A new chapter for UCA

UCA is embarking on an ambitious project and new chapter in our 160-year history.

07 May 2021

UCA is embarking on an ambitious project and new chapter in our 160-year history. From 2022, we will be establishing Centres for Excellence to bring like-minded students and academics together around their shared passion for a creative subject.  

To facilitate the creation of these world-leading Centres of Excellence, we will be reshaping and upgrading our Epsom campus. 

End of an era for our Rochester campus 

We are sad to say, the plans will see our Rochester campus close in September 2023 as courses are aligned to our other campuses in Canterbury, Epsom and Farnham. 

We are incredibly proud of our Rochester heritage, with many of our Rochester students having gone on to be leaders in their fields, including our Chancellor Emerita, Dame Zandra Rhodes, Karen Millen and Stephen Webster. 

But we will continue our journey in Kent through our Canterbury campus, our partnership with Maidstone Television Studios and work with local partners, including Turner Contemporary and the Kent & Medway Progression Federation.  

The vast majority of our current students will be able to finish their courses at Rochester and we are in consultation with those who may be required to move in their final year. We will do everything in our power ensure that as many staff as possible are redeployed to other campuses. 

A new direction for Further Education 

As we refocus our efforts on being a global creative university for undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees, we will be stepping back as a Further Education provider. However, we will continue to build relationships and share skills and knowledge with local providers and schools. All current Further Education students will finish their courses as planned, and we will be welcoming Further Education students to UCA in 2021 and, for one-year courses, in 2022.

A global approach 

Looking to the future, our transformation will see UCA become a global and inclusive creative institution, with a truly international curriculum, a personalised learning experience that nurtures the different cultural backgrounds of our learners, and international opportunities and secondments for our students and staff. We will also be building on the success of our first overseas campus in Xiamen, China, as we forge our global creative community.  

Your questions 

We know you may have questions about these changes. If you are an applicant to UCA and want to discuss this with us, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch at [email protected] or [email protected]. 

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