Welcome Letters
Welcome to Falmouth!
We’re so glad you’re joining Falmouth and can’t wait to welcome you to our creative community. While there’s a lot to look forward to, we also know it probably feels like there’s plenty to tick off your to-do list before you arrive. Don't worry, we’re here to help.
Below you will find some important information about your course that will help you as you prepare to join us. You will find information such as equipment that you should bring with you, as well as any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
You may also find included any key activities that we suggest you undertake, for fun, to help you prepare for your studies. There may also be some suggested reading, you don’t have to read everything before you join us, but if you’re looking forward to getting stuck in, this is a good place to start. You will have access to all the reading resources from the library when you enrol.
All new students will receive a welcome letter with enrolment information for starting their course in September 2025. Locate your subject area below and find your course dropdown for more information about what you need for your course.
If you are eligible for a loan from Student Finance and have not yet applied, please do so immediately to ensure the loan is approved before you enrol. Once you enrol you are liable for the tuition fees. You can find more information from the Student Loans Company. If you are paying for your tuition yourself please check out falmouth.ac.uk/study/tuition-fees.
Advice on managing your finances whilst studying can be found here.
We know the prospect of coming to university can feel overwhelming but we're here to support you every step of the way. Find out more about the support available to you once you get here.
To help us provide you with the right support during your time at Falmouth, if you have a disability, health condition or Specific Learning Difference (SPLD), you should apply for an Individual Learning Plan (ILP). This document suggests simple adjustments to your academic experience, tailored to your needs. By disclosing early, we can ensure that the necessary support is in place before you begin your journey with us. Find out how to apply here.
If you don't have a formal diagnosis of an SPLD such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or ADHD but think you might, our free online screening tool, the Do-It Profiler can help. It's like a quiz that helps pinpoint any areas where you might need extra support. More information and a link to the Profiler can be found here
In the coming weeks, you can join our Preparing for Falmouth programme, designed to provide advice and guidance to help you to settle into university life. This programme includes a range of informative and supportive videos you can view at a time that suits you, followed by live online events in August where you can meet our staff, current and new students.
Before September, if you have any questions, you can join the Student Mentor team on Discord to talk about the course, living in Cornwall and what to expect at Falmouth. Our mentors are already studying on your course, so ask them anything you like, you can find them here.
Alternatively, email your name and your course to: studentmentors@falmouth.ac.uk and they will be in touch.
We know there is a lot to think about before you start at university. So, we’re here to help.
If you have any questions, just get in touch with Applicant Services on:
Tel: +44(0)1326 213730
Email: applicantservices@falmouth.ac.uk
or use our LiveChat support

Important information about your course
Animation, Film & Television
Welcome to Animation BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Pre-arrival activity: "Designing for Animation"
- Objective:
Develop strong foundational skills in drawing and design by creating original characters, supported by daily sketching and observational studies.
Project Breakdown
- Drawing & Observation
- Daily Sketchbook Practice: one drawing a day (people, animals, or objects in motion).
- Focus: Proportion, anatomy, movement, and form.
- Character Design - Create 2 original characters:
- Finding a vegetable
- Create a character that utilises the structure, form, colour and texture.
- Final Submission Includes:
- Selected sketchbook pages (10–15 pages).
- Character design sheets
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
A laptop will be a good investment so you can control your work pattern when away from campus. The laptop or desktop computer needs to be capable of running 3D/2D animation software – typical cost approx. £1,500
- Please note, you will also have access to specialist computers in our Animation and Production Studios throughout the course – see more info under the Facilities section, above
A drawing tablet is also a good investment. We support Wacom tablets (as our computers have the drivers for the Wacom range) You can expect to spend between £55 - £300 depending on your budget, buy the best you can afford.
Suitable models include:
- Wacom Intuos
- Wacom One
It’s always good to back up your work, the following is a good option:
- External hard drive 1TB
It would also be productive to get:
- Pen
- Craft knife
- Permanent marker
- Good quality headphones – you will need these for working in the studios
You should also look to invest in a range of materials for life and observational drawing:
- A4 sketchbook
- A2 sketchbook
- Pocket-sized sketchbook
- A good range of drawing pencils from H to 6B
- Sharpener and eraser
Study trips
We endeavour to organise optional visits for location drawing and study which are subsidised and will cost approximately £15, which includes entry and transport to and from the campus.
We also endeavour to organise larger trips where possible, with a view to exploring culture and animation festivals. The cost of these trips is likely to be substantial, approximately £400 - £800. If a trip is organised attendance is optional and it’s not necessary to attend to progress through your studies.
Additional costs
Important Note: If you wish to pursue stop-motion animation as part of your course from 2nd year, please be aware that this area of study can involve additional costs. Stop-motion requires specialist materials which are not covered by the standard course fees. Some specific materials may be needed for your projects and students choosing this pathway should plan accordingly for the extra expenses involved.
All curriculum-specific software is available in the studios, but you may decide to purchase your own licences for specific programs like TV Paint, Toon Boom Harmony, Dragon Frame, Maya or the Adobe Suite for working off campus.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Animation with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and their new exhibition on surfing culture - to inform the first IFY project 'Explore'.
So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This might include drawing, painting, film, photography and sketchbook work. Alternatively you could undertake investigations using digital /analogue methods - into ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
£250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips: There are several IFY field trips and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Film BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Brief - Where You're Coming From
Make a one-minute moving image piece (using a camera phone or any other technology available to you) that gives us a sense of who you are, where you're coming from, or what you love, in an artistic and personal sense.
It can take any form you like - documentary, experimental, narrative, poetic etc. - and can incorporate any storytelling devices you're interested in, whether that's voiceover, music, drawing, sculpture, animation etc.
Have fun with it!
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Technology
A laptop will be an essential piece of equipment along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this). You can expect to pay £200-£300 to purchase a basic one for email and word processing. You will also need access to a camera phone. You may wish to consider buying a laptop which can connect to an add-on DVD player (see our ‘Platforms and screenings’ section below) – these can be found for anywhere between £20 and £100.
Please bear in mind that film editing requires high powered computing which will be best achieved using our industry standard editing computers so you definitely don’t need to splash out on anything high spec. Similarly, hard drives can be borrowed from our Stores, but if you do prefer to have access to your own (to store and backup your film work) reliability is critical – we recommend brands such as G-Tech or Lacie with USB 3 connectivity and ideally a minimum disk speed of 7200rpm (approx. £100).
We are an AVID-accredited course, which means that you may (particularly if you are interested in working in post-production) wish to sign up for our Pro Tools or Media Composer Certification courses. Tuition for these is free, but you will pay a fee to AVID for the exam, which also covers the ebooks they provide for your training. This fee is set by AVID directly and should be estimated at around £80 per module.
Platforms and screenings
As a member of the BA Film course you’re going to spend a lot of time in our Cinema (129-seat, 7.2 surround sound with Christie M Series HD projection, just like in Vue cinemas – but we don’t like to boast) and we have over 8,600 DVDs and Blu-rays in our library as well as a range of streamed options. Remember some gaming consoles can also play DVDs/BluRays, if you’re thinking of bringing yours along. You should consider budgeting for regular cinema trips and if you’re looking at subscribing to a streamer, the best one is MUBI – they do a free 30-day trial and a student rate.
Study trips
Trips aren’t mandatory but over the past few years, in most years we’ve been able to offer students the opportunity to travel to a major international film festival (usually the Berlin Film Festival) as part of a group of students. Places are not funded and the cost as last estimated for travel in 23-24 was between £710 and £775 (depends on the number of students travelling, and the rate of exchange at the time).
Students may travel to one or more of the Royal Television Society Breaking Into Media events over the course of their degree, which are often held in Bristol or Plymouth – these are free but you may wish to consider the cost of bus or train transport to them, and potentially overnight accommodation.
