Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Fine Art

at Anglia Ruskin University - Cambridge Campus United Kingdom

On our BA (Hons) Acting degree at ARU you will get involved in extensive live work on stage in both the studio and theatre. You’ll develop techniques for acting on screen and also for live environments. You will also gain experience with new technologies and alternative platforms for acting, enabling you to be a dynamic and responsive actor prepared for a career in the ever-evolving creative industries. This may include the use of green screens, immersive live and virtual environments, live streams to remote audiences and acting for online applications.

You’ll focus on the progression in your own skills and abilities, growing into a confident and versatile performer. In the first year we’ll focus on performances for an in-house audience, initial training in voice and movement skills and an introduction to acting for screen. In the second year you’ll work on large-scale ensemble public productions and experimentation with new technologies for performance. In the final year, Immersive Performance and a final Showcase will allow you to demonstrate your high-level skills in acting.

Your degree will see you choosing from a range of career-focused optional modules, completing a 100% practical Major Project, and graduating with a professionally produced showreel and portfolio.

As a BA (Hons) Acting student at ARU, you’ll develop your technical and production skills in our specialist facilities. Our technical staff will be on hand to offer help and support.

You can also choose to study abroad for a semester, with funding available to help cover the cost. You can also take an optional placement year.

You’ll be able to collaborate with other Cambridge School of Creative Industries students such as our film students who need actors for their films, or alongside Computer Games students in the use of motion capture for creating CGI. This will mirror the professional experience of a working actor and develop your skills and experience in collaboration, team work, communication and problem-solving, ready for your future career.

Learn to create images that tell compelling stories, whether your dream is to be a fashion or fine art photographer or a photojournalist.

As a photography student at ARU you’ll explore many areas of photographic practice including digital and analogue image-making, experimental crossovers, multimedia, self-publishing and exhibition.

Take full advantage of our specialist darkrooms, photographic studios, and digital post-production and printing suite. You can also borrow specialist camera equipment through our dedicated loan service.

All your work will be supported by academic staff working at the forefront of photographic research and innovation and have years of professional experience. You will be taught through individual tutorial and studio sessions, as well as in group lectures and workshops, with regular career development events throughout your study. Recent guest speakers have included Tom Hunter, Jane Hilton, Tim Flach, Hannah Starkey, Carole Evans, Alastair Levy, Mike Crawford and Lillian Wilkie.

Through continuous experimentation, you’ll be encouraged to refine your photographic style and voice.

Critical and contextual studies will connect your own research and writing to your practice and will guide you to specialist resources in our campus library. Explore hundreds of photographers’ monographs and access technical and contextual texts, as well as other online resources, to underpin and expand your practice.

You can expand your skillset, with additional technical workshops including printmaking, 3D work and writing workshops. You can choose to take part in photography field trips too, and experience photographing different locations such as Venice and Prague.

While studying BA (Hons) Photography with us, you’ll learn to adopt a professional approach to your work, covering aspects of career management such as rights issues, project management and self-promotion through social media. You can choose to take up work placements that will help you establish your own professional network, including opportunities such as working for magazines, galleries and photographers. You can also take an optional placement year.

Develop your individual practice, explore and experiment with new processes and media, and engage with contemporary practice and theory by studying for our BA (Hons) Fine Art degree at Cambridge School of Art.

At ARU, studying Fine Art allows you to experiment with your creativity, explore materials and processes, and discover which media best communicate your ideas.

We encourage creative risk-taking, and you’ll have to the chance to explore many new practices and artistic platforms, including photography, printmaking, performance art, film and video, digital media, installation and site-specific approaches. Take a look at some of our students' work.

Our tutors, who are all professional artists, and expert technicians will be on hand to support you. It’s one of the reasons our course is ranked 7th in the UK for 'Satisfaction with Teaching' (The Guardian University Guide 2020).

Here at Cambridge School of Art you’ll be hands-on in your own studio space from the very start of your course. Our studios are based around our digital and traditional exhibition space, the Ruskin Gallery, and you’ll work closely with fine artists in other years and with students from across our creative community. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll get time, guidance and support from our team of practicing artists, dedicated to your creative development. We’ll support you to experiment with materials and across a range of different media, processes and techniques as you develop confidence and build a substantial portfolio of work.

