Lecturers are great, and the course itself is full of great content that challenges you. The uni itself does have issues with funding the smaller courses though, as most resources go to the film department and their equipment.

The small Canturbury campus makes up for it’s size with a big heart. It means you’re familiar with more of the campus, it’s tutors and your fellow students. This smaller atmosphere makes it probably the most cozy university around.

The highlights of UCA is most probably the abundance of equipment; you’re encouraged to use it all regardless of what course you take. From 3D printing and wood working, to screen printers and rizographic printers, it’s all for the taking. The library resources are also plentiful and make research interesting from the get-go.

I’d say the main issue is probably the accommodation; there is very little on-site so if you want it you’ll have to get in there super quickly, otherwise the other student villages are a kittle bit of a trek being around a 20 minute walk from the main campus, which doesn’t feel so good in winter when it’s dark all the time. The only other option would be to rent a place in something like a house share, as those can often be a fair bit closer.

I chose the MA Interior Design Course from University for the Creative Arts, Canterbury as it sets an interesting teaching methodologies and strategies for creative students. I was impressed by the importance the university gives to research and experimentation to innovate new design techniques using different resources such as wooden workshop, laser cutting workshops and more for solving complex design challenges – helped me to update my perspective on my design style and process. And, having one one one consultation with top quality educators has gained a lot of trust.

I spent a year studying a Foundation course at the Rochester campus and then 3 years at the Canterbury campus completing the BA in Illustration and Animation, followed by another year completing the MA in Visual Communication. The university have always been extremely supportive and I would recommend UCA to anyone considering completing a creative course.

The university from the start was very helpful and informative. The timetables and learning material were available from the beginning. The whole learning process was very well-thought, from the theoretical part to the workshops, the university gave the variety of lectures, so the students can engage in more than one way. Overall the University for the Creative Arts is worth recommending and it’s a perfect place to better your artistic skills.

My tutor has been very helpful and informative, and contrary to the reviews I’ve seen- my feedback/criticism wasn’t harsh at all and was very validating for me personally. My tutor was immediately able to see what I excel in and what I need help with and responded with a mix of confidence-building praise and constructive feedback so I knew what I needed to work on in my next assignment.

As my degree is online/remote and part-time, I’ve not yet had the time to speak to my classmates but from what I’ve seen on the forums, they’re very friendly and help each other with feedback for assignments and design briefs.

My only concern was with the staff and how hard it was to reach them due to “covid” issues. It took forever to get my enrolment sorted and it was near impossible to reach the staff- no one answered any of the numbers I called and the average response time for an email was one-week minimum. It was stressful and frustrating, to say the least. There was also some very important information regarding maintenance loans and units/credits that I was not made aware of until after I started the course- meaning I have to find a job despite basically studying most days of the week, so it’d be in your best interests to do some THOROUGH research beforehand.

As for the curriculum, it’s fairly simple and straight forward in my opinion. I feel like it would be better if there were pre-recorded lectures and links to more information included/more accessible in the VLE (visual learning environment).

But overall, it has been a great experience and I’m enjoying the course thus far.

Since I came to UCA I feel like I’m part of something, at first I thought getting out of my country, of my home, it would be difficult but not even a month in, and I already felt like I was in a second home. I feel like I belong. UCA also has a lot of societies that help you make more friends and relax you from all the work.

This university is great in terms of mentoring and pushing students towards the outside environment of work. This university has a lot of workshops and technical labs to work on which opens a diverse field for the students to learn and grab opportunities.

I think the University for the Creative Arts is a good uni for courses such as “Film Production” and “Film and Digital Arts” (as these are the courses I was a part of), due to the easy access to equipment and locations. It also gives you a good insight into the industry in general, from filling out production paper works to scheduling film times, building set and more. In general, I’d also say that the environment of the uni is very positive and most people are willing to help with projects, yet at times the course can be very slow and unorganized, so it’s best to find more interest to focus on in addition to that for things such as self-directed projects.

I am an international student and I’ve just started studying Fashion at UCA, Epsom. I’m overall pretty accomplished about everything: the location is beautiful, you can feel the “creative” aura; teachers are very friendly and understanding regarding the students; the staff is also chill. That’s my first thought about this university.