You must make sure that you have sturdy (essential for on-set safety) waterproof shoes or boots, and a selection of warm and waterproof clothing appropriate for wet weather – shooting on location in Cornwall can be a damp affair!
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Film with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project.
So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Laptop (essential)
There is excellent access to computers at Falmouth, both PC and Mac, but you will also need your own laptop and a reliable internet connection to access the digital platforms we will be using for online activities as well as your independent and group-based work.
You can expect to pay £200-£300 to purchase a basic one for email and word processing. Video editing requires high powered computing which for most will be best achieved using our industry standard editing computers.
Smartphone
Even the most basic smartphone with a working camera will be sufficient for you to experiment with expressing yourself and developing your narrative storytelling to supplement the use of the bookable resources.
Hard Drive
Hard drives can be borrowed from our Stores however it’s often handy to have access to your own to store and backup your work. Reliability is critical so we would recommend brands such as G-Tech or Lacie with USB 3 connectivity and ideally a minimum disk speed of 7200rpm (approx. £100).
Clothing
You will be expected to work in all sorts of locations and weather conditions. It is therefore highly recommended that you come fully prepared with the right sort of personal clothing to protect yourself from the elements and to meet risk assessment requirements. This will set you up well for industry work beyond graduation too.
This list is not exclusive, so please use it as a guide; you should be able to equip yourself for the outdoors for approximately £150 (some companies offer student discounts so be sure to check):
- Waterproof jacket
- Warm headgear
- Strong waterproof boots/shoes
- Gloves
- Waterproof trousers (working all day in wet jeans is particularly unpleasant!)
- Warm/thermal top (and bottoms for good measure!)
- Mobile phone for emergencies
Typical Costs
Typical course material costs:
- £150 - Recurring annual costs may include printing and stationary.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Post Production & Visual Effects with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project.
So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Technology
A laptop will be an essential piece of equipment along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this).
Note: The following technical advice relates specifically to the three-year degree that you are progressing into on successful completion of your Integrated Foundation Year (IFY), so this is a chance to get ahead of the expectations and to begin to consider purchasing an appropriate tablet and related equipment also. Advice in terms of spec is to get a machine with a good graphics card (for video editing/rendering), good processing speed, a minimum RAM of 16gb and SSD of 250gb at an absolute minimum.
You can use this website to research what you might need: www.pcspecialist.co.uk/custom-laptops/.
If you are a Mac person then the recommendation is for a Mac book Pro with a minimum of 256gb hard-disk space, 16gb of RAM with either the Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support or the M1 Apple Silicon processor running on macOS Sierra (v 10.12) and later or Big Sur (Apple M1 silicon).
You will be taught on/with the platform (Windows PC or Mac) most appropriate to industry standard. Some of the software delivered on the course may not run on a Mac platform, but you will be able to access this software on campus or via remote log in to the PC studios.
We support Wacom tablets (as our computers have the drivers for the Wacom range) and you will need to have your own when you arrive. You can expect to spend between £60-£300 depending on your budget, buy the best you can afford.
Suitable models:
- Wacom Intuos, Cintiq, PL Tablet Drivers/Software - 6.3.33-3
- Wacom Bamboo tablet drivers/software - 5.3.5
These support the following devices:
- WacomMobileStudio Pro DTH-W1320, W1620
- Wacom Cintiq Pro DTH-1320, 1620, DTK-2420 and DTH-2420
- Wacom Cintiq 16 DTK-1660, 1661
- Wacom Intuos Pro PTH-460, 660, 860
- One by Wacom CTL-471, 472, 671, 672
- Intuos CTL and CTH-480, 490, 680, 690
- Intuos 4 PTK-440, 640, 840, 1240, 540WL
- Intuos 5 PTH and PTK-450, 650, 850
- Intuos Pro PTH-451, 651, 851
- Wacom Intuos CTL-4100, 4100WL, 6100, 6100WL
- Cintiq 12WX DTZ-1201W
- Cintiq 13HD DTK and DTH-1300
- Cintiq 21UX 2 DTK-2100
- Cintiq 22HD DTK and DTH-2200
- Cintiq 24HD DTK and DTH-2400
- Cintiq 27QHD DTK and DTH-2700
- Cintiq Companion DTH-W1300
- Cintiq Companion 2 DTH-W1310
- Cintiq Companion Hybrid DTH-A1300
- WacomCintiq Pro Engine DPM-W1000
- ExpressKey Remote EKR-100, DTU-1031, DTU-1031X, DTU-1141, DTU-1152
- DTK-1651, DTK-2241, DTH-2242, DTK-2451, DTH-2452
- Wacom Bamboo tablet drivers/software - 5.3.5
- Bamboo Create, Capture, Connect, Splash, Bamboo CTL, Bamboo CTH, and One by Wacom
What you’ll need to get:
- External hard drive (minimum 1TB) for backing up your own work.
- USB memory sticks (minimum 32 GB) as a temporary storage solution.
*These can also be hired form our Stores at SOFT
Would be nice to get:
Good quality headphones – you will need these for working in the studio and for your sound-based projects. Ideally closed back headphones with a good frequency range, for example AKG, K72, K92, Sennheiser HD280 Pro or Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro.
The price of equipment may vary, but you can expect to spend approximately £130 on these.
Smartphone
Even the most basic smartphone with a working camera will be sufficient for you to experiment with expressing yourself and developing your narrative storytelling to supplement the use of the bookable resources.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Television & Film Production BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
- Go to this link to find our online freshers space on [TBC platform and link]
- Capture ONE screenshot from a television or film source of your choice (e.g. anything including, but not limited to, the ‘watch’ list in this letter) that epitomises something that inspires you – go beyond the everyday and find something you consider exceptional.
- Post your chosen image along with a sentence or two that explains your choice.
- Comment on at least two other posts (look for ones without any / many comments) to start the conversation with your new cohort.
- Complete this task straight away to get started on your new adventure. Make sure it's as far before 1st September 2025 as you can manage (we'll be impressed by early engagement!)
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Technology
- Laptop (essential)
A laptop will be an essential piece of equipment along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this). There is excellent access to computers at Falmouth, both PC and Mac, but having your own laptop to access the digital platforms for your independent and group-based work will be really helpful.
You can expect to pay £200-£300 to purchase a basic one for email and word processing. Video editing requires high powered computing which for most will be best achieved using our industry standard editing computers, so you really don’t need to splash out on anything high spec.
- Smartphone (optional)
Even a basic smartphone with a working camera will help you experiment with visual storytelling to supplement the use of the extensive bookable resources.
- Hard Drive (optional)
Hard drives can be borrowed from our Stores, however it’s often handy to have access to your own to store and backup your work for the longer term. Reliability is critical so we would recommend brands such as G-Tech or Lacie with USB 3 connectivity and ideally a minimum disk speed of 7200rpm (approx. £100).
- Training (optional)
We are an AVID-accredited course, which means that you may (particularly if you are interested in working in post-production) wish to sign up for our Pro Tools or Media Composer Certification courses. Tuition for these is free, but you will pay a fee to AVID for the exam, which also covers the ebooks they provide for your training. This fee is set by AVID directly and should be estimated at around £80 per module.
- Outdoor Clothing (optional)
You will be expected to work in all sorts of locations and weather conditions. It is therefore highly recommended that you come fully prepared with the right personal clothing and footwear to protect yourself from the elements and to meet risk assessment requirements. This will set you up well for industry work beyond graduation too.
This list is not exclusive, so please use it as a guide; you should be able to equip yourself for the outdoors for approximately £150 (some companies offer student discounts too so be sure to check):
- Sturdy waterproof boots/shoes (essential)
- Waterproof jacket (essential)
- Warm headgear
- Gloves
- Waterproof trousers (working all day in wet jeans is particularly unpleasant!)
