Arts University Bournemouth

Key Highlights

• Specialist public university for art, design, media and performance
• Institutional history dates to 1880
• Current university name adopted in 2012
• Own taught-degree-awarding powers held since 2008

Student Life & Environment

Student life is shaped by a relatively concentrated creative community. All enrolled students automatically become members of Arts University Bournemouth Students’ Union, an organization independent from the university. The union represents students and supports student-run clubs, societies and networks. Its activities also give students ways to present creative work and engage with the surrounding community. Available groups can change from year to year, and students may establish a new one where no existing society matches their interest. AUB accommodation is offered to first-year students in halls on campus and in Bournemouth’s Lansdowne area. Options include en-suite rooms in shared flats and self-contained studios. AUB ResLife provides a residential program intended to connect hall residents with one another, university support and local opportunities. Accommodation is not all located beside teaching spaces, so travel time and bus access should be considered when selecting a hall. The university provides wellbeing and counselling services, as well as disability and neurodiversity support that can coordinate reasonable adjustments and help eligible students explore Disabled Students’ Allowance. Students who need adapted housing or academic support should disclose their requirements early and follow the relevant application process. Sporting provision is not the institution’s central focus, although the Students’ Union notes that AUB students can use facilities at neighbouring Bournemouth University.

Location & Surroundings

Despite its name and the database city label, AUB describes its principal site as a single campus in Poole, Dorset, on Wallisdown Road near the boundary with Bournemouth. This distinction matters when estimating everyday travel. Some halls are on campus, while others are in Bournemouth’s Lansdowne area; film students may also use the Elliott Road studio complex near the main campus. The wider Bournemouth and Poole conurbation offers a coastal setting with beaches, cultural venues and access to Dorset’s landscape. Students living centrally can reach shops, nightlife and the seafront more easily but may commute to teaching by bus. Those living on campus reduce the journey to classes while being farther from the town-centre environment. AUB provides public-transport directions and identifies bus connections as an important way to reach the Wallisdown campus. The university estimates travel from London at roughly two and a half hours, although the actual journey depends on the departure point and connections. Applicants should compare hall location, course facilities and transport costs together rather than treating AUB as a wholly town-centre campus.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For undergraduate courses beginning in 2026/27, AUB lists annual tuition of £9,790 for Home applicants and £19,950 for international and EU applicants assessed at the overseas rate. Home fees may rise in later years, while AUB states that international undergraduate fees are fixed for the duration of the course. Integrated foundation-year and optional placement-year charges differ, so students should use the fee table for their exact route. For most on-campus postgraduate courses in 2026/27, the listed full-time fee is £9,975 for Home students and £19,950 for international and EU students. Master of Architecture and MA Visual Effects and Photorealistic Computer Graphics have separate rates, and international applicants may face a non-refundable registration fee on relevant courses. Online postgraduate programs use their own fee schedule. Housing is a major additional cost. AUB’s 2026/27 contract lists different totals according to hall, room type and contract length; examples range from £7,770 for a 42-week single en-suite agreement at Madeira Road to above £13,000 for some 51-week studios. Students should budget separately for food, materials, equipment, travel and personal expenses, which vary markedly by course and lifestyle. AUB Futures provides current students and graduates with careers and enterprise support, including individual coaching, workshops, employer activity, opportunities and guidance for employment, freelancing or starting a business. This is useful infrastructure, but it does not guarantee a particular job or income. Applicants should ask their course team about placements, live briefs and graduate destinations specific to their discipline.