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University of the Arts London

Coordinates: 51°30′50″N 0°8′58″W / 51.51389°N 0.14944°W / 51.51389; -0.14944
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University of the Arts London
File:Univ of the arts London logo.gif
MottoA Creative Constellation
TypePublic
Established1986
ChairmanSir John Tusa
RectorNigel Carrington
Students27,970 [1]
Undergraduates11,555 [1]
Postgraduates2,250 [1]
Other students
13,130 [1]
Location
London
,
England, UK

51°30′50″N 0°8′58″W / 51.51389°N 0.14944°W / 51.51389; -0.14944
Colours  Purple

  Red

  Orange

  Green

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  Gold
Websitehttp://www.arts.ac.uk/

The University of the Arts London, formerly known as the London Institute, is a collegiate university comprising six art and design colleges in London, England, UK. The University is Europe's largest centre for education in art, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts.[2]

Colleges

Constituent College Location(s) Founded
Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell 1898
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Holborn, Charing Cross Road 1854
Chelsea College of Art and Design Millbank 1895
London College of Communication Elephant and Castle 1894
London College of Fashion Oxford Street, Bond Street 1967
Wimbledon College of Art Wimbledon, Merton Park 1890

History

The University has its origins in six previously independent art, design, fashion and media colleges, which were drawn together for administrative purposes in 1986 to form the London Institute. The colleges have origins dating back to the mid 19th Century. The first appointed Rector was Professor John McKenzie. Under the Education Reform Act, the London Institute became a single legal entity in 1988, and the first court of governors were instated the following year in 1989. The London Institute was incorporated as a higher education body in 1991 and was later granted academic degree awarding powers in 1993 by the approval of the Privy Council. Will Wyatt CBE was appointed as Chairman of Governors during the same year. Sir William Stubs was appointed as the second Rector after the retirement of Professor John McKenzie in 1996. The Coat of Arms was granted to the London Institute in 1998. Lord Stevenson was appointed in 2000 as the first Chancellor.

On the retirement of Sir William Stubs, Sir Michael Bichard was appointed as Rector in 2001 and encouraged the London Institute to apply for University status. The London Institute originally chose not to apply because the existing colleges were internationally recognized in their own right. In 2003, the London Institute receives the approval for a University title by the Privy Council and was renamed University of the Arts London in 2004.

Wimbledon School of Art joined the University as the sixth College in 2006 and was renamed Wimbledon College of Art. Sir John Tusa was appointed as the new Chairman, replacing Will Wyatt 2007, with Nigel Carrington, an international lawyer and former managing director of the McLaren Group, as the new Rector in 2008, replacing Sir Michael Bichard.[3]

Entry

The standard protocol for entry is primarily by portfolio review and interview (audition for acting courses). Each constituent college and its individual courses have their own guidelines and procedures in determining new students, and the competitiveness can vary.

The Student Hub

The Student Hub is the central University office situated at 65 Davies Street (adjacent from Bond Street), which is used for administrative purposes, learning resources, support services and a students' union cafe/bar.

Students' Union

A variety of clubs, events and activities are organized through the Students' Union.

Learning Zone

The Learning Zone is an innovative, flexible and informal space for both collaborative and private study. Students from across the six Colleges are welcome to use the facilities, including computers, laptop hire and rooms for presentations/rehearsals.

Student Services

Student Services offer a wide range of support services to help develop professional, personal and creative potential. The service advises home and international students about financial matters, immigration, careers, counseling, health, disability, childcare, and pastoral care through the chaplaincy.

International Centre

The International Centre manages international student recruitment and its network of local representatives based across the world. The Centre and the local representatives offer specialist advice, such as course information and University services, as well as immigration, fees and practical day-to-day living. In addition to the main office at Davies Street, there are international offices situated at the six colleges.

Language Centre

At the Language Centre prospective students can study English and languages such as French, Spanish or Japanese, before and during their course. The primary aim is to enable students to reach the required level for entry onto their main courses through tutorials, workshops and proofreading services.

The Enterprise Centre

Situated at the London College of Communication, the Enterprise Centre provides information, advice and guidance on obtaining freelance work or self-employment and is available to all students/graduates from all six Colleges.

