Working Here
Careers at Arts University Plymouth
Arts University Plymouth is an award-winning independent arts university, run by artists and designers for artists and designers.
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/posts/second-place-best-small-or-specialist-uni-2023">Winner of Gold in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2022 and Silver in 2023 for Best Small or Specialist University</a>, and winner of University of the Year for the South West region in 2024, Arts University Plymouth was voted as the Top Arts University in the UK for student satisfaction in the 2022 National Student Survey (NSS), was placed top amongst all of the specialist arts universities in the UK in five of the seven categories in the <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/posts/arts-university-plymouth-excels-again-in-the-national-student-survey-2023">National Student Survey for 2023</a>, and was ranked <strong>above the national benchmark in all seven categories</strong> of the <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/posts/another-excellent-year-for-arts-university-plymouth-in-the-national-student-survey-2024">National Student Survey (NSS) 2024</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">In 2023 our Pre-Degree & Sixth Form centre was rated <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/posts/arts-university-plymouths-pre-degree-sixth-form-campus-rated-ofsted-good">Ofsted ‘Good’</a> and Arts University Plymouth won a <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/posts/arts-university-plymouth-wins-kindness-in-education-award">Kindness in Education Award in 2023</a>, recognising our collective work to build a kinder and more compassionate university and an inclusive community for staff and students.<br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">Founded in 1856 as Plymouth Drawing School, Arts University Plymouth offers a range of Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Pre-Degree study across Art, Design and Digital Media subjects. We combine over 165 years of creative practice with up-to-the-minute thinking and cutting-edge, industry standard facilities. With an <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/about-us/sustainability" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">award-winning focus on sustainability</a>, our university campus is home to our creative studios, workspaces and laboratories, our public gallery MIRROR, Fab Lab Plymouth, and Plymouth Arts Cinema. Making Futures is our flagship international research platform.<br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">Our vision for Arts University Plymouth is a new kind of arts university for the 21st century, preparing graduates who are uniquely placed to provide creative solutions to the complex global challenges of our times.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We work together to champion our people, place and pedagogy at the heart of our mission, delivering sustainable growth and impactful change in terms of creative economies, civic engagement and cultural ambition in Plymouth and the wider region.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Members of our community work to enhance our reputation as a catalyst for individual, societal and ecological transformation, delivering innovative and distinctive learning, teaching and research through its interdisciplinary ecosystem of materials, processes, technologies and knowledge exchange.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/strategic-plan">Read our full Strategic Plan 2030 to learn more about our vision for sustainable growth, solution focused teaching and research, and commitment to impactful social justice and ecological change through our people, culture and place.</a><br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">More than 1,500 students study at our city-centre campuses in the heart of Plymouth, supported by over 300 expert tutors, lecturers, technical and professional staff; who share their skills, while encouraging students to develop their own creative strengths. We continue to invest significantly in specialist resources and facilities – for digital media and technology, as well as fine art and handcrafted traditions.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Our university has strong links with the creative industry and with our wider community, providing extensive networks and external articulation of the student experience.<br /></p>
<p dir="ltr">Our academic and technical staff are all experienced practitioners in their specialist fields who publish, curate and exhibit internationally. We cultivate a research environment that reflects and supports the educational ethos of the university by fostering close links between research, pedagogy and professional practice. <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/posts/creative-education-for-a-changing-world#teaching-for-our-time-arts-university-plymouths-pedagogical-principles">Read more about our distinctive pedagogical principles, ‘Teaching for our Time’.</a></p>
<p dir="ltr">We recruit staff nationally and internationally, drawn increasingly to the university’s distinctive ethos of thinking-through-making and culture of educational innovation and social enterprise.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We recruit self-motivated, passionate and committed practitioners at all levels within a stimulating, friendly and diverse working environment that nurtures talent and rewards success, and we warmly welcome your interest in joining our dynamic community of creative practice in a city that is rapidly emerging as a centre for visual arts in the South West, in one of the most beautiful locations imaginable.</p>