Creative arts

What to expect

Getting a degree in creative arts

What to expect

The expressiveness, the excitement and the glamour of the visual and performing arts have great appeal, especially when you’re young and if you’re talented.

Creative arts contains a wonderful array of course options in the visual and performing arts, behind-the-scenes production, and advanced technology fields, like multimedia, digital and graphic design.

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Getting a degree in creative arts

Visit the University Ratings section for creative arts course ratings.

Courses and specialisations

If you are serious about the creative part of creative arts, you will look for bachelor degrees in creative arts, visual arts, fine arts which offer one of the many creative specialisations listed above such as dance, opera or textiles.

Behind the scenes courses and specialisations are also interesting. They include arts management, costume design and sound production. Other creative arts courses, such as art history, focus on learning about rather than making art.

The technology-based arts specialisations in graphic design, animation and computer-aided design will usually be found in specialist degrees.

Getting in

Entry to some creative arts courses is highly competitive and all courses involving performance or production require auditions and/or portfolios that display your work and talents. In many cases applications go direct to the institution rather than through the tertiary admissions centres.

Where to study

So, where do you go to become an animator, graphic designer, photographer, opera singer, or circus performer? If you want a creative arts degree, universities are one option. While universities have not always been the traditional stomping ground of visual and performing art, some have (or have inherited) specialist colleges of art or performing art, which date back many years now.

Whether they are called faculties or affiliate institutions, some of these specialist creative arts schools are among the most prestigious in the country.

However, creative arts is also one of the fields in which small, specialist private providers are often the brightest stars in the education galaxy! Some may be difficult to enter but a general rule is that the harder it is to get into, the more chance you will have of pursuing your ambition.

What to look for

Creative arts is not a field where you’re in lectures all day long; the physical infrastructure, human resources and opportunities to exhibit and perform are going to be vital.

Make sure you check out what’s on offer, and who the teachers are. There should be good performance spaces and art facilities, as well as performance and exhibition opportunities, and studio and gallery visits. Some specialist institutions even have their own resident artists and galleries, immersing and nurturing students within a real artistic community.

Careers for creative arts degree graduates

We know this won’t deter you, but keep in mind that the creative arts is a small field with few employment options. In 2009, nearly half of creative arts graduates were looking for work — more than in any other field. Job prospects might differ between specialisations and perhaps also across different institutions, but probably not by much. Interestingly, university graduates from this field may be only moderately satisfied with their experience overall but give excellent ratings to the quality of teaching. Around 27 per cent of undergraduates go on to further study.

For more information

For more information about careers in the creative arts field, check out the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance website .

If you are interested in creative arts there is probably nothing else in the world that will do, but do browse through some of the specialisations in humanities and social sciences , education and training , maybe even architecture or built environment .

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