The Erasmus Exchange

The program has exchange agreements with 40 partnered European Universities and specialist institutions. Students can study abroad for a minimum of three months to a maximum of one full academic year.

International affiliations include but are not limited to the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and Parsons The New School for Design in New York, USA and the Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, Japan, where students have the opportunity to study abroad via exchange.

Young at Art

The scheme provides the opportunity for University students, who are interested in working with young people, a range of opportunities for paid and volunteer positions as mentors, ambassadors, assistants and more. The scheme is designed to help school children and teachers develop their creativity, and to gain experience of life at Art College through short courses, professional development, competitions and summer schools.

The Alumni Association

Students are part of the University's Alumni Association upon graduation. With more than 175,000 former students and staff, the association has access to a unique community of creative people with a wide range of interests in art, design, fashion, communication and the performing arts.

The Emerging Artists' Program

This scheme supports up-and-coming practitioners to gain exposure to galleries, agents, collectors and journalists through independent and group exhibitions as well as acquisitions and commissions. The University's Art Collection comprises work from the students' degree shows and by alumni.

Achievements

Awards

Many honours and awards have been received by students, staff and alumni across the six Colleges of the university. These include the BAFTA Award, BP Portrait Prize, British Fashion Designer of the Year, D&AD Student Award, Fujifilm Award, Jerwood Drawing Prize, Prince Philip Designers Prize, Saatchi Scholarship, Sunday Times Award and the Turner Prize.[4]

Queen's Anniversary Prize

The Queen's Anniversary Prize was awarded to Camberwell College of Arts for the conservation of 'works of art on paper' in 1996. The prize has also been awarded to Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design for its contributions to the British fashion industry in 1998.[3] Most recently, Cordwainers College of London College of Fashion was awarded the prize for its continued excellence in shoe and accessory design, development and teaching practice in 2008.[5]

Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)

In the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) results in 2004, Camberwell College of Arts and London College of Communication were awarded 23 out of 24 for art and design; Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and Chelsea College of Art and Design awarded 22; London College of Fashion awarded 21.[6]

Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)

The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) published results in 2001 by subject area and point scale from 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5 and 5*, the University achieved a 5 rating. In 2006-07, this rating will equate to a QR grant of £8.6 million.[7]

Skillset Media Academy

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the London College of Communication have been awarded Skillset Media Academy status, recognizing the achievements in the area of media, interactive design and film respectively.[8]

CLIP CETL

Chelsea College of Art and Design and the London College of Fashion share the 'Creative Learning in Practice Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning' (CLIP CETL). The Centre is funded by the British government in recognition of the two College's excellent results in developing student learning.[9]

BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek formed a panel of experienced consultants, academics, and executives to select the best art and design schools around the world, which featured Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the London College of Communication.[10]

League Tables

The Guardian

The University received a 60.50 overall average teaching score in the The Guardian's University Guide for 2009[2], rising up the table despite disappointing student satisfaction results that hindered the university's score across British league tables in earlier years. This is a positive rise as students studying arts subjects have averagely shown to express more disgruntled views than any other subject in Britain during the National Student Surveys (NSS).

The Times

The Times 'Good University Guide' for 2008 places the University at 75th of 113, dropping considerably from the previous year at 59th in 2007 due to the recent inclusion of low student satisfaction results for the University.[11] To address this, the University is currently undergoing significant change with the newly appointed Rector Nigel Carrington employing further staff while improving the facilities across the six colleges. The Sunday Times places the University at 67th of 123.

The Headmaster's Survey, conducted by The Times, comprises 1,000 of Britain’s most academically successful state and independent schools, rated the university at 16th of 119 in 2007[12], and top in its specialist areas of Art and Design, Performing Arts and Fashion.[13] Headteachers were asked to cite only those institutions and subjects with which they felt comfortable, from their own and former students' personal experiences. More than 3,500 opinions were expressed.

The Independent

The Independent's Main League Table for 2009 places the University at 56th of the 113 ranked universities in the UK.[14]

The Complete University Guide

The Complete University Guide places the University at 55th overall for 2009 and 10th in the area of Art and Design.[6]

Popularity

The six colleges all exceed in student applications each year with a 9 per cent rise at the beginning of 2008. This was one of the few significant increases for any University in the UK.[2]

Publications

Less Common More Sense

The Student Union publishes Less Common More Sense, a magazine that serves to showcase student's work from all six colleges.

