University for the Creative Arts - UCA (reviews)

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.

I did my BA degree at the LSDM, a school associated with the University for the Creative Arts (UCA).

My BA was a 3 years degree completely online. Overall, I have to describe my experience as positive. After this time I had the feeling that the teachers were helping me a lot and I really learned about Marketing.

I would definitely recommend this university for people who are already working and are looking to expand their knowledge in this area.

I found this to be a highly unprofessional university with very little interest in its students and their education. I undertook an MSc here and found the level of teaching to be extremely poor and not on par with the degree level. During my year at the university, I experienced the following:
– The majority of lessons started off with technical difficulties that resulted in lessons losing half an hour. 
– Tutors scheduled classes and then did not show up for them. Tutors were significantly late to lectures and then laughed about it. Tutors took annual leave during term time. 
– Students were out of control and extremely disruptive, tutors did very little to resolve this issue and on numerous occasions laughed at and therefore encouraging their disruptive behaviour. 
– I had lessons that were scheduled to be 2 hours long with 45-minute breaks, reducing the lesson time significantly. 
– I attended lessons where the lecture was pre-recorded and played to us on the screen. I had to go to the university to watch a pre-recorded lesson over zoom. 
– Lectures were not present at their own classes and took them over zoom, again we had to attend a class to sit and watch a lesson over zoom. In some cases, it took a number of weeks before I saw the tutor physically present in the classroom. 
– The blended learning ended halfway through the year, and all students were required to attend all lectures in person with no exception. Which would have been fine had it not been extremely contradictory to the fact that half of the lessons were online classes as it was “more convenient” due to classes having 300+ students in with rooms only able to hold around 100.
– I witnessed a significant number of students (I would estimate at around 50) being turned away from a class that they were scheduled to attend as the room held fewer students than were enrolled in the class , and the room was already full. I heard them being told they had to go to another room where the lesson was being streamed on a zoom call.
I expressed concerns over marking as I felt that some of the feedback given was not in line with the work that was submitted. I felt that none of my queries were taken seriously and as a result of this, I feel that I have come away with less than I worked for. 
I found that this university often made mistakes regarding the publications of awards. My records were updated with a mark that was significantly lower than the one stated on the work and when receiving my final publication I was being given the wrong degree.
I felt as though the requirement for an MSc from this university was extremely low and not on par with what I would expect from a post graduate degree. The national average for a MSc Dissertation is between 15,000 and 20,000 words. The maximum word count for my MSc dissertation was 4000 – this is less that I was required to write for my BA.

When I raised my concerns to the university I felt that I was met with a very detached and defensive approach and I was made to feel as though I was at fault. After this interaction, I felt cast aside and treated very differently by staff members. I feel that I have spent in excess of £10,000 to learn absolutely nothing. I am very ashamed to say that I attended this university and plan to keep that fact as hidden as possible. If I could go back I would avoid UCA and attend a faculty that takes education seriously. 

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.