Tap into the artist in you

These performing or visual art forms did not enjoy prime status as other career choices in the earlier days, but times have changed with several Arts institutes being set up in India. In India, a Fine Arts degree is known as BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) or BVA (Bachelor of Visual Arts). It is a four-year degree programme and eligibility for this course is a 10+2 pass in any stream from a recognised educational board.

Degree in Fine Arts

While doing a degree in Fine Arts, candidates are given a chance to specialise in any of the following fields:

- Musical theatre
- Acting
- Ceramics
- Computer animation
- Creative writing
- Dance
- Painting
- Drawing
- Dramatic writing
- Film production
- Visual effects
- Graphic design
- Illustration
- Industrial design
- Visual arts
- Calligraphy
- Interior designing
- Music
- Photography
- Printmaking
- Metal work
- Sculpture
- Stage management
- Television production

Most institutes offering BFA offer a foundation course during the first year, wherein all subjects of Visual Arts or Fine Arts are taught. The second year marks the beginning of the three-year course where students can specialise in one of the above-mentioned areas. After the completion of BFA, students may also pursue a Master of Fine Arts, MFA, or Master of Visual Arts, MVA, from a recognised institution.

Though there is no common entrance test for a Bachelor’s programme, some colleges conduct tests individually.

Job options

Fine Arts courses are about turning out imaginative and creative concepts into a real object for the world to visualise. Therefore, job options are as wide and varied as one’s interests and talents. Some areas of specialisation may require less financial investment while others will require professionals to attend the fine arts graduate college. Students can find employment with ad agencies, educational institutions, fashion houses, television, theatre, websites, boutiques, animation industry, interior designing, computers and art studios.

Institutes that offer Fine Arts courses

There are plenty of institutions in India offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Fine Arts and other performing arts. Some of them are:

- Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) & School of Open Learning in Delhi offers a correspondence course in Fine Arts.
- Symbiosis Institute of Design in Pune
- Film &Television Institute of India, under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting offers Film Direction and Film Acting course in Pune.  
- Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi
- Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University
- Amity University
- Rabindra Bharathi University
- National School of Drama
- National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
- Mysore University’s CAVA.