Creativity Pays

You need to get a proper job.

Creative - The Fastest Growing Sector in the UK

Creativity connects you to an industry worth over £100Billion. In the UK alone, the Graphic Design industry is worth £3.4billion, the Photography Industry is worth £1.2 billion, the core UK film industry contributes over £4.6 billion to UK GDP, and the UK is home to 20% of the Global Arts Market, which is worth over £30 billion in total (Statista).

Whether your passion lies in designing, graphics, filmmaking, photography, or sketching and drawing, the University of Cumbria will help you refine your craft through learning from industry experts, practical experience, and our dedication to support every unique individual. So when they tell you to ‘get a proper job’, you can tell them creativity pays in more ways than one.

Explore how we can help you become a part of this booming industry through our ‘Getting Into’ webinars, our Masterclasses, and our Institute of Arts Open Day.

Discover Your Creative Career

Designing Graphics

Graphic Design

Graphic Design influences and touches your life every day. It’s the art on your favourite tee or coffee mug, on the cover of books and albums and even the uniform of your football team.

This industry is worth £3.4billion in the UK alone and is expected to grow in the next five years. It's also forecasted to be one of the first to recover after the pandemic (IBIS World).

Creativity pays in more ways than one.

Watch Our Alumni Stories

Photography

Photography is multilingual and cross-cultural, it doesn’t matter what language you speak, you will understand what a photograph is trying to convey. It tells a story, it raises awareness, it can fight for a cause, it freezes history in time. And behind every awe-inspiring photograph, there is a professional photographer.

The Photography Industry is worth £1.2 billion in the UK alone and this industry is forecasted to benefit from significant demand as the economy recovers from the pandemic (IBIS World).

Creativity pays in more ways than one.

Watch Our Alumni Stories

Sketching & Drawing

Illustration

When we say Illustration we bet you think drawing and sketching, but professional illustrators can have a variety of jobs in an array industries including The Arts, animation, interior design, publishing, comic art and graphic design. It’s one of the most versatile art forms and you could be involved in all sectors of the Creative Industries.

The Global Arts Market alone is worth over £30 billion and the UK is home to 20% of that (Statista).

Creativity pays in more ways than one.

Watch Our Alumni Stories

Filmmaking

From TV series and wildlife documentaries to blockbuster films, the Film and TV industry plays a big part in our lives. And let’s be honest, lockdown would have been even more unbearable without it.

The film and TV sector is a major contributor to the UK Creative Industries Economy. The core UK film industry contributes over £4.6 billion to UK GDP and supports over 117,000 jobs, taking into account direct and indirect employment (Oxford Economics study for the BFI). The sector has also showed a strong recovery in the final quarter of 2020 when a healthy £1.19 billion was spent on film and high-end TV productions, the third highest three-month spend on record (We Are UK Film).

Creativity pays in more ways than one.

A woman with a painted face looks into the distance.

International Students in the Arts

The Institute of Arts welcomes international students from all corners of the world and celebrates global artistic history and culture at our Carlisle Brampton Road campus. Create work that blends the unique artistic heritage of Cumbria and your culture, putting a personal stamp on the community and developing a style like no other.

Find out more about applying and studying as an international student at the University of Cumbria.

Study in Cumbria