Art and Design at university; for past, present, and future students and parents

[PhotoDad]

I've been on a wonderful thread about applications for art/design applications for the coming academic year, and I thought it might be useful to have a more general place for people at different stages of the process to share advice and hints. The normal MN advice about universities is often not applicable to these subjects!

I'll keep this short because I personally don't like huge posts that appear at the top of each page, but I'll add some starting thoughts below. I know that there's a huge range of experience here and a lot of support, so please do ask questions, or share triumphs and disasters.

The original thread is here:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/4626697-2023-uni-applications-for-those-pursuing-art-and-creative-routes

@PhotoDad how is PhotoDadDD getting on?

Well done to those who are receiving offers this year and deciding on next steps. Great to hear news of those on our threads from a few years ago and to know that your DC are doing well in their chosen creative routes. I remember them all applying and making their choices!. DS is coming to end of his second year at LCF in fashion design and technology menswear. He’s really loving it. Next term and over summer he’ll be doing an internship with a couture fashion label which he’s really excited about. Can’t believe that in September he’ll be back at uni for his final year.

A couture fashion label-be still my heart! How did he get that?

@Duchessofmuchness DS must be very talented.

I always love reading what great things posters children are doing on here.
We are going to be visiting York and Leeds for illustration courses soon. I still wish DD would think about a foundation but she is determined she doesn’t want to.

I’m not entirely sure! A term’s internship in second year is part of the course he is on. (Although if they can’t get one they do some additional courses at uni). I think LCF have good links to various fashion houses and designers. Uni help them prepare portfolio and then I think students target brands they are interested in and the brands also advertise at the uni. Perhaps advertise more broadly too. It was a competitive process - application and portfolio, phone interview and then a full day in the studio cutting and making and more interviews. His flat mate has also got an amazing internship so I think the uni really do help prepare them well.

Gosh, that’s impressive @Duchessofmuchness from your son but also from the college. I’ve a friend of a friends daughter who is doing a fashion course elsewhere and she’s had very little help from the uni in getting her work experience.

@Duchessofmuchness that sounds amazing! He will have a blast I am sure. Well done to your DS.

Hello everyone! Amazing news about offers and placements and jobs! Good luck to those still waiting to hear, and to DC who need to make the grades on conditional offers.

DD is doing well, thank you. She's working part-time in a non-art job (which pays the rent), and volunteering part-time at her old school as an art technician. This is now an art-degree-required job at most but not all schools... It's great work experience, will generate a nice reference for her, and she has access to all the facilities in the art department. So far, she has had two interviews but they didn't result in offers, so fingers crossed for her current batch of applications.

She's also learning to drive, which will vastly expand job possibilities, and has her test in a couple of months. I'm happy that she remains positive about everything; it is a tough job market out there.

I've been lurking on this thread for about three years and have found the information really useful. Thank you!

DD did 3D Art and Design A-level and then stayed at her sixth form college to do Art Foundation. The extra year has been great for working out what she wants to do and where and getting more stuff to put in a portfolio. She now has offers for modelmaking from AUB Bournemouth, model design and special effects from University of Hertfordshire, design for theatre and screen at UCA Farnham and theatre and performance design at UAL Wimbledon. Does anyone know any good or bad things about any of those? Four offers, not depending on A-levels, has made the decision harder!

DD applied for costume design and interpretation/making to Wimbledon, AUB, Nottingham Trent, Salford and Edinburgh. She hasn't heard from Edinburgh yet, but her top two were Bournemouth and Wimbledon. Having looked around both, she felt that the course at Wimbledon felt a lot more serious and so that's where she has chosen, although she wants to wait another week or so to see if she hears back from Edinburgh.

I don't know about the model making/design courses at either of them, though.

Thanks @UnimaginableWindBird. DD should definitely do the offer holder day at Wimbledon then and see what she thinks of it.

I think she should - it wasn't what we were expecting from UAL at all. The college is really small, far smaller than DD's secondary school or sixth form college, and the general vibe seemed to be that it was full of people who were really geeky about their work in a good way.

I went to Wimbledon, it's a great place and that course in particular is well recognised. Only thing to think about is uni experience - I thought I was 'going to London' (from a rural girl) - which isn't strictly true, it's very suburban.

My daughter has been offered a place on the Edinburgh 4 year art degree course which she is keen to do.

She has also been offered a place on the foundation year course at Morley College and Working Mens College in London
She would like to do the foundation year in London, mainly because it will be free, and join the degree course in Edinburgh from Year 2 onwards.

I think this is possible and will contact the Uni in due course but just wondering if anyone here could confirm that this is doable?
Thanks

Thanks @girlwhowearsglasses! That's really helpful as we are rural and she was initially adamant she didn't want "London" but her Foundation tutor encouraged her to include Wimbledon.

Hi @CowCowSheep my dd also has an offer for Edinburgh for Fine Art. They don’t like deferrals (but they do accept direct entry to second year). It is competitive though as they only have limited amount of studio space, so maybe just a handful of spaces coming up each year due to current students leaving or transferring out. It’s a risk that she doesn’t get in, but she may be amazing and feel confident. Dd has another offer for direct entry to second year at Dundee on the basis of her work now (straight from school) but I encouraged her to go for first year at Edinburgh. It’s more prestigious and loads of art students want it! Maybe we’ll see you on offer holders day next month.

Ah well maybe this is the right place then. Not that you can't get to all the cultural stuff easily from there. Good luck to her. My friend's sdaughter might be on same course ;-)

@RosamundGarth well done to your DD on her model making offers. AUB and Herts are probably the two most respected courses, but they all have their strengths. Have you looked at the New Blades showcase? Discover 3D Design at New Blades 2025 - D&T Association
AUB tend not to funnel students down one particular route, Herts have streamlined from three pathways to two and Wimbledon is good for large scale models. Does your DD have a preference for miniature or large scale? Does she lean towards film, television, theatre etc? Which would give her the best chance to collaborate and make the things she likes?

thanks @FriendlyLaundryMonster
Yes, we are coming to the offers day on 22nd and hopefully can discuss at that.

She wouldn't opt out of first year unless she was 100% guaranteed entry at second year even though for us in England each year will cost probably close to £20k when fees, accomodation, travel, food etc are taken into account. Scary! .

@CowCowSheep i feel your financial pain! We have a ds in London so expensive for us to do it the other way too.

fancy swapping children and providing free accomodation 😀?

That would have been perfect if ds was just at the beginning of his course 😂