Oscar-winning filmmakers and animators, world-renowned fashion designers, television presenters, and Turner-Prize nominees are just some of UCA's high-profile graduates. They have enriched the world with their creative talents. Taught and guided by our experienced, industry-connected academic staff, our students can now reap the benefits of studying in a top 25 UK university (see latest league table results below).
With more than 6,000 students studying over 110 creative courses across four campuses, we generate unique communities of artists, designers, makers, writers, and researchers. As a specialist arts institution, we are 100% creative. Our distinctiveness against larger multi-disciplinary universities comes from focusing on provision through our creative campuses, which are not compromised by sharing facilities with other subjects or disciplines.
We are the highest placed creative University, the second-highest modern University, and are in the top 25 of all UK universities in The Guardian University Guide 2018. The Guardian also placed us in the top 10 for our Architecture, Fashion & Textiles, and Film Production & Photography courses for 2018. We are ranked the top specialist university for the creative industries by the Complete University Guide 2018.
The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017 places us in the top 15 for teaching quality. We have been named as one of the top 30 best-performing universities across all three of the UK's primary league tables after entering the 2018 Times Higher Education (THE) Table of Tables for the first time. We are also the only specialist creative arts university to be featured in the table. We were praised for our achievements at Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) 2017, with three student collections named among the 'Best of GFW,' and Rochester graduate Yingi Goma winning the People's Choice Award. Our Students' Union, UCASU, was named the best specialist Students' Union in the country at the 2016 National Union of Students (NUS) Awards.
UCAS was also named HE Students' Union of the Year at the NUS Disabled Students Awards 2017. The latest Research Exercise Framework (REF 2014) confirms our position as one of the top ten research communities in art and design, with 93% of our research designated as internationally recognized for quality, and 64% of our research submissions classed as world-leading and internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance, and thoroughness.
From our beginnings in the Victorian era as a collection of public art and design colleges in Canterbury, Epsom, Guildford, Farnham, Maidstone, and Rochester, to being named in the top 25 of all UK universities this year (2017), UCA has dedicated itself to shaping. Inspiring artists fit to work in the thriving creative industries for 150 years.
Starting as several smaller art schools that were spread across Southeast England, our Surrey origins began with the Farnham School of Art (1866), Guildford School of Art (1870), and Epsom & Ewell School of Art (1896). The three schools merged in 1969 to form the West Surrey College of Art & Design, which evolved into the Surrey Institute of Art & Design (SIAD) in 1995.
Our Kent founding schools were Maidstone College of Art (1867), Canterbury School of Art (1882), Medway College of Design (1886), and Canterbury School of Architecture (1948). The four schools joined together in 1987 to become the Kent Institute of Art & Design (KIAD).
More value is being placed on qualifications and higher education within the arts, particularly as demand for a highly-skilled, creative workforce has increased for the thriving creative industries. We have developed and adapted the education we offer to meet the needs of industries and students.
In 2005, SIAD and KIAD came together to form the University College for the Creative Arts. In May 2008, we received full university status from the Privy Council, changing our name to University for the Creative Arts in September. In 2016, we evolved further when the Open College of the Arts (OCA) joined the fold, furthering innovative education.
From our origins as a collection of humble art schools in the South East 150 years ago, UCA has grown into the UK's top specialist university for the creative industries. Inspiring filmmakers, animators, artists, designers, and architects, to name but a few, UCA educates a workforce fit to take the rapidly growing creative industries forward into the unknown.
Creativity is the energy that drives everyone here to invent, explore, and collaborate. When you study at UCA, you'll get the opportunity to immerse yourself in an unrivaled creative vibe, find your style, and create the extraordinary. At UCA, you will be surrounded by people with the same passions as you. Our campuses offer cutting-edge creative environments, packed with the latest equipment and resources. Each one reflects the subject areas studied there, creating unique communities of artists, designers, makers, writers, and researchers.
UCA Students' Union (UCASU) represents, supports, and provides opportunities for every student at the University. The Union is independent of the University but works together closely to promote student interests. The Library collections include a wide range of resources to help support you in your studies. Not only do we have an impressive selection of books, journals, and DVDs, we also have special collections focused on animation, photography, and arts activism, to name but a few. There is a Gateway Desk in each Library where you will find someone to help point you in the right direction.
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