UWE Bristol

Mission Statement

Our core purpose:

Advancing knowledge, inspiring people, transforming futures.

International Role

The School of Arts at UWE Bristol is part of one of the most exciting creative cities in the UK.

Our bespoke creative ‘city campus’ in the heart of Bristol, is home to state of the art facilities, and wide ranging creative and cultural courses, our curricular is designed to provide many collaborative opportunities and interdisciplinary learning. 

We have partnerships locally in the city of Bristol (Aardman Animation, BBC), nationally (Tate Modern, V&A Museum) and across the globe with institutions in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa. Not only do we welcome international students onto our programmes (from foundation to PhDs), we also support our staff and students in ERASMUS+ and global exchanges.

We have recently established MOUs with a number of members from CUMULUS, and continue to build on other relationships with institutions across Europe, as well as Hong Kong and Japan.

National Role

Our learning and teaching is underpinned by extensive partnerships with organisations such as the BBC and Aardman Animations, Arnolfini and Spike Island Galleries in Bristol, Arts Council England, English Heritage, and many local schools.

Main Focus

The School of Arts has a large portfolio of HE programmes and firmly established partnerships with key Creative Arts organisations in the city of Bristol (International Contemporary Arts Centres, BBC and Channel 4).

The portfolio comprise of art, design, media and humanities disciplines from foundation level studies to BA, Master and PhD.

The School sits within the College of Arts, Technology and Environment – this comprises of Schools in Engineering, Architecture and Environment and Computing and Creative Technologies.  The School of Arts has extensive knowledge and expertise in critical thinking and the craft skills of art, design and media practice and processes of making across analogue and digital platforms.

We place an emphasis on fostering talent, encouraging interdisciplinary co-learning, partnering with the creative industries and heritage, and developing research-led curricula. Students are equipped with the subject specific and transferable skills needed to prepare them for employment as global citizens .

Our programmes and courses put students and their learning first. We believe that students learn more, and best, when working together with each other and academic colleagues. The University has established a reputation of excellence in teaching and research over many years in a range of disciplines. Our focus is on providing an excellent student experience, preparing our students for graduate futures in the creative and cultural sector, research and practice-led teaching, and research with impact.