Arts London News

The University also publishes Arts London News, a weekly newspaper distributed throughout two terms of the year, which is produced and maintained by journalism students. The paper is published in conjunction with Rupert Murdoch's News International.

Galleries and Collections

The University houses various archives and collections across the six colleges. These include the Stanley Kubrick Archive, Tom Eckersley Collection, Thorold Dickinson Collection and the John Schlesinger Library. In addition, there is a large poster collection circa 1900s to the beginning of the 21st century.

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design has registered museum status, which includes historical and contemporary collections by students, staff and alumni of the college. The Cochrane Theatre provides venues for theatre productions, exhibitions and presentations. The Lethaby Gallery and the Window Gallery is used for exhibitions by practicising professionals and for past and present students from the college.

Chelsea College of Art and Design has two on-site exhibition spaces. Chelsea Space is an international and interdisciplinary platform for professional practitioners to exhibit experimental curatorial projects and releases regular publications from participating authors, artists and designers. The Parade Ground, situated within the college, has been transformed into London's largest open-air gallery hosting events from film screenings to large scale installations. The exhibition ground had previously been used for students and professionals as an open area platform, notably artist Chris Burden's 'A Flying Steamroller' in 2006.

Recent Developments

Initiated in May 2007, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design will relocate to a purpose built arts college situated in Kings Cross in 2011.

Online

Showtime

The University has recently developed a successful new system for exhibiting graduate's work online to compliment the 2008 degree shows across the six colleges. Recent graduates are given the opportunity to create a free account using their personal student number and upload their own images to a personal gallery interface with a unique URL. The public can then view the work from the gallery in a similar way to the Flickr or GFXartist format.

Blackboard

Blackboard is the University's chosen Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). A VLE is an online electronic course management system which supports and extends communication between students and staff. It also creates new opportunities for innovative and interactive methods of learning and teaching. Introduced to the University by the IT Research and Development Unit (ITRDU) in 2001, Blackboard currently hosts more than 340 sites across the University and is in use for course administration and communication purposes.

International Students

The University is the most popular institution in the United Kingdom for international students specializing on courses in the creative arts and has consequently become one of highest institutions in the country for an international student population, with students from over 100 countries currently studying across the six colleges.

Halls of Residence

The University has 11 residences, from traditional halls of residence to executive apartments, with 1,750 rooms available. Accommodation is not guaranteed to all first year students due to oversubscription. This is despite having multiple residences situated across London. The prices range between £100 GBP to £190 GBP and students would be required to apply early.

Notable Alumni

Alumni of Camberwell College of Arts include:

Alumni of Chelsea College of Art and Design include:

Alumni of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design include:

Alumni of Byam Shaw School of Art, part of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design include:

Alumni of Drama Centre London, part of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design include:

Alumni of London College of Communication include:

Alumni of London College of Fashion include:

Alumni of Cordwainers College, part of London College of Fashion include:

Alumni of Wimbledon College of Art include:

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06". Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved 2007-03-31.
  2. ^ a b c "Education Guardian". The Guardian online statistics. Retrieved 2007-12-16. Cite error: The named reference "Guardian" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "University of the Arts London History". History online statistics. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  4. ^ "University of the Arts London Success". Success online statistics. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  5. ^ "Cordwainers - Queen Anniversary Prize". Queen's Anniversary Prize online statistics. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  6. ^ a b "The Complete University Guide". The Complete University Guide online statistics. Retrieved 2008-07-30. Cite error: The named reference "The Complete University Guide" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ "University of the Arts London RAE". RAE online statistics. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  8. ^ "Skillset Academy Status". Skillet online statistics. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  9. ^ "University of the Arts London Success". CLIP CETL online statistics. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  10. ^ "BusinessWeek: The Best Design Schools in the World". RAE online statistics. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  11. ^ "The Times Good University Guide". The Times Good University Guide online statistics. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  12. ^ "Headteacher's Survey". The Times online statistics. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  13. ^ "Headteacher's Survey Subject Areas". The Times online statistics. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  14. ^ "Independent League Table". The Independent online statistics. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
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