BA(Hons) Fine Art

Which university is better for BA(Hons) Fine Art, AUB(Arts University Bournemouth or UCA(University for the Creative Arts) Farnham campus?

Hey there!

If you're stuck between two Universities, there's a few key things you should look for in order to work out which Uni is best for you.

- Firstly, try to see both Universities at an Open Day. Obviously, because of Covid-19 this is much harder to do and you might not get to do it in person at the moment. Some Uni's (like PCA) have virtual tours or 360 degree videos of the campus facilities on their website, or may be running online virtual tour video calls. It's really important to have a look at the space and facilities of each university as you might be spending three years there!
- Have a look at the local area of the Uni, as the town or city is also important to your studies. What sort of location would you prefer to live in - a student city, or a smaller town? It may also be worth seeing whether the Uni's are campus (accommodation on site) or whether you'd have to live in halls and commute into University each day, as you may need to factor in travel costs (like a bus pass) into your finances. Sometimes the Uni might be fairly fair out from the town centre, so this is also a good thing to check out if you think you might need to spend a lot of time in the centre for shopping, part-time work, or nights-out (Covid-19 dependant!).
- Student Unions are often selling points for students deciding where to go, so I'd advise taking a look at the SU's of both Universities and see which you prefer. Perhaps one SU might have a society that you're really interested in that the other Uni might not have.
- Looking at the Fine Art course specifically, it is difficult to tell which course is better. League tables aren't always accurate or reflective of the experience you will have with that course because this is subjective. A good way to assess which is a better course is to perhaps take a look at the facilities each Uni has for Fine Art, what Alumni they have for the course, who the lecturers are (what industry experience do they have) and what the student satisfaction rate for that course is. Sometimes there will be social media pages for courses, which can be good to check out. For example, our Fine Art students at PCA have their own Instagram accounts (@pca_fineart). This can be a great way to get a feel for what work students produce and what sorts of events/opportunities the students have. On that note, it is also worth following the actual AUB and UCA social media channels as this is a good way of seeing what student life might be like at each Uni.

I hope this helps and good luck with choosing!
Lauren
Third Year Animation Student and Student Ambassador

Thank you for your advice.