- Warm/thermal top (and bottoms for good measure!)
Study Trips
Trips aren’t mandatory but over the past few years, in most years we’ve been able to offer students the opportunity to travel to a major international film festival (usually the Berlin Film Festival) as part of a group of students. Places are not funded and the cost as last estimated for travel in 23-24 was between £710 and £775 (varies dependent on the number of students travelling, and the rate of exchange at the time).
Students may travel to one or more of the Royal Television Society Breaking Into Media events over the course of their degree, which are often held in Bristol or Plymouth as well as London – these are free but you may wish to consider the cost of bus or train transport to them, and potentially overnight accommodation.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Art
Welcome to Drawing BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Brief: A Portrait in Objects and Things
Throughout the summer you might like to try a series of observational drawings of objects using 2B and 6B pencil in an A4 sketchbook, thinking carefully about how you use tone and line. Practicing over the summer will be great way to begin your drawing journey. You could choose a range of objects from your room or home (including outside) to draw, and that act as a sort of portrait of you and/ or your family. During Welcome Week (15th – 19th September) we will be doing a big collaborative drawing, and any studies you have made will be really useful to have to hand!
Also, if you like, take a look at the following web-based Artist Directory resource from ‘Drawing Room’ (https://drawingroom.org.uk/library-research/), we think it’s great, and you could choose an artist from the Drawing Room resources that you find interesting. Feel free to make a short note of who they are and why you like them, and we can share this during our welcome week.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will find that having a laptop is a great resource, as there will be elements of teaching and learning where you will be working individually and using the digital learning facilities. You will also find that a smart phone is a great piece of equipment for documenting work and collecting visual resources. The following list of materials and equipment will be needed for various workshops during the first and second semester. For reference, some of this equipment is available from the Falmouth Campus shop:
- 3 x A4 Hardback Sketchbooks for information, thoughts, reflections, notes, drawings, and ideas. £5-£8.
- Drawing sketchbooks with good quality cartridge paper – A4 and A3 @ £5-10.
- Basic drawing kit in a bag or container – a range of pens and pencils, erasers, craft-knife, brushes, inks and watercolours, short rulers, masking tape, glue stick and so on. You will probably have most of these items already. Expect to pay £2-£5 each for them.
- Outdoor clothing, waterproofs and footwear for field trips and visits.
- A decent bag for carrying this kit around.
- 60cm ruler approximately £10.
- Charcoal (both willow and compressed) approximately £3-£5.
- Good quality wooden pencils – 2H, HB, B, 2B, 4B, 6B, 9B RRP £2-£3 each. There will be a requirement to replenish your stocks throughout the course, and to occasionally purchase particular materials for specific projects, and for which you will receive plenty of advance information. Usually the costs for these will be approximately £5-£10.
Typical Course Costs
- £250 - Recurring annual costs (materials and local study visits etc)
- £800 - Optional study visits and placements for the course duration
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Drawing with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Fine Art BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-arrival project
Brief: The endless expanse of found material.
To prepare for the course, it is important that you keep developing your ideas before you start. Please read the following brief carefully. We are not expecting this project to be a finished piece of work. It is up to you how you might choose to interpret this brief.
The emphasis is on generating material and ideas that you will be able to work with and develop as strategies for practice. Make time for experimentation and allow chance to occur. This project will form the starting point for discussion and generating work in the first weeks of the study block.
During the summer, we would like you to generate a multi-media response relating to ideas of the endless expanse of found material. We want you to consider all aspects of found material and question its parameters and meanings. Some examples might include YouTube film stills, fluff, air, recorded noise, charity shop finds, abandoned objects, overheard conversations, found receipts or walks and stories.
Responding to your findings we would like you to make a series of:
For example:
- Drawings
- Photographs
- Sounds
- Painting studies
- Objects/Assemblages/Sculptures
- Collage
- Frottage/ prints
- Videos or films
- Plans, maps, charts, notes, lists, or diagrams
- Written accounts of found material
- Stories
Research:
Your research and explorations might explore the use of found material in art, or other disciplines, for example material might be sourced from anthropology, literature, cinema, music samples, critical theory, site, and history.
The following artists might be of interest for this brief:
- Sarah Lucas
- Camille Henrot
- Elizabeth Price
- Pope. L
- Jack Strange
- Jordan Wolfson
- Susan Hiller
- Louise Nevelson
- Christian Boltanski
- Hanna Darboven
- Lubaina Himid
- Walid Raad
- Tacita Dean
- Matthew Krishanu
- Jyoti Mistry
- Mark Dion
- Zoe Leonard
This project should cost you no more than £10 to complete – possibly much less or free, depending on the materials you choose.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Costs for materials are very difficult to estimate on a Fine Art course, due to the wide range of processes and materials associated with contemporary art practices. As a very rough guide, we estimate the following:
- £380-£480 - Recurring annual costs
- £100-£400 - One off costs for the course duration
- £800 - Optional study visits and placements for the course duration
To successfully engage with the Fine Art programme there is some equipment that you will need to bring with you. Please see the list below:
Your academic experience will be predominantly in person with some courses using a small amount of digital resources to support your learning. To engage in the digital learning activity, although you will be able to access IT suites on campus, you will benefit from a laptop to access the platforms and tools we use. You will be provided with free access to the Microsoft Office suite, (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint) while you study at Falmouth.
You will find a camera useful for documenting your practice over the three years. You can either buy your own or Falmouth has photographic equipment available to loan. A suitable alternative is a smartphone with a good quality camera facility.
Drawing materials - You will need to ensure you bring drawing materials with you in Welcome Week (total cost approximately £30): e.g.,
- drawing pencils
- charcoal
- ink
- masking tape
- sketchpads/notebooks
- soft pastels/ conte crayons
- good pencil sharpener
- putty
- range of sheet drawing papers
You will need access to drawing materials throughout the term.
Toolkit - It is important that you have your own toolkit for use in the studios and workshops. Below is a list of tools you will need throughout your time on the course; some you will need from the start of the course, and you can buy the rest as and when they are needed.
We will provide you with a storage locker, so it is important you invest in a padlock and keys to make it secure.
Tools/Kit needed for the start of the course:
- Scissors (100mm)
- Stanley knife 99E plus blades
- Tape measure (5m)
- A pair of combination pliers
- Personal protective equipment
- Ear defenders (30 Db attenuation) RRP £17
- Safety specs RRP £3
- Respirator (3M 4279 FP3) RRP £20
Tools/Kit to buy as necessary during term:
- Toolbox (building up your own toolkit is critical to be able to make and install work)
- Claw hammer (16oz)
- Tack/Pin Hammer
- Screwdrivers (All types)
- Tenon saw (hard point)
- Glue gun
- Staple gun
- Combination set square
- Cutting mat
- Metal ruler (1m)
- Spirit level
- Carpenter’s pencil
- Hanging mechanisms e.g., mirror plates, fishing wire, metal wire, magnets, carpet tacks, dressmaker's pins
- Paint roller and tray (for exhibitions)
- Poly filler
- Sandpaper and sanding block
- Decorator's paintbrushes e.g., 2 inch/ Cutting in brush
- Other specialist tools as advised by technicians.
Optional study visits and costs:
We regularly run optional study trips to galleries and other cultural events or institutions. In previous years, this has included a trip to London or another UK destination. We will discuss this once you have arrived. If we arrange group travel or accommodation for a trip of this kind, we may require you to pay a deposit early in Study Block 1.
In many years we have run a European Study Visit for second and third years, including visits to Venice, Berlin, and Amsterdam. The exact timing of the visit will depend on the destination. If such a trip runs, you will be asked to pay a non-refundable deposit to reserve a place, followed by the payment of the balance.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Fine Art with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Fine Art MA. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
In preparation for the start of the studio-based practice module -- titled 'Review, Make, Reflect' -- we ask you to write a short 150-300 word statement describing your creative and professional career so far, and consider your ambitions for the MA. We invite you to say a little here about the subject matters and mediums you are intending to explore as you begin your journey with us.
