Creative studies at university: a very rough guide

So, you’re applying for university. Maybe it’s local, maybe one away from your family to experience the concepts of freedom and being an adult for the first time in your life. The most important thing about your application is the course. Obviously, without applying for a university course, you can’t go to university, so focusing on making the choices of course you want to study (and making it look good) should be your most important decision.

If you’re planning to do a creative degree, but sure to look at your options. Every university will have slightly different courses, and even if they seem the same, the content will vary from university to university. This is important as you want to pick the right course for you. It’s all well picking a Art degree for one University, but if you prefer digital art, it’s best to make sure that the course you applied for isn’t specifically looking at recreating paintings from between 1807 - 1964. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.

From there, you also need to realise how this would help you in all aspects of your creativity. Wanting to pursue a career in acting? Make sure they teach about how to apply and stand-out in auditions. Do you already upload your music to Soundcloud but it isn’t doing as well as you hoped? See if any degrees help you learn how to grow your audience. Do you love writing, but only stick to one kind of writing? Apply for a creative writing degree that explores several different writing avenues.

Of course, doing a creative writing degree, I can’t speak for all creative degrees, but I do have things I’m glad I’ve learned so far and things I hope to learn in the two and a half years I have left!

Firstly, assignments. With my degree, I find assignments to be a hit or a miss (mainly due to word counts, but I digress). One good thing about them though is the diversity. Though I prefer the creative assignments as they allow me to actually be creative with my writing and develop my style (plus, writing them actually helps me to stick to deadlines), the more technical aspects, such as researching different publishing avenues (one I got in recently, actually), helps me to learn more of the behind-the-scenes stuff to help me strengthen my pieces and help me to understand how to grow my audience as a writer to (hopefully) one day be published.

Aside from this, if possible, check any and all feedback and statistics about the degree that you can find. The higher amount of feedback, the better. This is useful as if you’re unsure about the degree you’re looking to pursue, any feedback, whether it’s positive or negative, can help you make an informed decision about if you’d receive the best kind of education in your desired subject.

One very important thing is to make sure you can actually talk to your fellow students on the same degree. Whether it’s with in-person classes, a group chat and/or a retreat or some sort of in-person weekend. This is important for not only the social aspect (having friends makes uni, and life, easier), but because having individuals who are all interested in the same kind of subject, whether it be art, music or writing, makes it easier to help you develop your own skills and talents. Whether it’s peer feedback or just seeing them do something you enjoy, spending time with creative people helps you become more creative. Outside of that, it’s good to have friends with similar interests as they can understand a certain part of you, while also having the potential to help expand your world view.

Careers and the post-graduate future are also important to consider. It’s all good applying to a creative degree because you like to create (that’s a large part of why anyone applies), but it’s helpful to consider what you would like to do with the degree once you’re finished. Do you want to do a Master’s or PHD? Great! Is freelancing more your thing? Perfect! Do you want to teach in the subject? The degree will help you stand out! Not to say you have to have a clear vision of what you want to do - more degrees are four years - so there’s never pressure for anything specific, but it’s always good to have somewhat of an idea.

Overall, there are a lot of things to consider while applying for a creative degree, with this blog post just scratching the surface of what to do. However, don’t let that scare you off! Creative degrees are great for enhancing your skills in a specific subject, plus it opens doors to interesting people, creative opportunities and places to visit. While they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, if there’s one you’re somewhat interested in, I’d highly recommend you look into it.