Arts University Plymouth

Arts University Plymouth is a new kind of Arts University for the 21st century, preparing graduates who are uniquely placed to provide creative solutions to the complex global challenges of our times. Founded in 1856 as Plymouth Drawing School, Arts University Plymouth offers a range of Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Pre-Degree study, delivering art, design, craft and digital media programmes to a dynamic community of around 1,500 UK and international students. We are proud to be the Arts University in Plymouth, Britain’s Ocean City. Our city-centre campus is home to our industry-standard studios, workspaces and laboratories across six buildings; our public gallery MIRROR; Fab Lab Plymouth; our creative business incubation programme Workroom; and Plymouth Arts Cinema. Making Futures is the University’s flagship international research platform and journal. A world-class ecosystem of creative resources and talented people, Arts University Plymouth was voted by students as the top arts university in the UK for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2022 and excelled again in the NSS 2023. The University was voted by students as best Small or Specialist Institution at the annual Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2022, voted second-place in the same category in 2023, and was Winner of the University of the Year award for South West England in 2024. Arts University Plymouth was awarded a TEF Silver rating by the Office for Students in 2023 (an academic quality mark that lasts four years), was ranked as a Top 10 university for Arts, Drama & Music League Table 2024 in the Complete University Guide, and as the sixth top university in the UK for studying Interior Design in the Guardian University Guide 2024. In 2023 Arts University Plymouth’s Pre-Degree provision was rated Ofsted ‘Good’. Arts University Plymouth offers a first-class creative education for the designers and makers of tomorrow.