College of Arts

About College of Arts

The University of Lincoln’s College of Arts is a creative community of thinkers, designers, writers, makers, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

We want you to learn from our academics’ expert knowledge, but also to question it. Push the boundaries, try something new, dare to fail before you succeed.

At Lincoln, you can choose from postgraduate programmes across a variety of sectors including architecture, art and design, journalism, film and media, performing arts, and humanities.

We’ll support you with dedicated learning spaces, professional kit, specialist studios, labs, workshops, newsrooms, and print and digital archives. Our Brayford Pool Campus is also home to the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, where students can learn and perform in the Centre’s 450-seat professional working theatre.

We want to inspire you. To build your skills under the guidance of our expert team, give you opportunities to work with industry professionals, and undertake work experience that will prepare you to achieve your aspirations.

Our graduates have gone on to become influential contributors to the creative industries, both nationally and internationally. They work across the arts sector at organisations including the BBC, architectural firms, and advertising agencies, as well as on blockbuster films and in theatre.

Our programmes

Lincoln School of Architecture and the Built Environment

Lincoln School of Design

Lincoln School of Film, Media, and Journalism

Lincoln School of Creative Arts

Lincoln School of Humanities and Heritage

Research excellence

Through our research, we are striving to change society for the better. Working with regional, national, and international partners, our academics are engaged in groundbreaking studies that are challenging the status quo and making a tangible difference to the world around us.

Results from the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF) have revealed that more than three quarters (79%) of Lincoln’s research was judged to be internationally excellent or world-leading (three and four star).

The College of Arts is committed to realising the University’s wider ambition of producing purposeful, impactful research across the arts and humanities. Our research takes a number of different forms, and alongside traditional academic approaches we also have strength in practice-based research.

The Schools that comprise the College are the engine of our creative research economy. Each holds regular seminar programmes which bring scholars from other institutions to the University of Lincoln and provides a context within which staff and research students can meet regularly.

Alongside these discipline-focused endeavours, the College also contributes to a number of inter-disciplinary research groups with a University-wide focus.

Outstanding facilities

The University of Lincoln has a comprehensive range of facilities designed to provide a supportive environment for creative practitioners. Students in the College of Arts have regular access to workshops, labs, studios, and industry-standard equipment, as well as highly knowledgeable technicians to help students to develop their knowledge and skills.

Specialist facilities include:

Adobe Creative Cloud Suite Software
The University of Lincoln Art Shop stocking a wide range of art and design materials from specialist suppliers
Professional-level audio recording and editing studios with full noise attenuation and multi-track recording capabilities, as well as edit suites running various specialist audio software such as ProTools, Ableton Live Suite, and Adobe Audition.
Book arts space offering the opportunity to create publications with a variety of bindings
Industry-standard CAD and 3D-modelling software including AutoCAD, Rhino 3D, SketchUp, and other packages suitable for the manipulation of 3D scan data, mesh constructed models, and photorealistic rendering (Maya and 'sculpting' tools such as Z brush, as well as industry rendering packages such as Keyshot). Some students also have access to virtual reality, animation tools, and building information modelling expertise.
Fashion workshops equipped for a mixture of fabric sewing and pattern-cutting processes. Facilities include a variety of industrial sewing machines; overlockers; and domestic sewing, embroidery, and knitting machines. A digital fabric printing machine is available to print full colour, high-quality, wide-format digital images onto a range of fabrics including silk, canvas, satin, organza, and cotton. Specialist facilities also include millinery equipment.
Media loans and editing suites providing a broad range of equipment such as industry-standard digital cameras, lighting, and sound recording equipment available for students to book out.
Apple Mac computer suites
The MakerLab is a specialist facility for working with ceramics, glass, and precious metals.
A multi-materials workshop containing an array of machinery and hand tools for the cutting, shaping, and general fabrication of woods and metals.
Photography studio and workshops
Printmaking studios
Sculpture and 3D workshop
Specialist printing up to A0+ size, as well as large format, hi-resolution, scanning, vinyl cutting, and Risograph printing facilities.

The College of Arts’ technical facilities are managed by a team of more than 30 highly experienced technical experts. Many of the team are practising artists, designers, and makers, with years of relevant knowledge and a passion for supporting students’ learning.

How to apply

Once you’ve chosen the right programme for you, you can make an application to the University of Lincoln via our website.

Before applying, it may be helpful to talk to the admissions contact for the programme you wish to study. Contacts can be found on individual programme pages on the University’s website.