In addition, for the first week, please bring along, or have available, an image of an artwork that you find inspiring, and be prepared to say a little about the artwork and the artist that made it.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for postgraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
£400-£500 - annual cost for equipment and materials for your practice. May vary depending on your practice.
To access learning materials and complete your coursework, a laptop will be an essential piece of equipment.
Additional costs
£800 - for optional international and national study visit. This could include trips to: Tate St Ives, London based galleries, Spike Island in Bristol, Arnolfini in Bristol.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Illustration BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
It makes good sense to use the summer months leading up to the start of Study Block 1 to prepare yourself creatively for the start of your studies.
With that in mind we would like to challenge all new students to maintain a personal sketchbook / journal leading up to your new adventure in Falmouth. This might focus on observational drawing or incorporate a more personal and imaginative approach to image making. This will help you get up to ‘speed’ and ready for the start of the year. Alongside this we would also like you think about what the term ‘illustration’ means for you personally.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
As a new student to BA(Hons) Illustration it is expected that you start to build your own personal stockpile of materials and media to expand and evolve your visual language. In the early phases of the curriculum, you will explore many different approaches to image-making. Therefore, it would be wise to have access to as broad a range of media as possible.
Below is a list of essential materials that you will need at the start of your course (you will require further sketchbooks and materials as you progress through your degree). There is a well-stocked art materials shop on campus, so don’t feel that you need to acquire everything prior to induction week:
- At least two A4 or A3 sketchbooks, or equivalent loose sheets of paper for Visual Problem-solving. (£2.20 x2)
- Two A4 notebooks for Digital Skills and Critical Studies. (£1.70 x2)
- Gouache paint (Windsor and Newton Designers Gouache is the best to use) Suggested Colours (£5 each):
Large White 37ml (essential), Black 14ml (essential), Ultramarine Blue 14ml (essential), Burnt Umber 14ml (essential), Windsor and Newton Set of basic colours (Red, blue, Green, yellow, violet): £25
- A variety of materials and mediums that will facilitate a broad range of experiments and approaches to media, process, and aesthetics (here are some suggestions…): acrylic paint (particularly black and white), a paint palette with wells (preferably either ceramic / China), oil pastels, chalk pastels, conte crayons, graphite pencils (varying weights), pencil sharpener, eraser, compressed charcoal, black Indian ink and coloured inks, masking tape, PVA glue and glue stick, A2 sheets of paper for life drawing, 2 X A4 sheets of acetate for printmaking, small tube of black printmaking ink, scissors, scalpel and blades or craft knife, steel ruler, cutting mat (A4 minimum size).
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Illustration with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Typical course material costs:
£250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism. It is strongly advised that you have a personal laptop, and preferable for you to have access to the Adobe Creative Suite which includes Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign software (the monthly student subscription price is heavily discounted).
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Business, Marketing & Events
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Welcome to Business & Digital Marketing BSc(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Rather than ask you to study any specific textbooks before you arrive, we suggest that you read business related press articles and get a flavour of what is going on in the commercial world. You will not be tested on this although one of your first modules will include you having to identify a current issue related to a real business.
Take this opportunity to peruse business related media and (reliable) news sources, so that you:
- Get a general feel for current issues in the business and commercial environment
- Identify one or two businesses that ‘catch your eye’. This could be for any number of reasons, such as:
- Appeared in the news (for any reason that attracts your attention)
- You notice their product, service, marketing or otherwise someone tells you about them
- General interest
There is no need to undertake any deep research of a business at this point, so just be prepared to talk generally about what you’ve seen.
Your academic experience will be predominantly in person using a number of digital resources to support your learning. To engage in the digital learning activity, although able to access IT suites on campus, you will benefit from a laptop to access the platforms and tools we use. You will be provided with free access to the Microsoft Office suite, (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint) while you study at Falmouth.
See this link for introductory training and to familiarise yourself:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/training
Follow us on Instagram to see what we get up to: @cbs_falmouthuni
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will require a laptop or similar device with Wifi ability. Free access to Microsoft Office will be provided.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Business Entrepreneurship & Innovation BSc(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Rather than ask you to study any specific textbooks before you arrive, we suggest that you read business related press articles and get a flavour of what is going on in the commercial world. You will not be tested on this although one of your first modules will include you having to identify a current issue related to a real business.
Take this opportunity to peruse business related media and (reliable) news sources, so that you:
- Get a general feel for current issues in the business and commercial environment
- Identify one or two businesses that ‘catch your eye’. This could be for any number of reasons, such as:
- Appeared in the news (for any reason that attracts your attention)
- You notice their product, service, marketing or otherwise someone tells you about them
- General interest
There is no need to undertake any deep research of a business at this point, so just be prepared to talk generally about what you’ve seen.
Your academic experience will be predominantly in person using a number of digital resources to support your learning. To engage in the digital learning activity, although able to access IT suites on campus, you will benefit from a laptop to access the platforms and tools we use. You will be provided with free access to the Microsoft Office suite, (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint) while you study at Falmouth.
See this link for introductory training and to familiarise yourself:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/training
Follow us on Instagram to see what we get up to: @cbs_falmouthuni
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will require a laptop or similar device with Wifi ability. Free access to Microsoft Office will be provided.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Business & Marketing BSc(Hons) (Online). Here you will find confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
As the (BSc)Hons Business & Marketing course is studied wholly online, as well as a computer or laptop, you will need a reliable broadband connection. You may wish to investigate the cost of a broadband plug-in dongle if you travel a lot or are worried about your internet usage or connection.
Additional costs
As an online student you may be given the opportunity to attend events to meet your classmates and tutors in person. Dates and location of the events will vary. These trips are not mandatory, although they are a great opportunity to meet your peers and staff in person and build connections.
For those attending, you will need to cover your own costs for travel, accommodation, food and drink. More information about these events will be given to you when you start your course.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Business Management BSc(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Rather than ask you to study any specific textbooks before you arrive, we suggest that you read business related press articles and get a flavour of what is going on in the commercial world. You will not be tested on this although one of your first modules will include you having to identify a current issue related to a real business.
Take this opportunity to peruse business related media and (reliable) news sources, so that you:
- Get a general feel for current issues in the business and commercial environment
- Identify one or two businesses that ‘catch your eye’. This could be for any number of reasons, such as:
- Appeared in the news (for any reason that attracts your attention)
- You notice their product, service, marketing or otherwise someone tells you about them
- General interest
There is no need to undertake any deep research of a business at this point, so just be prepared to talk generally about what you’ve seen.
Your academic experience will be predominantly in person using a number of digital resources to support your learning. To engage in the digital learning activity, although able to access IT suites on campus, you will benefit from a laptop to access the platforms and tools we use. You will be provided with free access to the Microsoft Office suite, (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint) while you study at Falmouth.
See this link for introductory training and to familiarise yourself:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/training
Follow us on Instagram to see what we get up to: @cbs_falmouthuni
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will require a laptop or similar device with Wifi ability. Free access to Microsoft Office will be provided.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Creative Events Management BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
There is a huge variety of events taking place this year, why not think about the planning and management that each of these require:
The Women’s Euro Finals 2025 - https://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/
The UK 2025 music festival season - https://festivalcalendar.uk
Royal Ascot 2025 - https://www.ascot.com/royal-ascot
BBC Proms 2025 - https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2025
Bradford City of Culture 2025 - https://bradford2025.co.uk/
Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition 2025 - https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/summer-exhibition-2025
A host of UK trade and industry exhibitions 2025 - https://www.xldisplays.co.uk/exhibition-events-calendar/
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management MSc. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Your best preparation for the course is to read 'The Lean Start-up' by Eric Ries. This book is very accessible and describes the key principle underlying the course, which is to find out what you customers want by asking them what they want, and then testing your understanding with prototypes.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for postgraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
A laptop (Mac or PC) will be an essential piece of equipment together with a reliable broadband connection in your accommodation.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Sustainable Festival Management BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Below is a selection of the types of free resources that you might want to look at prior to your arrival to help prepare for the course.
