecture, art, design, architecture and landscape, history of art, and music. In 2014, the college was awarded ESALA's Bronze Award and in 2017, it was awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze Award.
Famous Alumni
A lot of famous people graduated from Edinburgh College of Art such as the Scottish painter and printmaker who was also the first woman to be elected to both the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy, Elizabeth Blackadder, the British artist, Tessa Lynch, the Scottish painter, John Bellany, the renowned Scottish landscape and still life painter, William George Gillies, the Scottish painter of landscapes and imaginative subjects, John Maxwell, the British sculptor who was prominent in Scotland in the 20th Century, Pilkington Jackson, the Scottish artist who reflected her vivid domestic life among her best-known works, Anne Redpath, and more.
Schools and Courses
The college has five main Schools which are the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA), the School of Art, the School of Design, the History of Art, and the Reid School of Music. Each one of these five schools offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. A wide range of undergraduate programmes are offered such as Acoustics and Music Technology - BSc (Hons), Animation - BA (Hons), Architectural History and Heritage - MA (Hons), Architecture - BA/MA, Fashion - BA (Hons), Film & Television - BA (Hons), Fine Art - MA (Hons), Graphic Design - BA (Hons), History of Art - MA (Hons), Illustration - BA (Hons), Interior Design - BA (Hons), Intermedia - BA (Hons), Jewellery & Silversmithing - BA (Hons), Landscape Architecture - MA, Music - BMus (Hons), Painting - BA (Hons), Performance Costume - BA (Hons), Photography - BA (Hons), Product Design - BA (Hons), Sculpture - BA (Hons), and Textiles - BA (Hons).
A large number of postgraduate programmes are offered as well such as Acoustics and Music Technology - MSc, Advanced Sustainable Design - MSc, Architectural and Urban Design - MSc, Architectural Conservation - MSc, Architectural History - PhD/MPhil, Architectural History and Theory - MSc, Architecture - MArch, Architecture - PhD/MPhil/MSc by Research, Architecture by Design - PhD, Art - PhD/MPhil, Collections and Curating Practices - MSc by Research, Contemporary Art Practice - MA, Contemporary Art Theory - MA, Creative Music Practice - PhD, Cultural Studies - MSc by Research, Cultural Studies - PhD, Design - MPhil/PhD, Design and Digital Media - MSc/Diploma, and more. Short courses are also offered in a number of programmes which are Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites (MOOC), Contract Simulation Exercise, Fundamentals of Music Theory (MOOC), Post Part 2 Support, and Updates in Architectural Management course.
Facilities
The college has a wide range of facilities which include studios and workshops, libraries and collections, performance and exhibition facilities, and various services. Studios and workshops facilities include animation studios and workspaces, Bookit - Equipment loans and studio booking, digital fabrication, Digital Film Editing Suite, fashion workshops, Film and TV studio and editing suites, foundry and casting room, glass workshops, jewellery and silversmithing workshops, a metal workshop, model workshops, music practice rooms and instruments, music studios, painting studios, Performance Costume workshops, a photography suite, a printmaking suite, textiles workshops, and a wood workshop.
Libraries and collections include collections that are accessible to students and the public such as art, musical instruments, rare books, and archives, libraries such as the Main Library, ECA Library, Art and Architecture Library, study spaces, St Cecilia's Hall - Concert Room and Music Museum, and DiscoverEd which is the University’s central discovery and library account management service. Performance and exhibition facilities include Cinema Space, Reid Concert Hall, Sculpture Court, St Cecilia's Hall - Concert Room and Music Museum, and Talbot Rice Gallery.
Services include Accommodation Services, Careers Service, ECA Store, University of Edinburgh Students' Association, finance for students, Free-Use Hub, online learning resources, reprographics, scholarships and student funding, sport and exercise, student counselling, Student Disability Service, Student Support Office, The Café, and The Wee Red Bar.
Edinburgh College of Art - On-Campus Student Accommodation
ECA is an art college within the University of Edinburgh and that’s why it doesn’t have its own accommodation. ECA student accommodation options are the same as University of Edinburgh student accommodation.
Edinburgh College of Art - Off-Campus Student Accommodation
Casita offers a very wide range of student accommodation options located in Edinburgh for ECA students that is just a couple of minutes’ walk away or a short ride away by public transports from the University of Edinburgh. Almost all of these off-campus student accommodation offer all-inclusive rents and Wi-Fi and all of them are fully furnished. Most of these accommodation offer laundry services and a number of other facilities with a wide variety of prices as well.
Edinburgh College of Art - Nearby Universities
There are a number of other universities located near the college that are only a ride away such as Heriot-Watt University, the University of Glasgow, and the University of St Andrews.
Fun Facts About Edinburgh College of Art
It is ranked #40 according to the Global Fashion School Rankings 2017.
It has an acceptance rate of only 6% which makes it a highly selective and extremely competitive college.
