Careers - Secondary Teaching - Visual Arts

A career in Visual Arts teaching

In NSW and other Australian states prospective Visual Arts teachers usually can be qualified to teach in Visual Art as their sole teaching area, or as one of two teaching areas. If you are interested in a career as an Art teacher you would normally be required to complete university studies in :

• Art
• a second teaching subject (e.g. English, Geography, a Language, Mathematics or TESOL), if you wish to teach another subject as well as Art
• Education as a social science
• professional and curriculum studies (teaching methodology)

Assumed knowledge and recommended studies: School leavers

The following HSC subjects are recommenced studies for those intending to apply for admission to an Undergraduate Course in Visual Art teacher education at the university:

Visual Art

or

Design & Technology Education

Coursework (degree) options for prospective Visual Arts teachers

The University of Sydney offers three alternative ways of gaining a qualification as a teacher of Art:

• a Bachelor of Education program (4 years full-time study)
• a Bachelor of Arts (or an equivalent undergraduate qualification) followed be either a Bachelor of Teaching or a Master of Teaching (4-and-a-half years or 5-years full-time study)
• a Bachelor of Arts/ Bachelor of Education (Secondary: Humanities and Social Sciences) joint degree program (5 years full-time study)

UAI Entry levels

To view the minimum UAI entry scores in recent years for those courses which lead directly (or indirectly with subsequent postgraduate study) to a teaching qualification in secondary school History teaching, click here.

Prerequisite studies: Graduates

Graduates with a first degree which includes studies appropriate to teaching in Visual Art may be eligible for admission to the Master of Teaching/Bachelor of Teaching program. Entry into the postgraduate MTeach/BTeach course is competitive and will be based upon the following criteria and interview:

• completion of a relevant major in an appropriate undergraduate degree, or equivalent workplace experiences and qualifications
• completion of a minor in a second teaching area
• level of achievement in undergraduate studies (grade average)
• good communication skills
• demonstrated commitment to teaching as a profession

Undergraduate studies which are generally appropriate for Visual Art teaching include:

• A Visual Arts degree
• BArts (Fine Arts) with a minor in Art Practice (ie. 12 units from the Tin Sheds at the University of Sydney)