Bolton School of the Arts: Letting your Creativity Flourish

Are you interested in a career as an artist, designer, animator, choreographer, or illustrator? A degree in creative arts can make this happen. If you consider yourself creative and aspire to a career you would love, this could be a great path. However, “creative” is a huge term as everything requires some form of creativity or critical thinking, so what do we mean by it? Essentially, creatives are individuals who combine their talents with their imagination to make something original through creative expression. Creativity can be expressed as visual and theoretical arts, written and musical expression and other creative pursuits. It’s an opportunity to use your creative flair to develop your reality and this is why many professionals often seek roles outside of the traditional 9-5 working day. They wish to inspire and entertain others through their work, and that’s the truly rewarding feeling you can get with a job from a degree in creative arts. 

Does this industry sound right for you? Take your first step by joining the University of Bolton School of the Arts. With over 150 years of proud history, we have art and design courses led by staff who are practicing artists, designers, makers, critics, writers, and performers, giving students the skills to graduate with an accredited degree.  

Creative Arts Graduates are in Demand  

With the events of the past couple of years caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, having job security is more important than ever. Therefore, how good would it be if you could build a career in your dream creative field with high job security levels?  

Jobs for graduates with a degree in creative arts are in demand. It has been forecasted that the creative arts industry is likely to contribute £128 billion to the UK economy by 2025, with 1 million jobs generated by 2030. Workplace creativity is defined as implementing new concepts and collaborating with others to create new improvements. It can mean developing your critical thinking skills by learning how to look at situations from different angles. Ultimately, a degree in creative arts can give you the skills to open the door to a variety of different careers, should you decide you want to go down an alternative creative route once you graduate.  

Study a Degree in Creative Arts at Bolton 

So, what creative degrees do our Bolton School of the Arts offer? 
 
- Animation and Illustration  
- Art, Design and Fine Art 
- Graphic Design  
- Performing Arts and Theatre 

For these courses, you will study in our multi-million-pound facilities, which include: 

- Dedicated suites of Apple Macs 
- Large-scale printing facilities  
- Spacious studio provision 
- Specialist workshops for printmaking, ceramics, glass, wood, metal, laser-cutting, 3D and digital ceramic printing 

Let’s talk about each of our art's subject areas in a little more detail: 

Art, Design and Fine Art  

Interested in becoming an artist or designer? The art world is huge, and there are many different approaches. Are you a fan of Banksy? Picasso? Van Gogh? Leonardo da Vinci? Each of these artists have different creative styles. At Bolton, we teach our students contemporary approaches to creative practice, which will then be underpinned by training in a wide range of practical processes. This allows them to develop their confidence and ability to encourage innovative and critical thinking that will progress throughout their time at university. They do this through a combination of studying in our Bolton School of the Arts facilities within our supportive learning environment, as well as working on live briefs. 
 
If you want to look further down this art and design route, have a look at our courses: 

- BA (Hons) Fine Art  
- BA (Hons) Fine Art with Foundation Year 

Animation and Illustration  

Perhaps, your passion lies in developing your unique voice through creating cartoon characters for animation video games or movies. In this case, pursuing a degree in animation and illustration could be a great idea. Work from our current students consists of experimental works in print and film, art, editorial illustration, character animation, visual poetry, concept art, and digital image-making. 

During their studies as an animation and Illustration student, our students create a portfolio of work you will present in public exhibitions, festivals and fairs, including the prestigious Design and Art Direction in London.  

Our aim is to support our students in graduating with the skills and knowledge to succeed in their dream career. This means helping them to recognise the importance of open-mindedness and experimentation. They learn to answer questions creatively, understand personal strengths and weaknesses, and seek ways to continually develop both professionally and personally.  
Want to explore our animation and Illustration courses further?
  
- BA (Hons) Animation and Illustration  
- BA (Hons) Animation and Illustration with Foundation Year 

Graphic Design  

Alternatively, how do you like the sound of using typography and photography for visual communication? You can create this reality with one of our graphic design courses. During their time studying at our Bolton School of the Arts, our students benefit from opportunities to work on live briefs with companies including The Warehouse Project, Prevent Breast Cancer, The Women’s Institute, Fortalice, and the Illegal Money Lending Team UK.
 
Does this sound interesting? These days, young people can create fantastic graphic design work. It allows designers to start with an illustration and turn it into creative assets, whether digital or print; app design, a web design, as well as realistic 3D web design, print, and much more. How rewarding would it be to be scrolling through social media and see your designs in the public eye, accumulating high likes and engagements? This is the reality with a career in graphic design. 

Come and enjoy #UniAsItShouldBe and benefit from our supportive learning environment; voted first for Student Satisfaction for the past five years*. Have a look at our courses to find out more about pursuing your creative dream. 

- BA (Hons) Graphic Design  
- BA (Hons) Graphic Design with Foundation Year  

Performing Arts and Theatre  

Do you thrive from being on stage? For some, having that moment in the spotlight is what dreams are made of, putting their heart and soul into a performance. In this case, combining your passion with your love for being on the stage in a musical theatre degree at Bolton University could be a great choice. As a musical theatre student, our students’ practical lectures will be held in our dedicated studio and performance spaces within the multi-million-pound Queen’s Specialist Building. This gives them access to fantastic facilities such as the Sprung Harlequin Studio and theatre dance floors, portable mirrors and dance training, an integrated digital theatre lighting system, and a built-in media desk and roll-down screen.
 
Have a look at our theatre courses. 

- BA (Hons) Musical Theatre  
- BA (Hons) Musical Theatre (Top-Up) 

Creative Arts: Bolton University Clearing  

Have you considered applying for your creative degree through Clearing? It is open until 19 September so there’s time to apply if you haven’t yet made your university decision. At Bolton, we pride ourselves on our small class sizes, meaning that we can offer our students more one-to-one lecturer support, so they know our students by their first names! 

Check out our Clearing page. Alternatively, you can give our Clearing team a call on 01204 903030, we are here to help! 
 
Study Advice Sessions  

At Bolton, we strive to support you at every step of your educational journey. Do you have questions about career advice? Course advice? Student finance? Or disability services? If so, register for one of our on-campus Study Advice Sessions and one of our representatives will be happy to help you, so come and explore our happy campus!  

Booking a session is essential; click here to book your place. 
Our available dates are:  

- Friday 19 August – 11am to 4pm 
- Saturday 20 August – 11am to 4pm  
- Thursday 1 September – 11am to 4pm  

For further guidance, please contact our team at opendays@bolton.ac.uk or give us a call on 01204 903807. 

*Complete University Guide – 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 – Northwest