We learn outside the studio too, with visits to local exhibitions, galleries in London and international trips to centres of contemporary art such as Berlin, Madrid, Amsterdam and the Venice Bienniale.

Throughout the course there are opportunities to collaborate and exhibit your work and it’s a great way to develop professional skills in curating, event management, marketing and promotion.

Our students have recently held exhibitions at Cambridge ArtSpace and created site-specific installations at the Institute of Astronomy, the Botanic Gardens and the Museum of Technology. You’ll also showcase your work in our graduating degree show and, as a (Hons) Fine Art student, you’ll also be considered for our annual Supanee Gazeley Prize, a £3,000 award for the best Degree Show exhibition.

All our students are invited to attend the lecture series run by our Fine Art Research Unit, exposing you to contemporary debates in fine art practice. You’ll also study the history and theory of fine art, giving you a solid grounding for careers in the creative and cultural sector, such as curation, arts administration, or arts publishing and journalism – as well as teaching and education.

With an eye on your future career, you’ll receive ongoing support to find placements and work experience and you can also take an optional placement year.

Learn both film theory and film-making practice by studying a full-time BA (Hons) Film degree at ARU.

As a student at ARU, you’ll discover the history of global cinema from the avant-garde to Hollywood blockbusters. As well as learning the fundamental theories of film and how it reflects and affects society, you’ll explore the language of film from the perspective of a filmmaker and start to think critically about your creative work.

This will be key in the practical side of the course: making your own explorative short films in video, animation or 16mm format. You’ll be trained in all aspects of the craft, including camera operation, sound recording and editing.

As the course progresses, our optional modules allow you to further explore your interests or specialise for a particular career, with subjects such as screenwriting and film journalism.

Throughout your BA (Hons) Film degree, you’ll be supported by our team of expert lecturers and a close-knit community of students and graduates who stay in touch through our dedicated Facebook page.

On this course you’ll study the practical and theoretical aspects of modern politics and international relations, and thereby gain insights into our past, present and future on both a local and global scale. You’ll examine relevant political debates from a historical, philosophical and sociological perspective. In doing so, we‘ll go beyond the ‘high politics’ of traditional theories and the workings of parliaments. Instead, you’ll be able to develop your own specialisms in areas such as global diplomacy, international relations, and international issues like climate change; protest movements like Black Lives Matter; the devolution of power away from central government; the politics of the new media; the politics of gender, and the place of race in modern society.

Our specialist modules such as Race, Racism and Cultural Identity, Wrestling with Trump: the WWE and Modern Political Culture, and Politics and Social Media will allow you to engage with contemporary issues, developing a deeper understanding of modern politics.

As a BA (Hons) Politics student at ARU, you’ll learn from expert tutors including historians, sociologists, criminologists and political scientists.

Together, we’ll explore the latest theories, debates and research; examine domestic, European and international themes in politics, and consider the practical implications of political decision-making and policies.

All our Politics students have the opportunity to study in the USA or Canada for a semester, and can apply for funding to help cover the cost. You could also take an optional placement year.

Once you’ve graduated, you might start a career in analysis, journalism or local or international politics, or you could continue to develop your skills with one of our full-time and part-time Masters degrees including our MA International Relations.

Discover how international relations theory affects real-world events, and develop crucial skills like decision making and debating. With prestigious guest lecturers and visits to think tanks such as Chatham House, you’ll gain all the experience you need for a role in global politics.

• Join a course that scored 100% for overall satisfaction in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2019
• Attend prestigious guest lecturers and visits to think tanks such as Chatham House
• Focus on your own areas of interest with optional modules including global risk society, war reporting, and terrorism
• Develop your decision making, planning and debating with interactive sessions, specific scenarios and briefs

This course will give you an understanding of how international relations theory is applied to real-world policy and strategy, and the practical problems involved in this.

You’ll examine the theory and definition of the ‘state’ and relations between different states, and the roles of other institutions and organisations, like multinational companies and transnational crime organisations. All your studies will contain a strong vocational element, with a focus on how theory affects, and is affected, by real events on the ground.

