Study Abroad at Arts University Bournemouth

I studied abroad at AUB on the Costume and Performance Design Course. I'm from NY, USA, and am a double major in Dance and Sociology. I've always wanted to study abroad, and stumbled upon AUB completely by random chance – and I'm endlessly thankful that I did. I was studying something completely new, meeting the most amazing people every day, traveling to a multitude of different countries, and living in a vibrant, exciting town on the beautiful coast of England. The semester was a whirlwind of trying new things, exploring, and meeting new people. Generally speaking, there seems to be a pervasive culture of community and family within students living in Bournemouth. Bournemouth itself is such a fun town. There are tons of great shopping and restaurants, lovely gardens, and of course, the beautiful sea. It was wonderful to be able to just leave my room, walk through town and through the gardens, and reach the beach within 15 minutes. Bournemouth was an absolutely incredible place to be for the semester because of the accessibility it provided for traveling. A bus into London takes only about 2.5 hours from Bournemouth, and from there, I was able to fly to a multitude of incredible places all over Europe. Over the course of the semester, I was lucky enough to visit eleven cities in nine different countries. I learned that I absolutely love traveling by myself. It gives you the chance to really absorb and appreciate a city, taking everything in.

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I enjoy the campus; it's nice, clean, and easy to get around. My favourite thing is the moss ecosystems that grow on the rooftops. My course tutors also created a welcoming environment. Being an international student, this was comforting. I'm so far from home, so having this community was super important for me to find and has helped me adjust to living in England. My first impression of the course was that our tutors were knowledgeable in what they were teaching; I love that they're also passionate about design. On the BA (Hons) Communication Design and Strategy course, one of the topics we've been focusing on is typography, which I've enjoyed. My creative process has changed drastically during my two months at AUB; I still don't have a solid process because I'm trying different methods to find it. However, one fundamental part has changed, and that is research. Research has always been part of my creative process, but learning more about good research and its project requirements has helped me. I love art, design, and crafting, so I have a million different hobbies. One of these is embroidery – I've been working on embroidering words, which has turned out to be helpful on my course because it ties in with typography. While embroidering, I look at the anatomy of different fonts and how the pieces work together to build a whole font, which has helped me appreciate type more. I recommend AUB to any creative- learning from passionate people makes your passion grow.

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I studied with the 1st year students in BA (Hons) Fine at AUB for about 10 months. Because it was my first time to academically study art abroad after my career change, I was really nervous in the beginning. However, everyone I met at AUB was very supportive and friendly. The course encouraged students to engage creative practice in the studio and to try various media and themes. I was easily able to communicate with lecturers and tutors when I had a question. The more I studied, the more I became enthusiastic especially about painting. I had an access to some workshops. Printing room was also my favourite place which enabled me to cultivate my potential apart from the course project. As for my assignment support, I often booked a tutorial of English for Academic Purpose (EAP) in Student Service. I was able to talk about difficulties and the solutions to study in English as my second language. In my student accommodation, I had amazing flat mates in the student hall who celebrated every occasions, such as someone's birthday and seasonal events. I often cooked with them in the shared kitchen. The whole community had such an inclusive atmosphere which helped me feel comfortable. This was really important point for me to study there as an international student being away from home country. I think I was able to meet everything and everyone I needed for my art studies. It was a really valuable experience. Everyone was very friendly. Students and lecturers called their first names each other, but I did know expect the situation and felt uncomfortable to call the lecturers' first names even without Mr. or Ms. It was too casual for me to do this, so it took me for a while to be brave enough to follow the way as other students do.

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I have been on the Fine Art program at AUB and it has been a great experience. The immediate difference I noticed at AUB is how the faculty encourage students to do things out of the box, which I feel was much needed for me. Secondly, being a specialist art university means that everyone around you is an artist/creator and that itself is a unique experience. They have very talented technicians across a range of workshops and printmaking facilities. Overall the time at AUB has really helped me grow. I would advice students to indulge in the course activities as much as they can and get inducted to as many workshop inductions. Also carry an umbrella everyday.

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