Examples of festival industry news:
- Access all Areas - https://accessaa.co.uk/
Examples of festival industry advocacy:
- A Greener Future - https://www.agreenerfuture.com/
- Attitude Is Everything - https://attitudeiseverything.org.uk/
Festivals in the media: The World’s Most Extreme Festivals (available on the BBC Iplayer) Glastonbury – The Best of BBC Music Introducing at Glastonbury (available on the BBC Iplayer) FYRE: The Greatest Party that Never Happened (Netflix) You can also see previous artists from the Eden Sessions line-ups on the Eden Sessions YouTube channel.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
A laptop will be an incredibly useful piece of equipment and is highly recommended, along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in university accommodation you will have this).
You are not required to purchase any books or journal subscriptions as all required resources are available in the library/online, however, you may choose to purchase certain texts to ensure you have continuous access. You will be provided with comprehensive resource lists for each module that you study during your course.
Short-term placements can be undertaken locally to campus meaning little or no financial outlay is required. However, you may also wish to opt to travel further afield. In some instances, we may support group placement opportunities and transport costs.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Sustainable Tourism Management BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Here is a selection of free resources that you might want to look at prior to your arrival to help prepare for the course – although this is entirely optional.
The Travel Foundation www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk is a really interesting organisation that works with destinations and organisations to improve their sustainability. The ‘resources hub’ section contains various resources, but the case studies are also really interesting and demonstrate how we can introduce positive change (you may need to register for access to various documents, but this is free).
Green Ideas for Tourism www.greentourism.eu is an EU funded resource that has a great range of case studies and the ‘best practice’ pages have an excellent level of information around a whole host of sustainability issues.
Visit Britain – is the overall tourism body for UK based tourism and their corporate site www.visitbritain.org is designed for tourism professionals and has links to latest news articles and pieces of research.
Responsible Travel www.responsibletravel.com also has lots of content around the negative impacts of tourism – Responsible Tourism promote sustainable tourism holidays but also do a lot to raise awareness and there is a great series of short films that you might find useful.
Finally, here are some TV programmes that you might be able to find on catch-up/on demand/iplayer etc. that are an interesting watch (UK TV Networks but programmes may be available in other regions):
- Race Across the World (BBC)
- Pretty much anything with Simon Reeve (various series on BBC about traveling across certain areas)
- The Travel Show (a very long running BBC series with various episodes that cover different relevant topics)
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
A laptop will be an incredibly useful piece of equipment and is highly recommended, along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in university accommodation you will have this). You are not required to purchase any books or journal subscriptions as all required resources are available in the library/online, however, you may choose to purchase certain texts to ensure you have continuous access. You will be provided with comprehensive resource lists for each module that you study during your course. Short-term placements can be undertaken locally to campus meaning little or no financial outlay is required. However, you may also wish to opt to travel further afield. In some instances, we may support group placement opportunities and transport costs.
The course includes several study trips that form part of your studies – in these cases, we will cover transport and accommodation costs, but from time-to-time other optional opportunities may arise which you may wish to explore and self-fund. The course also includes a residential fieldtrip in the final year of study and, again, transport and accommodation costs will be included within your course fees. However, please note that meals, snacks and refreshments are not included, and neither are optional independent activities that you may choose to engage in. Whilst university travel insurance is obviously in place, we do also recommend that you secure your own travel insurance for the trip, and this should include cover for loss of personal belongings.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Communication, Media & Writing
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Welcome to Creative Advertising BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Have a wander around your neighbourhood and judge ads in the wild. These could be bus stop posters, billboards, liveries, flyers or even packaging.
Comment on everything you see: the good, the bad, the fugly. Don't overthink it. Write your thoughts or reaction in 1-2 lines and post them, with a pic of the ad, to the Padlet link below. Aim for 5 ads in your safari.
https://falmouthuniversity.padlet.org/cuisu/ad_safari
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Equipment and costs
You will require a laptop for the course. Macs are preferred but a PC is fine. Costs range from about £400 to £1500. You will be using the Adobe Creative suite which as a Falmouth student, you will be able to access at a heavily discounted rate of £16.24 per month. You will also need a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in university accommodation you will have this). Some printing costs will be needed when setting up your degree exhibitions in the final year. This is likely to be £50-£100 depending on the nature of your work.
Study trips
All first-year students have a scheduled three-day study trip to London during which you will visit relevant companies. Costs will vary depending on your accommodation and travel preferences. As a guide, expect to pay about £600 for the whole trip, including food and socialising. In your final year, students may wish to participate in the three-day exhibition and festival event in London in July. Costs will vary depending on your accommodation and travel preferences. As a guide, expect to pay about £600 for the whole trip, including food and socialising.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Creative Advertising MA. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Our course is about creating advertising campaigns. Over the year you will generate between fifteen and twenty. So let's get you started before you arrive.
What's a brand you've always loved?
The one that made you interested in advertising in the first place. Got one? Good.
Now make an ad for it. Draw it. No polish or software required. Just draw it.
An ad that could be the start of a campaign that endures. Don't worry at this point about analysing, researching, strategising. Go with your gut. Make something funny, strange or emotionally potent. Be unrestrained.
Let's get your creative juices flowing.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for postgraduate students starting in September 2025
Materials, equipment and course costs
Essential
Pencils, marker pens and an A3 layout pad are all you need to succeed in advertising (apart from good ideas). More specifically, we suggest you use a black Pentel N60 permanent marker pen or a Pentel sign pen in black, RRP pack of 12 pens from approx. £10.00. This will start you off on the right track and prevent you from getting too detailed and fussy in your drawings.
Please note, we advise you to make provision for spending up to £50 on layout pads over the duration of the course. Rough layout paper is also freely available in the studios.
Nice to have
Your academic experience will be predominantly in person with some courses using a small amount of digital resources to support your learning. To engage in the digital learning activity, although you will be able to access IT suites on campus, you will benefit from a laptop to access the platforms and tools we use. You will be provided with free access to the Microsoft Office suite, (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint) while you study at Falmouth.
Although this is primarily a course about ideas, rather than technology, we aim to help you become as competent as possible in Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects and other relevant software applications. These skills are especially useful if you lean more towards Art Direction.
A camera would be a good idea. You will have a camera in your phone, of course, but a dedicated, 'real' camera is better. Taking pictures trains the eye, whether you’re a Writer or Art Director. Even if you’re an average photographer you might well find that taking your own shots will help you communicate visually. Moreover, Cornwall is very photogenic!
The majority of students choose to enter some work in the D&AD New Blood awards, quite possibly Cannes Future Lions and YCN too. D&AD make a charge for this, currently (with our D&AD membership discount) around £15 per entry. YCN entry is usually free. Cannes Future Lions awards may cost up to £100.
Study trips and costs
Essential
London Study Week is scheduled for an entire week, usually in November we’re hoping to visit several leading agencies again this year. It’s a required part of our course, so you will need to keep it clear in your diary. Please note you will need to fund your own travel and accommodation for this week. Approximate costs: Coach £50 and accommodation from about £40 per night. We stay for three nights. You will also need to consider the cost of food and so on.
Optional
There are often other events for Advertising students (especially those organised by D&AD) throughout Spring and early Summer during study block two. These usually take place in London. Your attendance at any of these is not compulsory and is not always possible due to the intensive nature of the course. If you do attend, it must be by negotiation with the course team and will be at your own expense.
