A course in animation may help to prepare you for some of the most exciting jobs in today's media industries, for example, working in animated film, T.V. or the computer games.

If you are interested in the creative process of animation production, in all its stages from initial concept to finished product, then this could be the course for you.

Strong abilities in drawing and visual research are essential qualities you will need as well as an ability to learn the technical aspects of animation software.

This intensive one-year course provides you with essential preparation for entry to higher education courses in art and design. It is recommended for A or AS level (or equivalent) students and is suitable for mature students with limited art and design experience.

With access to the dedicated facilities of a specialist, university-level environment, you will be supported by teams of professional artists, designers and teachers.You will work in dedicated studio spaces and benefit from comprehensive facilities, including photographic darkrooms, editing suites,computing studios, print equipment and 3D design workshops.

A full and wide-ranging programme of lectures, seminars and educational visits will enhance your practical studies, and you will be carefully guided in preparing your application to higher education.

Stage 1: Exploratory

Through a structured programme of drawing and visual studies, you will identify your skills, strengths and interests.You will develop practical abilities in 2D and 3D, helping you to make an informed choice of specialist study.

Stage 2: Pathway

You will choose to study one broad art and design discipline, such as graphic design, fashion and textiles, fine art, film, animation, photography or 3D design.

Stage 3: Confirmatory

You will bring together your skills, knowledge and understanding in art, craft, design and communication to carry out a major project, resulting in an exhibition.

Career opportunities

The vast majority of our students progress to higher education courses across the University College and other UK institutions. Degree level study could include graphic design, illustration, fine art, film, animation, interior design, product design, jewellery design, fashion, textiles, architecture and photography.

Industry links

You will be taught by professionals from a range of disciplines, and will attend a stimulating programme of lectures, seminars and workshops held by visiting speakers and practitioners from the creative industries

This long-established course in film-making will equip you with skills in 16mm and digital video production. From the outset, you will work with 16mm film in a purpose-built studio, editing on Steenbecks and digital formats. Working in this way, you will learn about the materiality and craft of film-making, as well as the creation of meaning.

You will have the opportunity to specialise in a key area of film production, such as camera, sound, editing, production or production design. Alongside group productions, you will learn about screenwriting, directing actors, film theory and film grammar whilst developing skills which prepare you for a career in the industry or further study.

Stage 1

You will study 16mm narrative film production, digital video portraiture, cinema history, screenwriting, film grammar, film analysis, narrative film and theories of interpretation.

Stage 2

You will study documentary production, history and theory,and 16mm drama production. You will choose a key area of film production and study independent film-making.

Stage 3

This stage will result in a dissertation and two major practical projects, one group and one independent. Opportunities exist for work placements.

Career Opportunities

Graduates work in production and post-production companies, work freelance, run their own companies, and work at film studios and television companies. Some produce award-winning feature films and advertisements and go on to further study.

Industry Links

Our industry links enable sponsorship of student productions and master classes.The course is accredited by the moving image society, BKSTS, and is a member of organisations such as the Royal Television Society and the Directors' Guild of Great Britain. Student films were screened at festivals in the UK and Internationally last year. Recent awards for student films include the Kodak/Nahemi award for Best Creative Filmmaking at the 2005 Brief Encounters Film Festival.

This course provides excellent grounding in fine art theory and practice and enables you to work with a variety of media. Lectures, seminars and student-led presentations will provide you with a dynamic arena for debate about contemporary culture and fine art practice.

Throughout the course, art history, cultural studies and theory are integrated with studio practice. You will be encouraged to investigate and experiment with different media and techniques, to engage in visual discovery, contest ideas and conduct research.

Whether you study full or part-time, this course allows you to select units tailored to your needs, provides skills and knowledge of materials, and prepares you for the world of arts.

Designed to be flexible,we welcome students with a range of backgrounds and experience, including those without formal qualifications.

Stage 1

You will complete an intensively taught stage to help you locate your own artistic practice. Units introduce drawing skills, methods and techniques, concepts and ideas, as well as a broad range of workshop facilities. Self-directed study is encouraged.

Stage 2

You will realise creative ideas through appropriate media, supported by challenging tutorials and seminars. You will develop your work within painting, sculpture, film, video or sound, or pursue an interdisciplinary approach.You may work with a research centre or devise a project of your own. Student exchange opportunities abroad are available.

Stage 3

You will design and manage your own practice to develop the skills required for a career as an artist or in a related profession, resulting in a consolidated body of work.

Career Opportunities

Graduates work as painters, sculptors, graphic artists, illustrators, teachers and art therapists in areas that include craftwork, the media, theatre, modelmaking, publishing, photography, video and computer graphics, public art, arts administration and exhibition design.

Industry links

Our staff are experienced artists or writers. In addition, artists and critics of distinction lecture and review students' work. Our strong links with the Nord/Pas de Calais region of France also generate exciting opportunities for you.

Graphic design is not static; its boundaries are no longer clearly defined and new and exciting directions are there to be explored. This course will give you the analytical, creative and technical skills necessary to respond to this challenge.

Our flexible approach will allow you to find your own voice and way of working within the broad scope of graphic design.We offer choices from a range of design options and will encourage you to debate the nature of graphic design and its relationship to other areas of practice.

Critiques, written analysis and discussion will encourage you to question traditional approaches and will emphasise innovation and creative problem solving.

Stage 1

You will undertake study visits and explore how meaning can be created and manipulated through words, images and media.Your option choices in illustration, printmaking, animation, photography, and video or web design will ensure that you benefit from discussion with other disciplines.

Stage 2

You will identify your interests and make option choices to produce a body of self-initiated work.You may participate in our international exchange programme or in joint projects with our European partner universities and colleges.

