The Open College of the Arts (OCA) is a distance learning independent arts college, with a Head Office in Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1987 by Michael Young, it is a registered charity.
The OCA offers higher education open learning courses in the following areas: drawing, painting, sculpture, textiles, art history, photography, creative writing, visual studies, and composing music. The college offers a BA honours degree in Creative Arts, a BA honours degree in Photography, a BA honours degree in Creative Writing, a BA honours degree in Textiles and a BA honours degree in Painting. An MA in Fine Art was launched in 2011. Degrees are accredited by Buckinghamshire New University, and the University for the Creative Arts. It has an open-door academic policy for its level 1 courses.
Courses offered by the OCA are frequently updated or rewritten and new courses are added from time to time. Recent introductions are graphic design, illustration, digital film production and visual culture and there are new courses in photography and printmaking, adding to existing courses in these areas. Although students and tutors all work from home the college also has a well attended programme of study visits.
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