Art degree, what university is good?

[Sunbrightpeninsularsofthesword]

Hello. My dd loves art and wants to do an art degree. She's not sure what she specifically wants to pursue afterwards but is talking about being a special effects artist. I have said to her that I'm not sure if an art degree would be helpful but I am unfamiliar with this area so we're going to look into this.

I would really appreciate any thoughts about universities to look into.

Many thanks

Have a look at Falmouth, University of West of England, Loughborough and Birmingham. That's based on hearsay - I have not done an art degree myself!

Oh and Winchester School of Art.

UAL London , Goldsmiths, Falmouth. SFx is quite niche - might need decent programming skills as well as creative. Search 'Digital Arts'

Duncan of Jordanstone @ University of Dundee is worth looking at.

If she isn't sure exactly which route to take maybe she could start with doing a foundation year in art? If she is under 19 it's usually free.

If she is determined to have a career in VFX, she could do a specialist degree, but we be well advised to get industry work experience first, maybe as a gap year thing. Otherwise a more general degree would be wise, maybe more “art & design” than “fine art”.

This website is very good for television and film careers and training information:-

www.screenskills.com/courses/search/#/?q=&industries=VFX&coursetypes=&georegions=&pageindex=1&layout=list

Another recommendation for the art foundation course. It’s classed as sixth form so provided your DD has only used two years of sixth form it will be free.

Edinburgh?

Kingston as well.

Brighton is very good

Thank you very much everyone. You've all been very helpful!

Glasgow School of Art

I'm at De Montfort - I don't do anything remotely Art related (that side of the campus is the opposite end to me) but they have a huge art department and actually I really can't fault the support the uni staff have been giving me during Covid with my mental health going to shit.

Friend is at Nottingham Trent finishing an Art degree (I can't remember exactly which specialism she's in) and she's really fucked off with the disorganisation and changes that go on constantly there.

I agree the free foundation year would be a good start. It will help her develop a portfolio too.
There are lots of famous schools of art. Slade (UCL), Central St Martins, Goldsmiths, University of the Arts London, Falmouth, Wimbledon School of Art, John Ruskin (Oxford) are all worth looking at. They'll have different emphases and different approaches to learning and practice so worth finding out what she enjoys, how she works and what they expect/offer to find the best fit for her.

UAL/LCF

I didn’t study an art subject, but lots of my friends did. As an outsider looking in, I think UAL is fairly iconic/prestigious in the industry and my friends managed to secure London internships with ease, and later great grad roles. They ended up being great pals with their lecturers too weirdly enough.

Thanks for posting OP my DD is only 14 but wants to do similar she’s sitting her GCSE equivalents this year and can’t decide between art or vet med. I think art is her passion and she’s quite talented.

We’ll have a look at some of the unis mentioned thanks

Why would you swap a definite job (vet) with career progression and decent pay for art which has neither and is a huge gamble? Art grads are the lowest paid of all grads. No, they don’t get internships!

Look to see if there are apprenticeships in visual effects.

Have a look at the NFTS in Beaconsfield. They do Production Design MA. Look at the type of people who go into this area of work. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds. It’s the best course for this type of work.

Duncan of Jordanstone @ University of Dundee is worth looking at

This. Dundee also has a fanstastic forensic art department collaborating with the medical and anatomy depts if she’s interested in that angle.

@Sunbrightpeninsularsofthesword if your DD is interested in special effects, most of the traditional art course, e.g. Slade (UCL) and Ruskin (Oxford) are not where she should be looking. The most highly rated are places like
Hertfordshire
Bournemouth
Arts University Bournemouth
Ravensbourne
You'll find more information on The Student Room site, MN seems to have more a bias towards STEM or mainstream humanities at subjects Russell Group universities.
The link to Screenskills is very useful, also have a look at The Rookies - discover.therookies.co/schools/ for industry approved VFX, Animation and Game Schools (universities).

I'm just placemarking here, my dd wants to do an art course but not fine art and this is really helpful, thanks to the contributors!

@Sunbrightpeninsularsofthesword , I forgot to mention that, the courses at UAL (London College of Communication and Central Saint Martins etc) are not highly regarded for VFX (special effects). However Saint Martins and Camberwell's foundation courses are.

What about Visual Effects at Bournemouth Uni: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/study/courses/ba-hons-visual-effects Solent Uni has a prosthetics and special effects degree if your daughter wants something more hands on.

My DD is at Bournemouth Arts and very happy. We're impressed with how career-focused it is, encouraging them to network with possible employers from early in their course, build an online presence etc. And it seems to have a very good reputation, at least for her subject (graphic design). My personal feeling is that it's a shame to be at an arts uni rather than one where you'll meet people doing a wider range of subjects, but she doesn't seem to feel the lack and is thriving there.