Read honest reviews from real students at this uni
4.02.62.1
The University for the Creative Arts is a collective of creative campuses where personal growth is shaped through making, time and human connection. Its schools are where students are known, supported and challenged to develop their own voice through practice, experimentation and craft. Students aren't expected to arrive as fully formed artists: they arrive curious, open-minded and talented in different ways, with the ambition to discover who they are as a creative.
The university's small creative campuses in Farnham, Epsom and Canterbury build close-knit communities for students to experience new things and build new friendships and connections to take with them once they graduate.
The Farnham School of Creative & Cultural Industries hosts a range of courses, from animation and illustration to games design and fine art. Farnham is the campus for builders of worlds, storytellers, crafters and all types of artists. With access to a range of facilities, including a virtual production studio, digital suites, and glass hot-shops, students will have everything they need to bring their imagination to life.
The Epsom School of Creative Business, Fashion & Enterprise is home to business and fashion courses, including fashion atelier & tailoring, digital marketing & social media, and fashion photography.
The Canterbury School of Art, Architecture & Design is a place for designers, artists and architects with courses including a RIBA certified Architecture course, product design, fine art and many more. Here, students will be immersed into a creative community and benefit from facilities such as VR track labs, dedicated studio spaces and metal and wood workshops.
3.5The Canterbury campus is home to architecture, design, fine art, and visual communications courses. Standout facilities include a digital fabrication lab, screen-printing studios, photographic studios and darkrooms, metal and wood workshops, and dedicated studio space.
The Epsom campus hosts creative business, fashion, and textiles courses. Facilities include photography studios, dedicated atelier machinery, a CAM suite, and natural light studio space.
The Farnham campus is home to various courses ranging from film and performing arts to ceramics and graphic design. UCA benefits from a variety of industry-standard facilities including virtual production studio, 3D printers, both colour and black & white darkrooms, digital suites, dubbing studio, screen-printing, and various workshops for crafts courses.
Maidstone TV Studios is the UK's largest independent TV studio facility. In this professional environment students have the chance to work on high-profile TV shows and network with leading industry professionals.
Each of the university's four campuses are in towns and cities with their own unique charms. Canterbury is a busy city within easy reach of the Kent coast, while Farnham is a quieter town situated amongst the scenic views of the Surrey Hills. Epsom's atmosphere is in the middle, a lively market town within easy reach of London, and the Maidstone TV studios are situated in a large town offering plenty to see and do.
University is where students meet like-minded people who become friends for life, and UCA's many clubs and societies are a great place for new students to find them. The students' union hosts a number of identity communities, clubs, and societies – from K-Pop dance to film societies, life drawing and cheerleading – so there's truly something for everyone.
2.8At each campus there's a branch of the UCA Student's Union, a student-run organisation that represents the voice of its membership, campaigns for student issues, and organises the annual fresher's week as well as a unique calendar of social events throughout the year.
3.5UCA believes that a creative choice is a career choice. The creative industries are forever growing and changing at a pace that can feel both exciting and unsettling. At UCA, faculty prepare students for the reality of creative work as it adapts over time. While other universities focus on that first job after graduating, UCA focuses on the long game. Students are supported to build creative resilience, professional confidence and adaptability that will support them throughout their career.
Students at UCA benefit from working alongside practicing artists and industry leaders, giving them access to a wealth of personal knowledge, experience, and professional mentorship. Additionally, the university's careers advisors are able to provide individual support and attention to help every student discover the right career path for them and help them reach those goals after graduating. They'll show students how to build their professional portfolio, make the most of industry contacts, and are there to provide ongoing support when graduates take that leap into industry.
The university is continually updating its courses and resources to ensure students have access to industry-standard facilities and studio spaces with the latest equipment and technologies. Students will learn to use equipment that will be relevant later in their career, ensuring that each graduate is fully prepared to launch a career after leaving university.
2.6Halls of residence accommodation options are offered to first year students at UCA's campuses in Canterbury, Epsom, and Farnham. Housing consists of shared apartments with a communal living and kitchen area.
Students can also find accommodation from the local private rental sector. The university's dedicated accommodation office is always on hand to help identify reputable landlords.
UCA offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree options spanning a wide range of creative subject areas. Entry requirements differ depending on the course and study mode that is being applied to, and prospective applicants are encouraged to find detailed information on specific course pages on the university website.
Applications can be made online through the UCAS website. As a specialist university offering creative courses, UCA typically asks for extra content or portfolio work in addition to A-level results to assess the suitability of each student for their chosen course. Certain courses may require the attendance of an interview where candidates present a portfolio or perform an audition. For advice on what to include in a portfolio, prospective students can visit the university's portfolio advice page.
International students may be asked to provide evidence of a basic level of English language proficiency before the start of the course. These typically include assessment systems like IELTS or TOEFL, and detailed information is available online.
UCA believes that access to higher education should remain as accessible as possible to students from all walks of life, and from any economic background.
The university offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to help students maintain financial stability throughout their studies. Current and incoming undergraduate students may be eligible for one of these scholarship offers, and are encouraged to visit the university website for further details.
Tuition fees will vary depending on a few factors, including country of residence and whether the chosen course is full-time or part-time.
As an illustrative example, UK undergraduate students will pay £9,535 per academic year, while international students will pay £18,000. These fees are accurate for 2026/27 but may rise in the future.
To help afford university education, UK and EU students can apply for a tuition fee loan to cover the costs. This loan only becomes repayable once graduate reach a minimum salary level when employed in the future, with repayments calculated automatically as a percentage of money earned above the threshold.
UCA is a university purposely built for the creative arts, business and technology. Its courses offer a variety of creative skills, with subjects ranging from animation and architecture to games technology and fashion design. The university also offers several different levels of courses, including pre-degree courses, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.
Many courses encourage and support work experience within the creative industries and even offer the chance for students to study abroad for a year, gaining international experience and the opportunity to build a global network of creative contacts.
As well as the dedicated and passionate lecturers and tutors employed by the university, individual courses will also often bring in high-calibre guest lecturers to share their experiences of working within their industry.
The university uses the UCAS points system for entry and the majority of courses require a portfolio. Although grades are important, UCA also values individual creativity, which is why a portfolio is an integral part of the application process.
UCA is a purpose-built university specialising in subjects within the creative arts, business, and technology sectors. Its courses offer a variety of creative skills, with subjects ranging from animation and architecture to games technology and fashion design. As an institution that specialises in these areas, it's able to attract expert teachers and focus funds on the facilities that matter most to students of these disciplines.
The university has been recently recognised for the quality of its teaching in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023), where it received a Silver rating for the quality of its teaching for both student experience and student outcomes.
Many UCA courses encourage and support work experience within each student's chosen creative industry and even offer the chance for them to study abroad for a year. With all of this at their fingertips, and the ability to work collaboratively on projects with other courses, UCA has everything to help its creative community of students prepare for life after graduating.
3.7Students are never alone at UCA. Whether they need help settling in, assistance with their studies, counselling, or even advice on managing finances, the university's campus life department is here to provide year-round support and guidance. UCA is committed to providing a supportive and inclusive learning environment, where students are able to pursue their creative goals while having the resources and opportunities to develop themselves personally.
Services offered at the university include:
UCA has a network of specialist teams based at each of its campuses to help, advise and guide students through numerous aspects of the university experience, and can also refer students to specialist services where required. Additionally, the university's alumni community can be reached by current students to provide advice, and professional connections.
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