Exhibitions
Essential
The D&AD New Blood exhibition is an important fixture for the course. We have taken a stand there each year for more than 20 years. The show is usually held during three days in the first week of July. The University pays for the cost of the stand(s), but please be prepared to organise and pay for your travel and accommodation. Approximate costs: Coach £50, accommodation from about £40 per night. You will also need to consider the cost of food and so on.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Creative Writing BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
During Welcome Week (September 15th-19th), we will be welcoming author Tim Hannigan. We will be running a workshop based around his book The Granite Kingdom (Apollo 2024), which we would like you to read before that week if possible. You can purchase a copy from all major bookshops or online.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
The majority of the texts and other resources you need for your studies will be freely available to you via the library and the virtual learning environment, Learning Space, once you have enrolled.
The number of books you might need to purchase will vary from module to module, depending partly in years 2 and 3 on the options you select. But we recommend you allow for an annual books budget of £150-£200.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Creative Writing BA(Hons) (Online). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Incoming students: Terms to know
The following terms will be helpful to know if you’re not already familiar with them. Some of them are technical terms for writing, and others pertain to the publishing side of things. Before you join us in September, have a look online and make sure you know what all these mean:
- Point of view: What are the different ones? What are the benefits and limitations of each?
- Setting: Is it just about the time and place where the story happens?
- Figurative language: What are the different kinds, and what purposes do they serve?
- Purple prose: What does this term mean? What is overwriting?
- Sentence structure: What are comma splices, run-ons, and fragments? What are balanced sentences?
- Style and voice: What’s the difference?
- Narrative tension
- Exposition
- Narrative arc
- Plot
- Inciting incident
- Rising action
- Climax
- Falling action
- Resolution
- Dialogue (and dialogue tag)
- Elegant variation
- Pacing
- Manuscript
- Draft
- Margins
- Indents
Also, as a writer you need to be familiar with the Shunn guide to manuscript formatting, which can be found here: https://www.shunn.net/format/story/. Although we do not require stories to be submitted in strict Shunn formatting (you don’t need to include your address, for example), this is what the work you submit ought to look like. Come with questions!
Finally, we strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of Stephen King’s writing guide On Writing. There will be multiple references to it over the course of the degree. It’s also a very good read.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Up to £60/year if you choose to opt to print readings; otherwise most readings will be made available online.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to English & Creative Writing BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
During Welcome Week (September 15th-19th), we will be welcoming author Tim Hannigan. We will be running a workshop based around his book The Granite Kingdom (Apollo 2024), which we would like you to read before that week if possible. You can purchase a copy from all major bookshops or online.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
The majority of the texts and other resources you need for your studies will be freely available to you via the library and the virtual learning environment, Learning Space, once you have enrolled.
The number of books you might need to purchase will vary from module to module, depending partly in years 2 and 3 on the options you select. But we recommend you allow for an annual books budget of £150-£200.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Journalism and Creative Writing BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
During Welcome Week (September 15th-19th), we will be joined by author Tim Hannigan. We will be running a workshop based around his book The Granite Kingdom (Apollo 2024), which we would like you to read before that week if possible.
The RRP for this paperback is £10.99. You can purchase a copy from all major bookshops or online.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Books:
The majority of the texts and other resources you need for your studies will be freely available to you via the library and the virtual learning environment, Learning Space, once you have enrolled. The number of books you might need to purchase will vary from module to module, depending partly in years 2 and 3 on the options you select. But we recommend you allow for an annual books budget of £150-£200.
Equipment and software:
A laptop will be an essential piece of equipment along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this). We do not recommend any particular operating system, but on-campus computers are equipped with Microsoft and Apple functionality. Although we have our own stock of iPhones to support lessons in mobile journalism, you are strongly advised to have a smartphone of your own. These range in price from £30 to £600 depending on the brand and specification but a mid-range phone will be fine for our purposes.
You will be using Adobe applications from its Creative Suite on some modules. Computers on campus have this software loaded and free to use but we recommend that you consider purchasing your own copy of the suite. It is available for £16.24 per month via https://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud/buy/students.html . It is fine to leave this decision until you arrive and discuss the pros and cons with your lecturers.
Study trips:
We intend to provide optional study trips each year in which you can participate. In previous years we have taken trips to such places as New York, London, Stratford, and Bristol. Costs have ranged from approximately £1,000 for trips abroad to a few hundred pounds for those in the UK. Traditionally, we also run a free study trip to Prussia Cove, Cornwall, for all third-year students near the start of the final term. Your performance on the degree will not be affected if you do not attend these.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Marketing Communications BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Have a wander around your neighbourhood and judge ads in the wild. These could be bus stop posters, billboards, liveries, flyers or even packaging.
Comment on everything you see: the good, the bad, the fugly. Don't overthink it. Write your thoughts or reaction in 1-2 lines and post them, with a pic of the ad, to the Padlet link below. Aim for 5 ads in your safari.
https://falmouthuniversity.padlet.org/cuisu/ad_safari
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Equipment and costs
You will require a laptop for the course. Macs are preferred but a PC is fine. Costs range from about £400 to £1500. You will be using the Adobe Creative suite which as a Falmouth student, you will be able to access at a heavily discounted rate of £16.24 per month. You will also need a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in university accommodation you will have this). Some printing costs will be needed when setting up your degree exhibitions in the final year. This is likely to be £50-£100 depending on the nature of your work.
Study trips
All first-year students have a scheduled three-day study trip to London during which you will visit relevant companies. Costs will vary depending on your accommodation and travel preferences. As a guide, expect to pay about £600 for the whole trip, including food and socialising. In your final year, students may wish to participate in the three-day exhibition and festival event in London in July. Costs will vary depending on your accommodation and travel preferences. As a guide, expect to pay about £600 for the whole trip, including food and socialising.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Professional Writing MA. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
You're going to be doing a lot of reading and writing over the coming year, so over the summer please start to think about what you would like to write. If you have a story, start developing it. If you have ideas for features, think about how you might research them. If you have an area of expertise, think about how you might incorporate it into your work. Our aim is to help you develop a practical writing life and a set of professional habits that will continue beyond the course. It’s best to begin that now!
And if you'd like to get a head start preparing for modules, the following will help introduce you to some key concepts:
Making a Living 1: Professional Contexts
- Brown, Brene, Daring Greatly Penguin Life, 2015 (£5.89)
- Shukla, Nikesh, Your Story Matters, Bluebird, 2023 (£7.99 )
- Quinn, Catherine, No Contacts, No Problem , Bloomsbury, 2010 (£16.55)
Telling Good Stories
- Prose, Francine, 2006. Reading Like a Writer (£11.09)
- Wood, James., 2010. How Fiction Works (£7.99)
- Cobley, Paul, 2014 Narrative (free online via the library)
- Yorke, J., 2014. Into the woods: how stories work and why we tell them (£9.85).
Creative Writing Careers: Building a Portfolio
- Gutkind, Lee, 2012. You Can’t Make This Stuff Up (£5.36-£9.09).
