OVERALL UNIVERSITY RATING
Tell us about your overall university experience so far.
UWE is a great University, and Bower Ashton campus is a warm and calm place for a student, a bit out of the city centre, but the location...
University rating
Tell us about your overall university experience so far.
UWE is a great University, and Bower Ashton campus is a warm and calm place for a student, a bit out of the city centre, but the location close to the nature makes up for the distance. There are many facilities for art & design students, and most students have the ability to use most of these facilities when the do they introduction which was great for me. Studying the MAMDP, I have access to all sorts of equipment and technicians are always there to help me out, which to be honest this would cost a fortune and a lot of time to find if it wasn't everything in the campus.
I am satisfied from my supervisor and other technical stuff support, they are professional, patient, and considering of students, even if my request is not an easy task, they will do their best to help out, making experience at uni memorable.
The printmaking facility is a bit old and not the best in looks, but it doesn't really matter as long as we can access all we need. A new workshop space has been developedthe past few months, where we can study, create, chill, or have our lunch break in a warm environment.
I am an MA student so I am not in the mood of a crazy student life at the moment, however I am not old and I know a bunch of stuff going on in Bristol. I mean, is Bristol, there is always something going on really. Only downside of Bristol life is that it has become so popular that rents are very high, as well as going out can costs a lot if you are not careful. Personally, I didn't manage to secure a room in Bristol for my 2nd year so I had to move out elsewhere. I didn't get much help from university for this issue either, but what can I do for that, everybody was in a similar situation.
I haven't had any significant interaction with the student union, they are there indeed but there presence is a bit dull, and the coffee at their cafe is shit really. I had a chat with them about upgrading their cafe's appearance, make it a bit bright and standout with illustrations etc, I could do that tbh, I am a freelance illustrator, but I didn't get a positive response so I left it there.
Facilities
How good are your university's facilities?
Location
Institution Location
Student support
How good is the support offered by the uni? Think both academic (tutors/feedback) and personal (counselling, etc).
Campus look and feel
Institution Campus look and feel
Student life
Institution Student life
Students' union
What do you think of your Students' Union in terms of student representation and facilities?
Course rating
Course rating
Choosing to study this course was one of the best choices in my life. Is a very experimental course, and the content the supervisor pushes us is challenging, supporting me in developing my practice, thinking of my future, getting my plans together and realising what's ahead out there for an artist. It is really the best thing to study if you are an artist that likes printmaking disciplines, experimentation, creating with your own hands, using a variety of materials and combining techniques from embroidery and screenprinting, to lazercut and woodmaking.
There are not many work experiences in the university related to the course, however, you will be expected and supported to find those opportunities out of the university, grow your networking, learn how to research, develop projects and collaborations, reach out to possible opportunities etc.
The stuff is very friendly and helpful. They act with good manners, they are organised, and always willing to spend time with you regarding your projects, even if they are not involved. It is an active community with smaller communities in it, and you will have to find the right players for each task, and you will be able to gain knowledge from each one of them and if not, they will direct you to the right person. Think of it as a game on your PC or console, where you are assigned a task and the NPC's of the game will help you carry out the task, meanwhile you will experience other parts of the game and explore the map so that you can carry out you task. This is th MAMDP, and I am comfortable in applying this strategy in projects even after I graduate.
Some of the facilities are very new and high-tech and some others are older but fully working in good condition. There are so many different workshops in such a small campus, you will be amazed. I haven't even manage to get to work in all of them, but I am glad that I had the opportunity in working in most of them, I think. I am looking forward to exploring the rest One thing they are missing which would be very very helpful for screen printing on textiles, would be a carousel with at least 4 screens capacity. I know this is very niche and a bit industrial, but you would be amazed how many possibilities this would open for textile printing and illustrators, as well as making things quicker and free up some space from other students on the big textile tables.
I was very lucky to be introduced to the careers team last year, and I must say that they are very active with lots of projects and opportunities going on. Since then I am in regular communication with them, I am taking part in workshops and opportunities, sometimes they have grants while others not, but I have grown so much as a freelancer, and the best part is that I can get in touch with them even after I graduate for 2 or 3 years. Some people in these teams are great to work with, however if there was a downside I would say that the don't have experts in the art & design industry, but they do run some workshops with creative professionals.
Course content
Course content
Work placements and internships
Work placements and internships
Lecturers and teaching quality
What do you like most and least about the way your course(s) are taught?
Career prospects
How does your uni make efforts to increase your employability (careers department, work placements, transferable skills)?
Tutor contact time
Tutor contact time
Subject facilities
Subject facilities
University location
University location
The UWE Bower Ashton campus is located out of the city centre, approx. 30-40 minutes, and is surrounded by green fields, nature, an old castle(something like that) and some deers. There are few busses going there, or you can choose to walk, or ride your bike which is very popular in Bristol.
It's next to the popular bedminister and southville area, with lots of students, creatives and in general very bright people. There are few big parks around the area, and the street culture is massive, with skateparks, graffiti and murals, some bars and many local shops around.
The only downside is: EXPENSIVE to rent.
Cost of living
Cost of living
Public transport
Public transport
Part-time work opportunities
Part-time work opportunities
Graduate employment opportunities
Graduate employment opportunities