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text: Welcome to AUB
Lady in red dress stands on a chest with smoke coming out from behind her. There is a luggage trunk to her right and a pile of documents to her left.
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Nurturing creativity. Engaging communities. Collaborating with industry. Making a difference.

Group of five AUB students crouched on stage posting for the camera
Acting students

AUB's latest news

Discover what goes on within and beyond our creative campus.

Making the best possible difference in the world starts with making your best possible self. We enable this through creative learning, supported by state-of-the-art studios and equipment and engaged, passionate staff.

Student looking through a magazine at the Library
Magazines in the library

Our Research

More than 12% of AUB’s research has now been classed as ‘world-leading’ with a further 42% being classed ‘internationally excellent’, according to REF 2021.

Creative people see the world differently. We learn differently. Which is why we've remained creative specialists since 1883.

A row of trees on grassy verges in a university courtyard, with a building situated behind them.
AUB Campus

Sustainability

We recognise our responsibilities and are committed to continuous environmental, sustainable and social justice improvement in both our curriculum and day-to-day operations. Our campus has also been awarded EcoCampus Platinum – the highest level of university accreditation.

"I felt like I could be myself because everyone else was themselves."
Nebras Jamali
BA (Hons) Acting, featured in BBC's Our Girl
Student looking at an eco-dome
AUB Human eco dome
People cross a bridge set up around trees at night. A large glowing planet is visible in the centre.
Gaia Moors Valley
Crowds of people line up in front of red lanterns in a field
Green Space Dark Skies at Maiden Castle in Dorchester

AUB Human

AUB Human is a space where we celebrate social, ethical and sustainable creative practice. We're using our skills to engage and address some of the most pressing issues that are facing the human race today.

text: nurturing your creativity
behind the scenes shot from the film Coal Miners. A man in mining gear is viewed from behind, while a camera man and another person holding a clapper board stand behind him.
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We believe your university subject shouldn't confine you. Whatever level of study you choose, you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate across disciplines in industry-level projects and productions.

A woman in period costume walking across a moor. A man, also in period costume, stands in the background and watches.
Film Production
model of blue chair
Modelmaking
A model with glasses in a bright double-breasted jacket walks down a catwalk during a fashion show.
Fashion
The phrase 'It's all swings and roundabouts' repeated on several lines on a yellow background. The image is distorted in place.
Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Find your course

From those first steps at Saturday Art School right through to gaining your PhD, we've got a level of study to suit you. All our courses are designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to succeed in today's changing economy.

Two main things made me choose AUB for my MA. The first and most obvious, it’s an art school; the artistic atmosphere and learning environment are the best. Secondly, the location; the university is near the beach, so Bournemouth is a comfortable place to live.
Joy Chen
MA Graphic Design
Four students sitting and talking, a woman in the group is looking to the camera and smiling

Our student ambassadors are here to answer any questions you might have on university life, our courses and all things AUB.

Chat on Unibuddy
A student standing at a table and pulling back paper to reveal a print.
Printmaking
A woman sitting on a stool with a plain photography backdrop in front of a man with a camera
Drawing Studio
Two men work in a studio space
CNC router
A group of students dancing in a dance studio.
Dance Studio

Facilities fit for anything

We mirror the creative industries, right down to having the proper tools for the job. We're always investing in the tech and spaces to help you thrive on your course.

Above all, AUB is a community of artists.

A group of students mingling outside a Dutch pancake van on a university pancake.
Welcome Fest
Exterior of Arts Bar and the refectory on AUB campus.
Arts Bar
Mirror and coat hooks hung on the wall of a Madeira Road bedroom wall
Inside one of the rooms at Home Park
Campus Halls on AUB's campus with steps leading down to a road in front.
AUB's Campus Halls

Accommodation

Just as you’re all studying different courses, we know our students like different styles of places to live. We have a range of halls of residence, each offering something unique – there's a home away from home for everyone. We've also got a team of Community Champions to help you settle into university life.

Five people in RNLI lifeguard uniforms standing on a beach reading a document

Collaboration with business, research, high skills development, prototyping, entrepreneurship, Knowledge Exchange and an Innovation Studio designed by Sir Peter Cook, sit at the heart of AUB.

