Success by design: UK arts school combines creativity and careers
By Asian Correspondent Dec 07, 2011 5:16PM UTCTHE barriers are coming down between the worlds of art and business, and many of the old clichés are becoming a thing of the past. Chief among these clichés is the perception that art and design school graduates are destined for the dole queue, or will be forced through lack of work to pursue a ‘proper’ career.
This, of course, is a myth. Creative industries are the third-highest earning business in the UK today and high-end jobs abound for graduates with the right qualifications and the will to succeed. Any information to the contrary is “a romantic inaccurate stereotype and without foundation,” insists Jamie Dobson, Associate Dean for Postgraduate & Research at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in the UK. “It can take two or three years to get established after graduation but for those who persist the creative industries offer limitless opportunities.”
UCA graphics students at work. Pic: University for the Creative Arts.
UCA is one of a handful of specialist art and design institutes in the UK, and indeed worldwide, that are preparing students for successful careers in the creative industries. And with 8 percent of the UK’s workforce employed in the sector, the demand for places at UCA has never been higher.
Particularly popular are UCA’s postgraduate offerings. For artists and practitioners that want to develop their creative skills, or young professionals who want to break into the creative industries, UCA offers a range of options to help them take the next step.
“Our postgraduate degrees at UCA foster creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial skills. They are also academic and require professionalism, independence and rigour. These are all highly desirable traits and a pre-requisite for success in desirable, high-end careers. Our graduates go onto to become top-level management professionals in the creative arts,” says Jamie Dobson.
The ability of the United Kingdom to produce graduates who can lead the way in the creative industries is undisputed. Take Jonathan Ive, the man behind the design of most of the Apple products we see today studied Industrial Design in the UK.
“The UK has a long-established history of successful and influential design – from Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s ships and railways of the 19th century to Apple’s Jonathan Ive, who is a testament to the status and success that a career in design can achieve,” says Jamie.
Architecture studies at UCA. Pic: University for the Creative Arts.
And UCA has produced its own fair share of illustrious alumni too, including fashion designer Zandra Rhodes (who is also the Chancellor of UCA since May 2010), designer Karen Millen, animator Michaël Dudok de Wit and Oscar winner Daniel Greaves.
Looking at these illustrious names, the attraction of the UK to international students who want to get the best creative industries education they can starts to make sense. And many who do decide to study in the UK end up at UCA, a modern and influential university spread across five campuses in the south of England. Today it is home to 7,000 students, from over 70 countries.
“UCA’s international community is home to a diverse range of students from over 70 countries, including students from India, China, Taiwan and across Asia. Our campuses offer a creative environment for international students and they are all very close to London,” explains Jamie.
UCA offers numerous courses distributed evenly across its campuses, which regularly score well in student satisfaction in the National Student Surveys. Fine arts, crafts, architecture, interiors, journalism, advertising, animation, photography and filmmaking are just some of the offerings available.
“For practitioners, we offer a range of practical art and design courses in areas such as fashion design, fine art and architecture. Our students choose to study at UCA because of our fantastic links with industry and high-end specialist facilities,” says Jamie.
Pic: University for the Creative Arts.
UCA also offers a range of marketing and management based programmes at postgraduate level, including MBA Creative Industries Management, MA Arts Management, MA Design Innovation & Brand Management and MA Fashion Management & Marketing.
“Our marketing and management courses are particularly popular at the moment as they are suitable for people who don’t have a practical background in art and design, but would like to work in the creative industries,” says Jamie.
One course in particular that is turning heads in art and design education circles is UCA’s MBA Creative Industries Management. The words ‘MBA’ and ‘Creative’ are not often seen side by side, but in this instance UCA has combined the two with surprising results.
This full-time course (1 year) offers students the opportunity to build professional leadership and strategic management skills in the creative industries, with a focus on fashion, design, film and digital media industries. Graduates from this course are equipped with all the tools they lead to take leading management and executive positions in a burgeoning industry.
Full information about studying at UCA is available from the International Team.
Contact: international@ucreative.ac.uk
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