Where creativity thrives: 4 universities shaping tomorrow’s visionaries

To be creative is to make something new. This need not be solely artistic objects — it involves coming up with a new solution to a problem, a new method, or a device just as much. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be Picasso or Steve Jobs or a recipient of divine inspiration to be creative. Life and careers are all about daily acts of ingenuity and novel workarounds, something that the best art schools have had decades of experience harnessing in their students.

This headstart means they know what it takes to transform students into career-ready graduates in a fast-changing world. With breakneck advancements in technology, the job market is demanding agile and fluid recruits. They’re the kind of characters who can move beyond mere synthesis and evaluation and find expressions of originality and meaningfulness in any task they take on. A selection of art schools with graduates befitting this description and how their programmes encourage creativity to thrive are provided below:

Arts University Plymouth is the top arts university in the UK for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2022 and NSS 2023. Source: Arts University Plymouth

Arts University Plymouth

“Creative Education For A Changing World” — that’s what Arts University Plymouth, UK’s newest specialist Arts University, offers. What started as a drawing school in 1856 is now a catalyst for individual, societal, and ecological transformation in the 21st century.

Arts University Plymouth’s pre-degree, bachelor’s, and master’s programmes are innovative and distinctive. From Crafts & Making to Fashion & Textiles, all BA (Hons) degrees examine the interconnectedness of the arts and society, exploring distinct disciplines, expanded fields of study, and the spaces emerging between, across and beyond. From day one, you’ll learn by doing, with high levels of contact time and studio access, not just a few timetabled hours a week. You’ll have constant access to the facilities, technicians and tuition that you need to develop. It’s an approach that works — graduates go on to direct music videos for Dua Lipa, pitch fashions for ASOS, design games for Playstation and shoot photography for The Guardian.

At the postgraduate level, you’ll be part of an active, cross-disciplinary community of makers and thinkers. As an MA Jewellery student, you’ll work with them in spacious and well-equipped metal and jewellery studios, as well as ceramics, glass and resistant materials workshops, and the superbly equipped Fab Lab. As an MA Fine Art student, you’ll benefit from the deep expertise and rich insights of this group in tutorials, lectures, subject-specific seminars, studio and gallery visits and group critiques. It helps that the university has abundant resources and workshops that are crucial for collaboration, such as Plymouth Arts Cinema, 3D Wood and Plastics workshop, Material Lab, and industry-standard Animation and Games studios, to name a few.

Whichever programme you choose, you’re set to pursue careers as practising artists, teachers, curators, and as gallery, theatre and technical professionals. Love academia more? You’ll be ready for doctoral study and to set up viable projects as socially engaged and community-based practitioners as well. Apply to Arts University Plymouth today.

Digital Arts at the College of Arts and Sciences is a standout programme. Source: Stetson University

Stetson University

Students who enrol in the College of Arts and Sciences at Stetson University reach their full intellectual potential. With 20 arts majors to choose from, students will not only obtain the knowledge that sets them up for a successful career but also develop soft skills useful in real-world situations such as critical thinking, problem-solving, oral and written communication, collaboration, and cultural competency.

One of its highlight programmes is Digital Arts which was ranked among the top 50 for Game Designs according to Princeton Review. Modules cover graphic design, web design, 3D computer animation, video game development, artificial reality and virtual reality, digital photography, digital video, audio recording and production, and electronic music and sound design. It’s a great pathway to job in the gaming industry as well as other creative fields.

“Stetson’s DIGA programme helped me prepare in ways I didn’t know were possible actually,” says graduate student now game designer Alex Ramirez. “The classes do a great job at giving you freedom to do what you want. To some, it would be daunting, but to others, it opens the chance to do whatever you want to do creatively.”

More interested in painting, drawing, mixed media, ceramics and sculpture? The Studio Art major lets you develop personal styles and direction on a strong foundation in technique, design principles, historical tradition and contemporary artistic theories. Graduates have gone on to careers at the likes of the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Cummer Museum, Maurine Littleton Gallery, Electronic Arts, and Universal Studios Orlando Resort.

Whichever major you choose, faculty members play a huge role in your educational journey. The 12-to-1 student-faculty ratio in small classes encourages you to work closely together, building a strong and lasting connection which so often continues after graduating.

Zurich University of the Arts has nine state-of-the-art studios and workshops for students to use. Source: Zurich University of the Arts

Zurich University of the Arts

With over 2,000 students, Switzerland’s largest arts university houses five departments that revolve around the creative field, namely Performing Arts and Films, Design, Cultural Analysis, Fine Arts, and Music. At the Zurich University of the Arts, students can choose to either start a new journey via a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree or boost their knowledge and climb the corporate ladder using a Master of Arts (MA) degree.

At the undergraduate level, programmes span Art Education, Contemporary Dance, Design, Film, Media and Art, Music, Music and Movement, and Theatre. Postgraduates can choose from degrees in Art Education, Composition and Theory, Dance, Design, Film, Fine Arts, Music Performance, Specialized Music Performance, Music Pedagogy, Theatre, and Transdisciplinary Studies.

All programmes take place at the shared Toni Campus where students from varying disciplines gather, allowing them to exchange ideas and collaborate with each other. They can also use facilities located around the campus to apply theories learned in class. This includes the nine state-of-the-art and professionally equipped studios and workshops — for woodwork, synthetic materials, model-making, ceramics, metalwork, paper, screenprint, manual printing, and textiles. 

Such features are helping Loris Bosco in his pursuit to platform less-noticed topics and people. “In the last three years I have developed from a stuffy mediamatician to a self-confident creative,” says the Cast/Audiovisual Media student.

The College of Performing and Visual Arts has won over 150 DownBeat Student Music Awards. Source: University of Northern Colorado

University of Northern Colorado

When you join the University of Northern Colorado’s College of Performing and Visual Arts, you become part of a vibrant community of performers, composers, artists, educators, and industry professionals from around the nation and the world who believe in the power of the arts to elevate minds, inviting people to think, to question and to reflect on what it means to be human.

At the UNC campus located in Greeley, a city of more than 105,000 residents and just an hour’s drive north of Denver, it’s all about transforming passion into professional skills.

UNC Arts offers a range of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate programmes in music. The college’s Doctor of Arts degree is unique and one of only a handful in the country. While other U.S. universities offer the more common Doctor of Musical Arts degree, UNC Arts offers a DA degree that combines high-level performance experience and rigorous intellectual exploration. Students can select from several concentrations to focus their education: collaborative piano, composition, conducting, jazz studies, music education, music history and literature, and music performance. The degree involves advanced studies in music theory, pedagogy, history, and research, blending high academic standards with exceptional professional opportunities.

UNC Arts’s diverse and expert faculty from around the world, most of whom are internationally known, support and nurture students’ talents. You’ll receive insights, expertise and guidance from them in an All-Steinway school with over 25 large ensembles of the highest calibre and in a school that embodies music as an identity. UNC Arts has won over 150 DownBeat Student Music Awards, and is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).

UNC Arts’s extensive and intensive education will prepare you for college-level teaching, professional performance, or any path you choose to take in the world of art. A strong alumni network – 9,847 total living graduates across all levels – further helps students get their foot in the door.

“We take immense pride in our diverse international student body, who not only achieve great success in performance and competitive arenas but also serve as outstanding cultural ambassadors both on and off campus,” says Professor of Piano Lei Weng.

*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International