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Study at Arts University Bournemouth

Poole

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Wallisdown campus of Arts University Bournemouth, showing the library and Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP) building — Photo: proficient-moose, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Location: Poole
Founded: 1880 (full university status 2012)
Students: about 3,700 (2024/25)
Type: Public university
Main intakes: September; postgraduate courses also start in January
Study levels: Foundation, Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Research

Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) is a small specialist public university in Poole, Dorset, devoted entirely to art, design, media and performance. It began in 1880 as the Bournemouth Government School of Art and gained full university status in 2012. It now teaches about 3,700 students on one compact campus, giving it a close-knit, studio-based character where students from different creative disciplines mix. Its best-known division is the Bournemouth Film School, founded in 1963 and a full member of CILECT, alongside strengths in animation, costume, photography, architecture and visual communication. The campus holds specialist workshops, studios, cinemas and the Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP). It has recorded Silver and Gold outcomes in national teaching assessments.

Location and student life

AUB is a single-site university at Wallisdown in Poole, on the border with Bournemouth and about two miles from Bournemouth town centre. Everything sits on one compact campus of around five hectares, so studios, workshops, the library and the Students' Union are all within easy reach. Subsidised bus routes serve the campus, the railway station is a short taxi ride away with trains to London in about two hours, and Bournemouth airport is nearby. Students live in a lively coastal area known for its beaches, with halls on campus and in Lansdowne.

Courses and subjects

Courses centre on the creative disciplines: art, design, media and performance. Undergraduate degrees include acting, acting for screen, animation production, architecture, commercial photography, communication design and strategy, content creation with marketing, and costume and costume for film, many taught within or alongside the Bournemouth Film School. The university also offers a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design as a route into degree study, plus postgraduate taught degrees and research degrees (PhD/MPhil). Teaching is practice-based in specialist studios and workshops, and architecture carries RIBA/ARB recognition.

Entry requirements for international students

Entry requirements vary by course and country, so applicants should check the relevant course page and their country page on the AUB website. As a guide, undergraduate courses typically ask for IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each band, and postgraduate courses IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each band. Research degrees ask for more. AUB runs pre-sessional English courses for offer holders who narrowly miss the requirement, and the one-year Foundation Diploma offers a route into degree study for those who need it.

Accommodation

AUB guarantees accommodation for all students in their first year of study. Halls of residence stand on the Wallisdown campus and in the Lansdowne area of Bournemouth, including Home Park halls, with options from en-suite rooms in shared cluster flats to self-contained studios. Rooms are allocated as bookings arrive, so early application is advised. Private renting in Bournemouth and Poole is the usual option after the first year.

Scholarships and funding

International students can apply for AUB awards: up to £5,000 for the first year of an undergraduate degree and up to £3,000 for a postgraduate degree, plus a £2,000 Creative Start award for the Foundation Diploma. An early fee-payment waiver may also be available. Awards are limited, offered first come, first served for on-campus courses, and cannot always be combined. Amounts and criteria change each year, so check the international scholarships pages before applying.