Which univeristy for a BA?

C

Caz

New Member
I'm just finishing my ND in Graphic design and have had 5 successfull interviews at my uni choices, which are De Montfort (Banbury Campus), Hertfordshire, Lincoln, Swansea Met and Newport. My favourite ones are Lincoln and Newport but am terribly stuck. I love the feel of Lincoln and get a great vibe from it, and the course sounds good too, but ive heard that alot of people drop out and also that its not a very good course. Does anybody know anything about the Graphic design courses at Lincoln and Newport? An off put on newport is that the area is said to be not very nice and a bit rough. Any advice would ge greatly appreciated!

Caz
 
I graduated from Swansea Met two years ago and its a fantastic place! Swansea is a beautiful city with amazing night life and course is structured perfectly to getting a job in the outside world. Pretty much as soon as I graduated Swansea took me to an exhibition in London where I got a job and have been ever since. Thoroughly recommend it.
 
Thanks for your quick reply :icon_smile:

I liked the look of the course at Swansea and the surrounding area seemed OK but what put me off was the accommodation - went to halls of residence and the rooms seemed a bit grotty with a shower sat in the corner of the room - and there was no en-suite toilet which I didn't like the idea of, being a girl lol!

Did you live in Halls and are they all like that? (the ones I saw were located at the top of a very big hill - can't remember the name but might have been Town Hill).
 
Yeah the main halls are in Townhill, but there are some nicer ones at the Mount Pleasant campus, which is closer to the arts building. I lived in a house not halls, but I did have some friends there and I remember the rooms weren't exactly 5 star haha. I still contact the tutors every now and again there and its the course and Swansea in general that I love. Beautiful beaches, awesome night life and good facilities. Wherever you go I'm sure you'll have an amazing time though.

And check out this reply for being even quicker. I REEEEALLY should do some work now
 
I went to Lincoln uni, graduated last year in Graphic Design. Lincoln is a great place, loved every minute of it there. Like you, when I went for my interview I got such a great vibe of the place and couldn't wait to join.

Lincoln is a small city, but it's great, got everything you need. It's still a developing university but growing to be a great one. You must of had your interview at Thomas Parker House? With a guy called Barrie or Philippa or John Stocker? They're all great tutors there, helpful and fun.

The third year was the best, all the project briefs were competition briefs like D&AD, YCN, Creative Roses and ISTD. I'm not a confident person and I was awarded a Merit award from ISTD (international society of typographic designers) tutors were a great help, supporting all the way through.

But yeah Lincoln is a great place, no regrets going there. I met my best friends ever there and my confidence grew and grew. ooh and you graduate in the cathedral....now that was an amazing experience, so nice.

Good luck with the choice, I say go with your gut feeling, after all it'll be your home for the next 3 years.

Hope I could help.

Any other questions dont hesitate to contact me.

:icon_biggrin::icon_thumbup:

all the best Heidi.
 
Thanks that was a great help! :icon_biggrin:
:icon_biggrin:
Yeah i had my interview at Thomas Parker House with Phillipa and have met a few of the other tutors and they all seem nice, the whole place just seems lovely!
Do you know if it easy to get access to the screen printing? As i spoke to a third year student and they said its possible through booking? And are the tutors around alot to speak to if we need any help?

Caz
 
Yeah Phillipa is a nice tutor, helpful. Lincoln really is a great place, great student life too. Got a huge student union that they opened recently, which you may have saw...The Engine Shed. Absolutely massive inside, they get lots of cool bands play there now. I saw the Zutons play and Dirty Pretty Things, been plenty more good ones play there too. :icon_biggrin: :icon_cheers:

But yeah the course....I never used the screen printing facility myself but I heard of people using it a lot in my year and I believe yeah that you'd have to book it. As far as the tutors go...it's like any place of education they're around but you just have to hunt them down!! It was frustrating at times but they said that if you want to see them then you have to make sure you approach them as they're not mind readers. In the studo on your day there was a list you could sign up for and they'd do their best to come see you.

They always answered my emails though and often from my email they said that they would see me first off. So you just have to use your initiative, if you want them then you make them see you! Approach them at the beginning of the studio session and ask to be seen first.

All the tutors are very approachable and very friendly. Wish I was still in Lincoln at uni, loved every moment of it.

Again any more info needed then ask away, happy to help! :icon_smile:

Heidi
 
I graduated from Newport last year and I would def NOT recommend it from a Graphic Design perspective.

The 3 teachers are very stuck in there ways, and all three have next to no clues about anything to do with computers.

We did not have a technician for the whole of our 2nd year which made matters even worse because when anything broke down, it could not be repaired. In the end me and 2 friend managed to get the old technicians administrator password and we managed to fix a lot of the machines.

The only good teacher of the 3 was called Rob and he taught me a lot about typography but sadly he retired last year.

I think the worst thing for me was when I found out that the head of the course had never worked in design and had actually been promoted from running a foundation art course!!!

However on the plus side, should you decide to go to Newport. It's hall of accommodation are amazing! I would advise that you do not go for the "on-suite" rooms, and instead go for the cheapest rooms available as they are 3 times the size of everything else an amazingly cheap. Getting Broadband in your room is also amazingly cheap and its super fast!!

I would say that Newport is ok to go for if you are one of those people who is very dedicated and passionate about what you do, as Newport really is an example of "you get out what you put in" because the teachers will not be much help if there is a problem.:icon_Wall:
 
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