About Us

About the GSA

The ability to transform thinking, generate new knowledge and give shape and form to things that currently do not exist, are all characteristics of the creative practitioner. Through an art school education, we hone these inherent skills through studio-based learning and teaching, and research that is discipline-specific.

The studio, whether literal or figurative, creates the environment for collaboration, within and across disciplines, for critical enquiry, experimentation and prototyping. It is the environment in which we collectively generate new ideas and solutions, and where innovation thrives. ‘Studio’ is the space where a shared visual language can transcend barriers and global boundaries, and where ambition and imagination can find solutions to many of the global challenges facing the world today.

270 years after our birth the GSA today is a progressive, diverse and international community of 3,500 students and staff. Through the success of our graduates, the quality of our teaching and research and our heritage, we enjoy both global significance and influence as a leading centre for studio-based learning and research.

Alongside our global position we continue to contribute to Glasgow’s position as
a European cultural capital, and one of the UK’s most successful city-economies and a leading UK creative capital alongside London and Manchester². Central to this contribution are our students, staff – creative practitioners and academics of international and national significance – and our graduates with nearly 60%³ choosing to remain in the city, working within the cultural and creative industries, the wider creative economy or establishing their own businesses and importantly their contribution to the city’s cultural infrastructure through galleries, exhibitions, events and their international networks.

¹QS World Rankings 2024 the GSA is 3rd in UK and 13th in the world for art and design

² (NESTA Creative Nation 2019 and EU Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor: 2019 Edition)

³(HESA, 2019)