Stage 3

A major project will help you align your studies to your career aspirations. You will negotiate,plan and manage an individual programme of study, supported by tutors,and undertake a final written dissertation.

Career opportunities

This course will prepare you for further study or for work in design consultancies, advertising agencies, publishing houses,museums,local authorities, television, film companies and web design specialists. Recent graduates work as graphic designers for NB Studio, Pearfisher Design Group, baseline magazine, McMillan Books, Selfridges, and at Spin Design Group.

Industry links

We provide support from industry professionals to maximise your employment opportunities, and will encourage you to undertake a period of work placement in a top design studio or publishing company. Amish Shah a final year student on the course is completing a placement at the internationally recognised typography magazine "baseline" www.baselinemagazine.com. Other top advertising agencies, design studios and publishing companies participate with us in developing your full potential.

This course offers you the opportunity to develop a unique working practice in illustration and to contribute to a discipline that is being continually re-defined through its theoretical and professional development. You will be encouraged to adopt a proactive approach to communicating with your audience and to developing your own 'voice' through staff-led and self-negotiated projects.

Drawing is at the heart of illustration and our workshops are run by a variety of practising artists and illustrators. You, too,will be expected to develop the ability to express your ideas through drawing.

Stage 1

You will learn aesthetic, technical and critical skills and gain an introduction to illustration. Projects and units include drawing, printmaking, book arts, sequential illustration and graphic narratives.You will then choose one area from animation, photography, book arts,web design, video and printmaking. Stage 2

You will consolidate your experience through project work. Study options will allow you to explore related visual subjects and processes from other courses.You may participate in our international exchange programme or in joint projects with our European partner universities and colleges.

Stage 3

You will negotiate an individual programme of study supported by tutors who will act as consultants, resource managers and academic guides.The course concludes with an exhibition in London. Career Opportunities

Career opportunities include illustrating for magazines, general publishing, advertising, children's books,web design and animation, as well as art direction in advertising, design and publishing.

Industry Links

Our industry links ensure that current illustrators, artists, printmakers,book artists and film-makers contribute to the teaching of the course.

One of the longest-established journalism courses in the UK, this course is built on a reputation for academic rigour and ensures essential practical training. You will be taught by industry specialists and attain the vocational, technical and production skills in demand by media employers.

A pathway structure allows you to specialise in print, radio, television or online journalism whilst maintaining a breadth to your studies. Conformity with industry training schemes and qualifications is assured by the inclusion of media law, shorthand,government and politics.

The theory components of the degree are directly related to your journalism practice and are designed to stimulate a critical approach to journalism and the media generally.

Stage 1

You will study units that include an introduction to print and online journalism, introduction to radio and television journalism, reporting skills, teeline shorthand, landmarks in journalism, and media, society and culture.

Stage 2

You will study units that include practical print; radio, TV or online journalism; law for journalists; politics and government; and culture and discourse.

Stage 3

You will undertake a specialist advanced group production in print, radio, TV or online journalism. A dissertation and an individual project will allow you to explore your interests in depth and to develop your own creative ideas through to high-quality finished media products.You will have a choice of optional vocational units and a work placement.

Career Opportunities

Graduate destinations have included work in BBC and independent radio newsrooms, magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Sugar, newspapers including local newspapers and The Daily Mirror, web operations such as Big Brother Online by Endemol Entertainment, and television stations including Carlton TV, MTV Productions Europe and CNN Paris.

Industry Links

The course is taught by journalists and specialists who work for national newspapers and magazines, the BBC,independent radio and television broadcasters, major websites and new media production companies. This degree is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council and is recognised by the National Union of Journalists.

This course embraces a study of photographic practice, theory and history in a broad context. Our distinguished course history, along with our staff experience, has shown that studying within a fine art context prepares you for future employment within the field of photography, both art-based and commercial practice.

This course focuses on the field of contemporary photographic art. As a student you will obtain a high level of professional and practical knowledge, as well as an understanding of photographic culture and history. We will encourage you to work on projects that develop over a period of time, and a major part of your project-based learning will be devoted to research and experimentation.

Stage 1

You will work on a range of units, including studio photography, digital photography,and documentary, landscape and theoretical studies. Projects include a city project, a student-funded field trip abroad and a self-directed project. Learning is project based with an emphasis on experimentation and research.

Stage 2

You will follow set units that explore narrative and story telling, vision and knowledge, and institutions and exhibitions.Work placements and projects are encouraged, and you will consider where your work will fit in the outside world. Research skills and the ability for critical analysis will be refined.

Stage 3

Your main units of study will include dissertation, independent study, groundwork, and development and resolution. Three are practice based and count for 75% of your time as you prepare your portfolio and major body of work. Students organise their own London show, which normally receives excellent public attention.

Career Opportunities

Career opportunities include editorial photography, fashion photography, documentary, advertising, editing and curatorial posts, gallery/project management,writing, teaching, technical support, fine art photography, and further research and study.

Industry Links

We have a range of professional contacts and you will receive regular industry lectures from photographers and artists.You will have the opportunity of a placement or work experience in the photographic, cultural and media industries, and will be able to become a member of the Association of Photographers.

Courses in the creative arts vary hugely, so the examples listed below do not always provide the real flavour of studying these subjects and you really should look at the individual courses on offer. You should also note that it is often the norm that students take a one year foundation course after A levels and before beginning a creative arts degree. The most common institution for study an Art foundation degree for Langton students is KIAD.

KIAD, the University College for the Creative Arts, is based in Kent and Surrey, with college sites in Canterbury, Farnham, Epsom, Rochester and Maidstone. They have an excellent website at: www.ucreative.ac.uk.

In this section the Creative Arts courses are all taken from the KIAD website.