Welcome from the Dean of the School of Creative Arts

Stephen Partridge

As Dean of the School of Creative Arts, I want your time here to be both fruitful and fun. Your studies here will improve career prospects, enhance skills, deepen understanding of the industries you face, and provide opportunities for further study and research. Collaborative projects provide a framework for transformative learning, developing your propensity to communicate, solve problems, show empathy and to excel in professional contexts. You will be encouraged to immerse yourself in purposeful creativity in pursuit of a career that aligns to your passion – the holy grail for all of us.

We’re on the creative edge of one of the world’s great capital cities. Our location presents wonderful opportunities in a county that has become the epicentre of the UK’s thriving film industry, connecting the University with Warner Bros Leavesden, Sky Studios Elstree, BBC Elstree and major new studio developments that are progressing in Hertfordshire. London’s world-renowned galleries, venues, cinemas, and creative industries are on our doorstep, while the surrounding Hertfordshire countryside offers space to breathe and flourish in your chosen creative discipline. You really get the best of both worlds!

Our School’s creative buzz is underpinned by amazing facilities, studios, workshops, computer labs, film and TV studios, recording studios, 3D printing, ceramics, printmaking, photographic studios, colour and black and white dark rooms, all for you to use and explore. At the heart of the School is our stunning gallery that also functions as a vibrant social hub. Students win international awards (including an Oscar last year) and there is a packed programme of social events, exhibitions, openings, and performances on campus and in central London, as well as star guest lectures, film screenings, music performances and degree shows.

I’m proud to lead such an exciting, friendly, ambitious and engaged academic community. We have fantastic academic and technical staff, providing expert teaching informed by research and professional practice. Many have international reputations as artists, designers, film makers, musicians, animators, architects, and writers. Many continue to work in the creative industries to ensure that our teaching remains current, thus preparing you for work at the cutting edge of the creative industries.

We can offer placements and the chance to work on live projects and competitive briefs for clients that will build your confidence and give you real working knowledge and experience. 96% of our students go on to work or further study within six months of leaving. Our alumni have gone on to work throughout the UK and around the world in film, animation (most of the top animation companies have Herts graduates working for them), architecture, fashion, art and design, graphics, illustration, model design, photography, digital media, product design or the music industry. The creative industries are a huge growth area, one of the fastest expanding sectors, and your development within the School will enable you to thrive within it.