THE University for the Creative Arts (UCA) has been named ‘Modern University of the Year’ in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.

Rising an impressive 25 places, UCA has secured the joint-highest ranking ever achieved by a modern university. Sitting in 33rd place overall, it has also seen the biggest rise of any university in the ‘elite top 40’ and confirmed its place as the country’s top specialist arts institution.

The Modern University of the Year title was awarded to UCA - which has campuses in Farnham, Canterbury, Epsom, Rochester, Hampton Court and Maidstone - for the ground-breaking work the university is doing through its newly-established Business School for the Creative Industries, in addition to its excellent graduate employment record and high levels of student satisfaction.

Alastair McCall, editor of The Sunday Times University Guide 2019, said: “The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) has achieved a number of notable feats this year, including the joint highest rank ever achieved for a modern university, the joint highest rank for a specialist university and the biggest rise of any university in our elite top 40.

“This has been achieved by improvements in virtually all our key performance indicators, most notably with greatly increased student satisfaction, better employment prospects and an improved completion rate.

“UCA challenges all the conventions surrounding specialist arts institutions and is breeding a new generation of arts graduates ready to face the challenges of the modern working world. They thoroughly deserve recognition as our Modern University of the Year.”

Professor Bashir Makhoul, vice-chancellor of UCA, said: “I am thrilled that UCA has been named Modern University of the Year, recognising the quality of teaching, the opportunities available to students, and the pioneering work being done to support and enhance our thriving creative industries.”

From its beginnings in the Victorian era as a collection of public art and design colleges to being named Modern University of the Year, UCA has dedicated itself to shaping and inspiring artists fit to work in the thriving creative industries for 150 years.

Starting as a number of smaller art schools which were spread across the South East, its Surrey origins began with the Farnham School of Art (1866), Guildford School of Art (1870) and Epsom & Ewell School of Art (1896).

The three schools merged in 1969 to form the West Surrey College of Art & Design, which evolved into the Surrey Institute of Art & Design (SIAD) in 1995.

In 2005, SIAD came together with the Kent Institute of Art & Design to form the University College for the Creative Arts, and, in May 2008, it received full university status from the Privy Council, changing its name to the University for the Creative Arts in September that year.

UCA has since helped launch the careers of Oscar and BAFTA winning filmmakers and animators, renowned fashion designers, Turner-prize nominated artists and award-winning architects.

“I would like to personally thank the UCA community for making us such a thriving hub of creativity and the top specialist arts institution in the UK ,” added UCA vice chancellor Professor Makhoul.