UAL- Are you paying for the links in industry or the quality of education?

I'm planning to go to UAL for graphic design in LCC or CSM. My other options are AUB and Loughborough. I've seen lots of comments about UAL, how you don't get much support from tutors and it's not really worth the money in London. They also have a lower TEF award (they're silver, whereas others are rated Gold). I'd love to live in London and I just need honest reviews on whether it's worth spending all money in London.

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

Original post by Anonymous

one of the main things about ual is the connections. So you’re more likely to be able to get a better graduate job

University of the Arts London

London

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Reply 2

University of the Arts London Student Reps

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

Hey,

I'm a current student at CSM and have always found my tutors to be helpful and supportive. It is in the nature of an art school to have less contact hours (teaching and lectures) as appose to more academic degrees/universities. At UAL you have access to studios, workshops, technicians, loan stores, libraries etc. and as one of the other comments mentions access to a great network of creatives. This is very useful when it comes to getting work experience/internships and job opportunities after graduation.

This being said there is a great academic support team which you can book tutorials with and opportunities to sign up for extra curricular talks and lectures. I have found the quality of teaching to be good with lots of interesting guest lecturers. It varies from course to course but on my particular course we have class meetings every fortnight and one-to-one tutorials every term with our tutors from each unit.

Which particular courses are you interested in? I have friends on the CSM Graphic Communication course who all really enjoy it and find the work stimulating.

It is true that London is more expensive than other towns/cities for university but I personally have found the extra expense worth it for the plethora of opportunity the city provides (pre pandemic!!). For me personally access to galleries and creative events are super important to enrich my university experience. I work a part time job alongside my studies and tutors are always understanding that some people have to do this,

Please let me know if you have any further questions regarding living in London or UAL in general.

Kindest,

Tegan :smile:

UAL Student Rep

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

Thank you so much for the reply! Could I please know about your friends specific experiences with Graphic Communication Design? I have a few more questions.

1. Is it true we get £1000 bursary a year from UAL
2. Do we need to buy laptops or can we rent this for free?

Thanks!

Reply 4

University of the Arts London Student Reps

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

Hii,

1. Ual does offer £1,000 bursary to all eligible students with Home fee status studying on undergraduate courses. You can find more information about it here.
2. All Ual Libraries have laptops you can borrow which are free of charge, as well as PCs available within the library for students to use. You can also rent laptops for a couple of days from the Loan Store.

Hope this helps.

Best,
Ananya :smile:

Ual Student Rep

Reply 5