Arts University Bournemouth

The origins of Arts University Bournemouth, a specialist institution for the creative arts, lie in the Bournemouth Government School of Art, which opened in 1880. Several mergers and renamings followed, and the college was known at various points as the Arts University College at Bournemouth and the Arts Institute at Bournemouth before full university title was conferred in 2012. AUB is part of GuildHE and holds full membership of CILECT, the global association of film and television schools.

Its principal campus is at Wallisdown in Poole, on the fringe of Bournemouth, and in Bournemouth town centre it also runs film studios and the Palace Court Theatre. Of roughly 3,700 enrolled students, the vast majority are undergraduates. Teaching is split across three schools: Bournemouth Film School; Art, Design and Architecture; and Fashion and Creative Industries Management. Subjects include photography, animation, film production, acting, fine art, illustration, graphic design, architecture, fashion and modelmaking, with studio practice carrying considerable weight. Alumni include the director Edgar Wright, the photographer Wolfgang Tillmans and the screenwriter Simon Beaufoy. Beaches, forests and the Jurassic Coast are close to the campus.

Information for International Students

A dedicated International Team supports international students at AUB from the point of application until they complete their course. Bachelor's degrees call for an overall IELTS score of 6.0, with no component below 5.5, although a lower score is accepted for the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design. Applicants who fall short may take one of AUB's in-house pre-sessional English courses, which run for six to sixteen weeks according to the entry score, and English for Academic Purposes classes and tutorials continue for the whole degree. Across a broad range of BA and BSc courses, an Integrated Foundation Year (Year 0) offers an introductory route.

Most candidates send their portfolio digitally as a single online link, whereas acting applicants audition instead. AUB holds a Student sponsor licence, issues the CAS and publishes step-by-step visa guidance. Students may book a room in halls after firmly accepting an offer, and international students can attend in-person orientation sessions as the academic year begins. International scholarships apply to campus-based courses, and the Graduate Route is open to eligible graduates.