Innovation Studio, photographed by Richard Bryant. Five rows of square lockers. A person sits on top of the lockers working on a laptop.
Innovation Studio
Front elevation of the Innovation Studio. Two students walking up to it.
Innovation Studio
Five people stand outside a large orange building and under a balloon arch, holding a ribbon. Architect Odile Decq (Centre) opens AUB's new Innovation Studio with Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Gough, Pompidou Centre Architect Mike Davies CBE, AUB Honorary Fellow Brian Clarke, and Innovation Studio Architect Professor Sir Peter Cook
Architect Odile Decq (centre) opening AUB's new Innovation Studio

Innovation Studio

The Innovation Studio operates as a lab for creative technologies and a hub for start-ups, regional enterprises and industry engagement.

We enjoyed seeing this latest technology [Gravity Sketch] in action and being able to use the equipment first hand was a real benefit. As a business it helps us to establish whether it is a good fit for what we do and how we could potentially use this kind of tech in the future.
Paul Brocklesby
Director of Element Creative Ltd. (on attending the Introduction to Design in VR using Gravity Sketch CPD masterclass
Person wearing an RNLI wetsuit runs into the sea towards two other people.
RNLI International
Access Lift inside a boat
Access Lifts
Interior of the Syrup Room at The Avenue in Bournemouth, with two escalators leading up to short landings.
Syrup Room
Two people stand and look at a collection of lit-up transparent boxes stacked on top of one another.
Future Forest at Moors Valley

Our case studies

Check out some of our collaborative projects with external partners to get an idea of how the Innovation Studio and AUB support various industries.

Together we seek innovative solutions to the problems of tomorrow.

The Innovation Studio has given me a space to work on my designs where I can be inventive and creative. I have also had direct access to using machines to cut out my designs. I count myself very lucky to be around professional tutors and designers who are able to offer hands on advice and guidance as to the best methods and techniques to achieve my desired outcome.
Salwa Alsaka
Innovation Studio Resident
AUB Design - CNC router
CNC router
A close up of several fabrics
A mixture of fabrics within the studio
Person wearing VR headset creating art
Design in VR using Gravity Sketch

Industry-standard equipment

The Innovation Studio is part of AUB's Lab 4 Creative Technologies. Featuring state-of-the-art equipment and digital resources, plus the latest in digital and physical manufacturing technology.

text: engaging the community
BA (Hons) Make-up for Media and Performance students working on models with prosthetics for the Wake up to AUB event
  • Book an Open Day – 7 Oct | 4 Nov | 2 Dec
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AUB creates and enriches communities in our region and beyond.

A wall covered in colourful storyboards and different-coloured music stands.
Artwork at TheGallery
An assortment of exhibits on display in a gallery space, including a bicycle, a colourful plastic hat rack, a box of Lego and a fruit bowl.
Designated Design at AUB's TheGallery
Model of four large apartment blocks with car parking and several palm trees at the bottom.
The Thorp Archive
The inside of a theatre auditorium, with three columns of seats on the ground floor and a balcony with further seating above it.
Palace Court Theatre

Our door is open

We're home to some incredible resources. We boast the biggest creative specialist library outside of London; the Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP), with its unique Designated Outstanding Collection; two theatres, one on campus, the other in the heart of Bournemouth; TheGallery and multiple collections, like The Thorp Archive. In the summer months we turn into the largest gallery in the southwest, with our graduate shows.

When the Palace Court Theatre opened in 1931, it was surrounded by theatres, concert halls, cinemas, ballrooms and nightclubs. Although some of those buildings may have closed, the staff and students of Arts University Bournemouth make a significant contribution to ensure the cultural calendar of the conurbation stays vibrant.
Dr Anna Farthing
Director of Civic and Cultural Engagement, AUB
Student poses in front of a department store wearing facial prosthetics to show a fishing hook going through their cheek.
A student poses for WAKE UP TO AUB at Bobby & Co in Bournemouth

Our community

Our staff and students are passionate about supporting the community. From creating opportunities to widen access to creative education, broadening horizons with cutting-edge research or working together to make a difference with civic engagement, we've got some incredible stories to tell.

We're proud of the communities we're a part of, and rightly so. Our students, alumni, staff and the companies we partner with are all dedicated to making a difference, whether that's large or small, local or global.

An aerial photograph showing a clifftop, a promenade, a beach and the sea.
Bournemouth Beach
Students mingling outside a university building looking at market stalls
Welcome Fest
Long exposure of Durdle Door at night with a starry sky and the sea in the background.
Durdle Door

Guide to Bournemouth

We love our location, so we've curated a guide to some of the best hotspots in the area. Whether you enjoy nature or nightlife, food festivals or air festivals, there's always something to draw creative inspiration from, right on our doorstep.