Plymouth College of Art

Our college has strong links with the wider community. We run a busy national and international programme of visiting artists, exhibitions, public events and partnership activities. As a student here you’ll be making connections with artists, industry and potential employers from day one.

As an independent specialist Art College since 1856 is to provide a distinctive, innovative and supportive learning community in contemporary arts practice; to add value to the cultural, social and economic life of Plymouth and the South West region; and to develop our distinctive profile of our work nationally and internationally.

When you choose Plymouth College of Art you also get the opportunity to choose from a variety of dedicated Halls and Houses. All of our rooms are designed to suit your taste and budget with no deposit, no bills and no additional fees. Our properties are ideally located around the campus and surrounding area, so you’ll only ever have a short walk to get to college – great if you have an early start.

Halls accommodation

Most students in their first year choose to live in a Student Hall of Residence. These provide a fun and safe introduction to independent living: all of our halls rooms offer ensuite bathrooms, and have bright and airy communal areas, with cooking, dining and social facilities.

Rooms are fully furnished to a modern standard, and you can stay for 50 weeks of the year. You will share your flat with other Plymouth College of Art students, and to top it off you also get a regular cleaner for the communal areas. There will be a flat screen television in the lounge and in some halls, even a pool table.

Student houses

Student houses are a great way to jump straight into the student lifestyle. Often a mix of first, second and third year students, our houses all offer a great home while you study.

As an extra plus, these rooms are often bigger than in halls, but also cheaper. If you’re keen on making your student loan go further, we can offer you a wide range of shared houses of different styles and sizes.

Plymouth College of Art is bucking the trend. Here we continue to invest heavily in new studios and workshops that redefine the relationship between media, fine art, digital technology and handcrafted traditions.  

And it's not just about crafts. We provide space, equipment and – crucially – the technical help to make full use of this for students across Painting, Drawing and Printmaking, Photography, Film, Graphic Design, Games, Illustration, Fashion, and more.

And we are firm believers in an open door policy. Students across all areas of the College can use equipment across campus. We encourage fashion designers to work with photographers; film-makers can collaborate with costume; and lots, lots more.

Plymouth is the gateway to the South West.  Britain's Ocean City, we are served by a main First Great Western rail link from London Paddington and by Cross Country trains north to the Midlands and Scotland.  There are frequent services from Newton Abbot, Torbay, North Cornwall and North Devon.