The Drawing Year Applications

1. Please tell us about your creative practice (200 words)
2. Tell us why you are applying for The Drawing Year (150 words)
3. And tell us why now is the right time for you to apply, and how you would plan to engage with the cohort and wider community at the School? (150 words) 
   
   

• 10 Drawings – primarily works in dry media, ink or watercolour, or with paper as their support 
• 10 Additional Works – works that demonstrate your expanded practice 

File Guidelines 

Files must be:

• JPEG or PNG
• Maximum 5MB per file
• Work must have been created within the last three years 

Applicants may submit short video files (maximum 2 minutes, 250MB) as part of their Additional Works. 

File Naming Format

Please label your media in the applicant portal as follows:

Title_medium_year_dimension/duration_category('Drawing' or 'Additional Work')  

Dimensions should be listed in centimetres. 

Shortlisted applicants must bring these works, along with additional sketchbooks, to the interview.

Applicants must submit two sketchbooks to the school as part of their application. 

There are three ways to submit your sketchbooks: 

1. Submit a digital sketchbook as part of your application 

2. In person at the School, during designated sketchbook drop-off days 

3. By post before the sketchbook submission window closes 

Submission guidelines 

• Maximum two sketchbooks per applicant
• No larger than A3
• Loose sheets must be securely bound
• No loose or rolled sheets (folders and portfolios are not accepted)
• Clearly label each sketchbook with your full name, email, and phone number 

Digital sketchbooks 

We understand some applicants may not be able to post or deliver physical sketchbooks. In these circumstances, we accept digital sketchbook submissions. 

Digital sketchbooks are submitted as part of The Drawing Year application, in the 'Sketchbook submission' section. 

The following formats are accepted: 

• A short video file (max. 2 mins) 
• A single PDF file of images (max. 20 pages) 

Videos and PDFs must not exceed 10MB. Digital sketchbook files nomenclature is as follows: 

• Sketchbook 1-applicant first name-applicant last name 
• Sketchbook 2-applicant first name-applicant last name 

Sketchbook drop-off

• Dates: 13, 14, 15 April 2027 
• Times: 10am–6pm (Wed 14, 10am–8pm)
• Location: Royal Drawing School, Shoreditch 
  19-22 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3SG 

Postal submissions 

Sketchbooks may be posted but must arrive by the drop-off deadline. Posted sketchbooks must include a prepaid return envelope. Please allow enough time for delivery. 

Please note: The Royal Drawing School is not responsible for any loss or damage to sketchbooks. 

If you are invited for an interview, sketchbooks will remain at the School until then. If your application is unsuccessful, collection details will be provided in May. 

Sketchbooks will only be accepted if the application form, portfolio, and fee have been submitted by Wednesday, 31 March 2027 23:59 GMT. 

After Brexit, all EU/EEA students require pre-settled or settled status to study on the Drawing Year. If you are originally from a country in the European Union (EU), European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, you will need to have either:

• Settled Status: Granted if you’ve lived in the UK for 5 years or more. Once you have settled status, you can stay as long as you like.

• Pre-Settled Status: If you've lived here for fewer than 5 years. This allows you to stay in the UK for up to 5 years and then you can apply for ‘settled status.’

You will not be eligible to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme unless you were living in the UK before 31 December 2020. For more information please see: https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families/applying-for-settled-status 

Before starting study, Royal Drawing School would require evidence of your settled status and evidence of your identity.

A Graduate visa gives you permission to stay in the UK for at least 18 months after successfully completing an eligible course in the UK, allowing you sufficient time to complete The Drawing Year (15 months).

You can apply for a Graduate visa if all of the following are true:

• You’re currently in the UK
• Your current visa is a Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa
• You studied a UK bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for a minimum period of time with your Student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa
• Your education provider (such as your university or college) has told the Home Office you’ve successfully completed your course

A Graduate visa lasts for:

• 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026

• 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027

• If you have a PhD or other doctoral qualification, it will last for 3 years.

Your visa will start from the day your application is approved and you must apply before your student visa or Tier 4 (General) student visa expires. Students wishing to apply for a Graduate visa would need to do so upon receiving a confirmed offer to study on the Drawing Year. 

For more information please see Graduate visa - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

We run regular online and in-person open days throughout the recruitment period (December to March). Book on to an open day here, or view a recorded open day online.

There is also the opportunity to ask questions on our Instagram Drawing Year Q&A sessions, follow us @royaldrawingschool 

For further guidance, register to attend an Open day or an Application Support webinar. These are scheduled during the recruitment period.

Recordings of these will also be available to view on our Youtube channel during the recruitment period.

If you still have questions you can get in touch with us at drawingyear@royaldrawingschool.org

You can also visit our FAQs page or read our Admissions Policy for further information.