Students voted Arts University Plymouth the top arts university in the UK for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2022! We’re rated above the national average in every main category of the NSS 2022, with an overall level of satisfaction of 81%.

StudentCrowd have ranked Plymouth as one of the cheapest cities in their league table of the 2022 Cheapest UK Cities for Student Accommodation. Plus, on average, rent in Plymouth is 63% cheaper, groceries are 14% cheaper and restaurants are 19% cheaper than in London! Thanks to these lower accommodation and living costs your life in the city will be more affordable than most other major cities in the UK.

As well as being a very affordable city to live in, Comparethemarket ranked Plymouth as the UK’s Top City For Nightlife For Young Adults, with a massive 27 venues per 10,000 young adults, easily beating Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and London. Plymouth is also ranked 15th Best Student Cities UK 2022 by StudentCrowd.

Plymouth is regularly ranked among the top 20 safest cities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In 2022 Plymouth retained its Purple Flag (first awarded in 2020), rating Plymouth as one of the safest cities in the UK to enjoy a night out in a pub or club. One study ranked Plymouth as the safest major city in England and Wales and another cited the city as one of the four safest cities in the UK for international students.

We’re an award-winning university. Some of our accolades include: Best Small or Specialist University at the 2022 Whatuni Student Choice Awards, Best Campaign Supporting Student Wellbeing at the Think Student Awards in 2021 for our Students’ Union and we were shortlisted for the CSR/Sustainability Transformation Award at the 2022 International Think Global Awards, due to our active embrace of sustainable practices.

As a result of winning at the Whatuni Student Choice Awards, we were given £10,000 for student bursaries and have been able to support a select number of our students with their studies and life outside of uni. This has already greatly helped third year BA (Hons) Interior Design and Styling student Molly Kate in her final year.

Our BA (Hons) Interior Design & Styling and BA (Hons) Fashion Communication degrees have some of the highest employability statistics in the UK, with 100% of graduates going straight into work or further study in 2020. Our Interior Design & Styling course has also recently been voted No 6 in the UK on where to study Interiors, while 90% of BA (Hons) Graphic Communication graduates and 93% of all Masters graduates went onto work in highly skilled job roles in 2020.

Students have access to a range of online and on-site services through Student Support that together cover everything from bereavement to academic skills to LGBTQ+ support. We pride ourselves on offering an experienced and responsive counselling service, including integrative holistic therapy.

Our 13,000 square metres of studios and workshops are filled with professional workspaces and state-of-the-art facilities. Our workspaces are open-access laboratory style resources, where students are actively encouraged to learn skills from across all creative disciplines. Enabling flexibility in learning, collaboration between courses and development of durable employable skills.

There’s something special about the way that music, art and film blend in Plymouth. We are actively involved in an intergenerational placemaking project that is transforming the city into the regional capital of visual arts – reflected in investment from Arts Council England. With a beautiful waterfront and harbour, and plenty of stunning surrounding countryside, our thriving city offers a wealth of creative inspiration alongside vibrant culture and world-class events to over 35,000 students.