- Rentzenbrink, Cathy, 2023. Write it All Down (£9.99)
- Mullan, John. 2006. How Novels Work (£7.99)
Making a Living 2: Writing for Business
- Simmons, John, 2022. We, Me, Them & It: How to write powerfully for business (£9.99)
- Hicks. W.; Adams, S. Gilbert, H. and Holmes, T., 2008. Writing for journalists (£10.56)
- Shaw, Mark, 2012. Copywriting: successful writing for design, advertising and marketing (£15.57)
You will have access to loads of great resources while you're at Falmouth, and some general regular reading habits you might like to establish ahead of time could include a quality newspaper, the Media and Books sections of the Guardian and New York Times, the London Review of Books and Times Literary Supplement. You might like to start exploring the world of literary podcasts and industry publications like The Bookseller. The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook is an established space for up to date writing and publishing advice and they have both a physical book and this online platform: https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/
The National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE) is a useful resource for funding opportunities, jobs and events (https://www.nawe.co.uk/) and for writing news and opportunities specific to the South West you might like to think about joining the newsletters of Creative Kernow, the Writers' Block and Literature Works.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for postgraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
To engage in the digital learning activity, although you will be able to access IT suites on campus, you will benefit from a laptop to access the platforms and tools we use. You will be provided with free access to the Microsoft Office suite, (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint) while you study at Falmouth.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Computing for Games BSc(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
The course will primarily focus on developing your practical problem solving and programming skills, alongside fundamental knowledge of agile project management, computer science, and mathematics.
There will be considerable emphasis on the challenges and opportunities presented by game development projects and studio-based teamwork. Initially, we will gently introduce the principles of computing to you using Python and C# on Windows. This will ensure that, regardless of your level of prior programming experience, you are afforded the opportunity to develop a firm understanding of computing as a discipline and develop core competencies which are expected of all computing professionals. This forms the foundation that will then enable you to explore the richer, more complex programming constructs available in other languages.
It is important that you join the course with some programming experience, otherwise you will struggle. To this end, if you have never created your own software on the Windows operating system using Python, you should do so in preparation for the course.
Firstly, you will need to setup a suitable development environment. Please download and install:
- Python 3: link.falmouth.games/python3
- PyGame 2: link.falmouth.games/pygame-instructions
- PyCharm Community Edition: www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/
You may also need to install Java too as PyCharm is dependent on the Java Virtual Machine for portability. Any recent version will be fine: www.java.com/en/download
We have prepared some videos to show you what to do if you are uncertain how to do the setup: link.falmouth.games/pythonsetup
If you run into difficulties, please feel welcome to contact: games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Programming Tasks
Once you are setup and ready to get programming, start to work through the activities in Invent Your Own Computer Games in Python: Inventwithpython.com/invent4thed/, games provide an interesting (and fun!) application of the principles of computer science you will encounter on the course. Having some understanding of the complexities of interacting systems will be a great advantage to you when you join us.
When you’re feeling more confident with programming fundamentals, your task is to:
- Recreate a simple arcade game (eg, snake, platformer) using pygame and python
Use the following materials for support:
- Python 3 Docs: docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html
- PyCharm Docs: www.jetbrains.com/help/pycharm/meet-pycharm.html
- PyGame Tutorials: www.pygame.org/wiki/tutorials
There will be a Programming Olympiad in the first week of formal teaching on the Digital Creativity module which will challenge your Python programming skills.
Understanding Game Engines: Unity
After you have successfully implemented your bot, you should familiarise yourself with the other programming languages and engines that you will be using on the Digital Creativity module:
C#: www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-c-sharp
Unity:
- learn.unity.com
- learn.unity.com/course/beginner-scripting
- learn.unity.com/project/intermediate-gameplay-scripting
Brackeys: link.falmouth.games/ytbrackeys
Exploring C++, SDL, OpenGL, and Unreal Engine 5 will also be useful. We will cover these topics in more depth after the first stage of the course.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will need access to your own private personal computer to be able to put in the computer programming practice that is needed to become a computing professional. A suitable personal computer for this course will likely cost around £1,500. The latest advice about which computers we recommend you buy for your course is available here: link.falmouth.games/computer-advice
You will also have access to machines with a very high specification in our studios where you’ll be expected to do most of your work. It is important that you have a reliable internet connection, as some materials are made available to you through our virtual learning environment. We recommend a fibre broadband connection if available, but a minimum of at least 5Mbps will be suitable for livestreaming content.
Consumable electronics
You must reserve a budget of at least £40 to purchase additional materials and electronic components for your individual creative computing project.
Headset with Microphone
You will need a headset with a microphone for some classes. We recommend purchasing a high-quality headset for your comfort. Manufacturers such as Sennheiser, Razer, HyperX and Corsair are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £30 - £150.
Webcam
You will need a webcam in some teaching. Manufacturers such as Logitech, Microsoft, and Razer are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £25 - £100. If you have further questions, need more detailed advice or would like us to check the suitability of a particular model, then please email games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Computing for Games with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Reading:
- - Bond, J.G., 2018. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development from Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C#. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley.
- - Keith, C., 2010. Agile Game Development with Scrum. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
It would be beneficial to look into popular choose-your-own-adventure books, visual novels, and role-playing games. In particular, engaging with popular tabletop role-playing systems.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Computer - £1500
- Headset - £30-£150
- Webcam - £25-£100
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Computer Science BSc(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
The course will primarily focus on developing your practical problem solving and programming skills, alongside fundamental knowledge of agile project management, computer science, and mathematics.
There will be considerable emphasis on the challenges and opportunities presented by game development projects and studio-based teamwork. Initially, we will gently introduce the principles of computing to you using Python and C# on Windows. This will ensure that, regardless of your level of prior programming experience, you are afforded the opportunity to develop a firm understanding of computing as a discipline and develop core competencies which are expected of all computing professionals. This forms the foundation that will then enable you to explore the richer, more complex programming constructs available in other languages.
It is important that you join the course with some programming experience, otherwise you will struggle. To this end, if you have never created your own software on the Windows operating system using Python, you should do so in preparation for the course.
Firstly, you will need to setup a suitable development environment. Please download and install:
- Python 3: link.falmouth.games/python3
- PyGame 2: link.falmouth.games/pygame-instructions
- PyCharm Community Edition: www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/
You may also need to install Java too as PyCharm is dependent on the Java Virtual Machine for portability. Any recent version will be fine: www.java.com/en/download
We have prepared some videos to show you what to do if you are uncertain how to do the setup: link.falmouth.games/pythonsetup
If you run into difficulties, please feel welcome to contact: games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Programming Tasks
Once you are setup and ready to get programming, start to work through the activities in Invent Your Own Computer Games in Python: Inventwithpython.com/invent4thed/, games provide an interesting (and fun!) application of the principles of computer science you will encounter on the course. Having some understanding of the complexities of interacting systems will be a great advantage to you when you join us.
When you’re feeling more confident with programming fundamentals, your task is to:
- Recreate a simple arcade game (eg, snake, platformer) using pygame and python
Use the following materials for support:
- Python 3 Docs: docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html
- PyCharm Docs: www.jetbrains.com/help/pycharm/meet-pycharm.html
- PyGame Tutorials: www.pygame.org/wiki/tutorials
There will be a Programming Olympiad in the first week of formal teaching on the Digital Creativity module which will challenge your Python programming skills.
Understanding Game Engines: Unity
After you have successfully implemented your bot, you should familiarise yourself with the other programming languages and engines that you will be using on the Digital Creativity module:
C#: www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-c-sharp
Unity:
- learn.unity.com
- learn.unity.com/course/beginner-scripting
- learn.unity.com/project/intermediate-gameplay-scripting
Brackeys: link.falmouth.games/ytbrackeys
Exploring C++, SDL, OpenGL, and Unreal Engine 5 will also be useful. We will cover these topics in more depth after the first stage of the course.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will need access to your own private personal computer to be able to put in the computer programming practice that is needed to become a computing professional. A suitable personal computer for this course will likely cost around £1,500. The latest advice about which computers we recommend you buy for your course is available here: link.falmouth.games/computer-advice
You will also have access to machines with a very high specification in our studios where you’ll be expected to do most of your work. It is important that you have a reliable internet connection, as some materials are made available to you through our virtual learning environment. We recommend a fibre broadband connection if available, but a minimum of at least 5Mbps will be suitable for livestreaming content.
