Widening access to AUB

All those with the potential to benefit from higher education, no matter their background, deserve the opportunity to do so. At Arts University Bournemouth, we’re committed to making that happen.

We value our strong relationships with schools, colleges, and the community in delivering activity to widen access to opportunities in creative education and employment.

All Access AUB

At AUB we believe that every individual should be able to access creative activities and explore new opportunities, no matter their...

Being a Boy

Pre-16 flagship programme exploring the themes of masculinity and identity...

A group of students, two standing, two seated on benches, talking in a courtyard outside a university building.

Support for students who are care-experienced, estranged, and young adult carers

Here at AUB, we offer support for care-experienced and estranged students, as well as young adult carers. For students in this position...

A student is working at a desk holding a page of a magazine in the middle of making a collage.

Contextual offers

As part of the application process, we receive information through UCAS for our undergraduate courses, which include contextual...

A person in the middle of colouring a drawing of a series of people lined up in different outfits.

Saturday Art School Funded Places

We're committed to equal access to creative education and offer a limited number of funded places on our Saturday Art School courses.

The Southern Universities Network

As an institution, Arts University Bournemouth is a member of the Southern Universities Network (SUN)

Get involved – upcoming events

Dr Alex Blower giving a talk, black background.

Book Launch – Lost Boys: How Education is Failing Young Working-Class Men

We’re excited to host a debut book launch for Dr Alex Blower, AUB Research Fellow and Founder of Boys’ Impact...

Being a Boy Celebration and Transform Premiere

Join the incredible young men from the 2025 Being a Boy workshop series and their supporters as we celebrate their creative achievements.

What we do

To meet the ambitious targets Arts University Bournemouth have set out in our Access and Participation Plan, we work closely with schools and colleges to provide an extensive programme of outreach activities with groups who are currently underrepresented in Higher Education.

This includes students living in neighbourhoods with historically low participation in Higher Education, those encountering barriers related to their socio-economic position, and those navigating a range of other challenges which have been linked with inequality of access to university.

If you'd like to discuss how the Access and Participation team can support your learners, email Kate Venables, Access and Participation Operations Manager.

We work with parents and supporters, teachers, advisors, and community partners to:

Provide educational activities and opportunities aligned with successful participation in Higher Education. Our activities are designed to enable young people to frame studying at Arts University Bournemouth as an expectation should they decide that a creative degree is right for them.
Support students’ transition from school/college to university, helping them to acclimatise to study within Higher Education, making the most of their time as a student.
Engage in activities exploring how our degrees link to careers in the creative industries once students graduate into the world of work, gaining the necessary resources to start their career as a successful creative graduate.
Provide financial assistance to eligible students for things like food, transport, and educational trips.

Explore the impact of our projects and initiatives:

All those with the potential to benefit from higher education, no matter their background, deserve the opportunity to do so. We’re committed to making that happen. Take a look the reports below and see how we're making an impact through our recent projects and initiatives.

All Access AUB

All Access AUB is our flagship post-16 access programme, specifically designed to support entry to creative Higher Education. Take a look at the report from our first cohort of students in 2022 and the following 2023 cohort to learn what impact this scheme has had on the participants and recommendations for future All Access AUB activity.

Being a Boy

Our Being a Boy project provides space for young men to creatively engage with the role of masculinity in their day-to-day lives. Read about our key findings from the Being a Boy 2022 and Being a Boy 2023 activity and recommendations for future iterations of the project.

An AUB Access and Participation outreach ambassador standing next to a residential attendee during a workshop.

Become an Outreach Ambassador

Becoming an Outreach Ambassador for AUB means working with the Access and Participation team on events and projects which seek to make Creative Higher Education more accessible.

You'll support students who are from groups which are currently underrepresented in higher education, such as young people who have experience of being in care, are young carers, and/or are the first in their family to attend university.

As an Outreach Ambassador, you'll be a relatable role model for young people who may be facing a range of challenges stemming from their background or economic circumstances. If you feel you can be that role model, apply to be an outreach student ambassador with the Access and Participation team.

If you're interested in becoming an Outreach Ambassador, follow the link below for further details and how to apply.

Become an Outreach Ambassador