As well as this foundation in general international relations theory and practice, you’ll also have the chance to focus on your own areas of interest. Our optional modules will let you choose from subjects like the global risk society, policing and security, corruption and cross-border crime, war reporting, and terrorism.

To develop your decision-making, planning and debating skills, you’ll take part in interactive sessions, respond to specific scenarios and briefs, and undertake critical analysis. You’ll also receive advanced instruction in research methods, a vital skill both for your studies and your future career.

With a supporting team of lecturers who have academic and professional backgrounds in international relations, you can be sure you’re receiving the latest theory and careers advice.

Become a resourceful producer of electronic music. Study in Cambridge, explore the latest techniques, and gain experience in a range of electronic music production equipment.

As student at ARU, you'll create a diverse portfolio of work that will prepare you for the modern collaborative creative industries, whether you want to produce and release your own or others’ music, perform as a DJ, or create soundtracks for films and games.

Our BA (Hons) Electronic Music Production degree will help you produce your music projects to a professional standard, no matter your current level of experience. You might be a ‘bedroom producer’ needing to broaden your understanding of production technologies or how to market your work, or an established producer hoping to brush up on particular techniques, such as finalising projects.

You’ll develop your skills in DAW-based production and studio recording to an advanced level, exploring a diverse range of materials such as field recordings, music apps, synthesisers, and vocal recordings that you can use to enhance your creative projects.

Caring for acutely ill adults is a demanding and important role, and we’ll help you develop the skills and expertise to practise effectively and compassionately. You’ll learn how to provide specialist clinical care while at the same time transforming your existing qualification/s into a BSc (Hons) degree.

Choose to study in Cambridge, Chelmsford or Peterborough, alongside other students with a particular interest in this area. It’s a great opportunity to learn from each other. Together, you’ll explore and apply the current policies, laws and procedures that affect the care of acutely ill adults. You’ll deepen your leadership skills, improve your decision-making, and increase your ability to support and develop others in their work. You’ll also develop your ability to work closely with professionals from other disciplines.

When it comes to work placements, you’ll need to be already employed in a suitable acute-care environment. Your manager should agree to offer supervision and mentorship so that your practice can be fully assessed.

Our modules are listed below in the "modules and assessment" section and you will also find more information and upcoming dates on our CPD pages.

Biological Sciences with Sustainability is a multidisciplinary degree, where you will study aspects of all life on earth and develop solutions to ensure a sustainable future.

Life on earth is fascinating, astonishing, diverse and beautiful, and the course aims to provide you with a detailed knowledge of all living organisms, how they work and how they function together with the environment they live in.

However, all life is currently under threat, with man-made (anthropogenic) change affecting the earth and all its systems. Biological sciences offer us a number of tools which can be used to alleviate these effects, and preserve our natural environment, both for the benefit of plants and animals, and for current and future generations. This course will thus give you a solid grounding in aspects of sustainable development, centred on the biological sciences.

Our course gives you a range of opportunities to develop the attitudes, abilities and competencies needed to work in biological sciences and in sustainable development.

The course also encourages you to develop your creativity and propose solutions to the ‘grand challenges’ or ‘wicked problems’ we face, as a result of changes man has brought about. You’ll develop a wide range of practical skills, both in the laboratory and in the field, as well as gaining the ability to analyse complex data to understand what it means. Data analysis is a critical factor in being able to make decisions to plan for a sustainable future.

Employers from the biological sciences and sustainability sector have been directly involved in the design and development of our BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences with Sustainability course. By collaborating with sector partners, we can explore the skill sets that employers are most interested in and ensure they are embedded within the delivery of the course.

Develop your writing in a supportive and creative environment, with tips from our team of professional writers on how to improve your technique and get published.

Join a course taken by many successful published authors and take your creative writing to a professional level.

Our Masters course in Creative Writing will give you the opportunity to improve your writing by practising and sharing it with a close group of fellow writers, including specialist lecturers who are published authors.

You’ll study the most acclaimed writers of the past 200 years and discover the techniques they used to make their work stand out. We’ll give you opportunities to practise your technique in areas such as characterisation, structure and pacing, and experiment with different forms of writing.