School of Creative Technologies

We believe in providing the highest-quality teaching to our students, which is why we are consistently ranked within the top ten universities in the UK for teaching quality; our most recent award was number one in the North West by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023. Our resourceful teaching staff will not only provide academic support but also help you with a range of additional opportunities such as work placements and live projects. Our multi-million-pound facilities make our School of Creative Technologies stand out, as they are extremely beneficial in getting you industry-ready.

As a creative technologies student at the University of Bolton, you will have access to:

• Fully-equipped games and visual effects labs

• Computing and networking suites

• Industry-standard hardware and software

• Well-appointed teaching and seminar rooms

• Casting and mould making spaces

• Dedicated model making and make-up facilities

Depending on your subject area, you can choose to work in The Centre for Film FX, including our state-of-the-art make-up effects studios, where industry specialists will teach you how to transform actors using prosthetics, wigs, costume and props in purpose-built teaching and studio spaces. Or you could study in the Centre for Games Development, which boasts games studio-style team areas, dedicated VR development space and a digital art studio furnished with Cintiq drawing tablets to help develop your skills. If you are interested in computing then our Centre for Applied Computer Science boasts a dedicated networks and security lab, affiliated to both Cisco and Red Hat, as well as software engineering and computing labs and project studio spaces.

Thanks to our dedication towards improving the university experience for our students, we have been ranked number one for student satisfaction in Greater Manchester for the fourth year running by The Complete University Guide 2023. The School of Creative Technologies has important links to blue-chip software developers, AAA games studios, award-winning Film FX studios and BAFTA-nominated designers in the UK, Europe and beyond. These relationships enable us to organise high-profile guest lectures for you, some of our most recent ones have involved:

• Nick Dudman, award-winning makeup effects artist, prosthetics designer and practical creature effects producer whose credits include The Empire Strikes Back, the Harry Potter Franchise, and Batman.

• Jonathan Reilly, Senior Creature Character Artist for Academy Award-winning studio DNEG.

• Hal Sandbach, Head of Design at work-for-hire software development company d3t.

• Ben Ward, founder of independent games company Supergonk and co-founder of share games working space Rocketdesk.

An example of our commitment to industry collaboration includes our relationship with Neill Gorton, world-renowned prosthetics and make-up artist, and CEO of Millennium FX and Gorton Studios. Neill was named a Visiting Professor of the University of Bolton in 2013 and regularly attends campus to share his BAFTA-winning expertise with our SFX students. At the School of Creative Technologies you can study any of the following subject areas:

• Computing

• Games

• Film FX

The University works closely with leading creative businesses, providing work experience, placements and interactions, to give our students a competitive edge in their dream career in creative technologies.