Consumable electronics
You must reserve a budget of at least £40 to purchase additional materials and electronic components for your individual creative computing project.
Headset with Microphone
You will need a headset with a microphone for some classes. We recommend purchasing a high-quality headset for your comfort. Manufacturers such as Sennheiser, Razer, HyperX and Corsair are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £30 - £150.
Webcam
You will need a webcam in some teaching. Manufacturers such as Logitech, Microsoft, and Razer are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £25 - £100. If you have further questions, need more detailed advice or would like us to check the suitability of a particular model, then please email games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Computer Science with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Reading:
- - Bond, J.G., 2018. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development from Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C#. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley.
- - Keith, C., 2010. Agile Game Development with Scrum. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
It would be beneficial to look into popular choose-your-own-adventure books, visual novels, and role-playing games. In particular, engaging with popular tabletop role-playing systems.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Computer - £1500
- Headset - £30-£150
- Webcam - £25-£100
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Robotics BSc(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
The course will focus on developing your practical problem-solving and programming skills, alongside fundamental knowledge of agile project management, computer science, and mathematics.
The program emphasises robotics projects and studio-based teamwork. We begin by introducing computing principles using Python, C#, and Arduino IDE on Windows. This gentle introduction ensures that all students—regardless of prior programming experience—can develop a solid understanding of computing fundamentals and the core competencies expected of computing professionals. This foundation will enable you to explore more complex programming concepts in other languages.
You should have some programming experience before starting the course to avoid difficulties. If you've never created software on Windows using Python, please do so in preparation.
To begin, set up your development environment by downloading and installing:
- Python 3: link.falmouth.games/python3
- PyCharm Community Edition: www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/
You may also need to install Java, as PyCharm requires the Java Virtual Machine for portability. Any recent version will work: www.java.com/en/download
We have prepared setup tutorial videos at: link.falmouth.games/pythonsetup
If you run into difficulties, please feel welcome to contact: games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Programming Tasks
Once you're comfortable with programming fundamentals, you'll advance to Arduino. Test your skills with this challenge:
Create a device to help visually impaired people detect and avoid walls and objects. Using the kit described below, you can use the ultrasound sensor and buzzer to alert users to approaching objects.
This great article from Hackster has plenty of instructions and inspiration: link.falmouth.ac.uk/blindsight
Use these resources for support:
- Arduino Programming documentation: https://docs.arduino.cc/learn/
- Install the Arduino Software (IDE): https://www.arduino.cc/en/software/
To complete this project, you'll need to purchase an ELEGOO UNO R3 Project Super Starter Kit, which includes an Arduino UNO microcontroller and components essential for your first year at Falmouth (approximately £35): link.falmouth.games/robotkit25
Bring your robot and solution with you to university.
Understanding Game Engines: Unity
After completing your robot project, familiarise yourself with these programming languages and engines for the Digital Creativity module:
C#: www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-c-sharp
Unity:
- learn.unity.com
- learn.unity.com/course/beginner-scripting
- learn.unity.com/project/intermediate-gameplay-scripting
Brackeys: link.falmouth.games/ytbrackeys
Ardiuno: www.arduino.cc
You'll also find it helpful to explore C++, SDL, OpenGL, and Arduino IDE. We'll cover these topics in more detail after the first stage of the course.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will need access to your own private personal computer to be able to put in the computer programming practice that is needed to become a computing professional.
A suitable personal computer for this course will likely cost around £1,500. The latest advice about which computers we recommend you buy for your course is available here: link.falmouth.games/computer-advice
You will also have access to machines with a very high specification in our studios where you’ll be expected to do most of your work.
It is important that you have a reliable internet connection, as some materials are made available to you through our virtual learning environment. We recommend a fibre broadband connection if available, but a minimum of at least 5Mbps will be suitable for livestreaming content.
Consumable electronics
You must reserve a budget of at least £40 to purchase additional materials and electronic components for your individual creative computing project. You should also anticipate a budget of at most £220 to purchase additional robotics kits and consumable materials for your multidisciplinary development projects.
Headset with Microphone
You will need a headset with a microphone for some classes. We recommend purchasing a high-quality headset for your comfort. Manufacturers such as Sennheiser, Razer, HyperX and Corsair are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £30 - £150.
Webcam
You will need a webcam in some teaching. Manufacturers such as Logitech, Microsoft, and Razer are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £25 - £100. If you have further questions, need more detailed advice or would like us to check the suitability of a particular model, then please email games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Software Engineering BSc(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
The course will primarily focus on developing your practical problem solving and programming skills, alongside fundamental knowledge of agile project management, computer science, and mathematics.
There will be considerable emphasis on the challenges and opportunities presented by game development projects and studio-based teamwork. Initially, we will gently introduce the principles of computing to you using Python and C# on Windows. This will ensure that, regardless of your level of prior programming experience, you are afforded the opportunity to develop a firm understanding of computing as a discipline and develop core competencies which are expected of all computing professionals. This forms the foundation that will then enable you to explore the richer, more complex programming constructs available in other languages.
It is important that you join the course with some programming experience, otherwise you will struggle. To this end, if you have never created your own software on the Windows operating system using Python, you should do so in preparation for the course.
Firstly, you will need to setup a suitable development environment. Please download and install:
- Python 3: link.falmouth.games/python3
- PyGame 2: link.falmouth.games/pygame-instructions
- PyCharm Community Edition: www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/
You may also need to install Java too as PyCharm is dependent on the Java Virtual Machine for portability. Any recent version will be fine: www.java.com/en/download
We have prepared some videos to show you what to do if you are uncertain how to do the setup: link.falmouth.games/pythonsetup
If you run into difficulties, please feel welcome to contact: games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Programming Tasks
Once you are setup and ready to get programming, start to work through the activities in Invent Your Own Computer Games in Python: Inventwithpython.com/invent4thed/, games provide an interesting (and fun!) application of the principles of computer science you will encounter on the course. Having some understanding of the complexities of interacting systems will be a great advantage to you when you join us.
When you’re feeling more confident with programming fundamentals, your task is to:
- Recreate a simple arcade game (eg, snake, platformer) using pygame and python
Use the following materials for support:
- Python 3 Docs: docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html
- PyCharm Docs: www.jetbrains.com/help/pycharm/meet-pycharm.html
- PyGame Tutorials: www.pygame.org/wiki/tutorials
There will be a Programming Olympiad in the first week of formal teaching on the Digital Creativity module which will challenge your Python programming skills.
Understanding Game Engines: Unity
After you have successfully implemented your bot, you should familiarise yourself with the other programming languages and engines that you will be using on the Digital Creativity module:
C#: www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-c-sharp
Unity:
- learn.unity.com
- learn.unity.com/course/beginner-scripting
- learn.unity.com/project/intermediate-gameplay-scripting
Brackeys: link.falmouth.games/ytbrackeys
Exploring C++, SDL, OpenGL, and Unreal Engine 5 will also be useful. We will cover these topics in more depth after the first stage of the course.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will need access to your own private personal computer to be able to put in the computer programming practice that is needed to become a computing professional. A suitable personal computer for this course will likely cost around £1,500. The latest advice about which computers we recommend you buy for your course is available here: link.falmouth.games/computer-advice
You will also have access to machines with a very high specification in our studios where you’ll be expected to do most of your work. It is important that you have a reliable internet connection, as some materials are made available to you through our virtual learning environment. We recommend a fibre broadband connection if available, but a minimum of at least 5Mbps will be suitable for livestreaming content.
Consumable electronics
You must reserve a budget of at least £40 to purchase additional materials and electronic components for your individual creative computing project.
Headset with Microphone
You will need a headset with a microphone for some classes. We recommend purchasing a high-quality headset for your comfort. Manufacturers such as Sennheiser, Razer, HyperX and Corsair are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £30 - £150.
Webcam
You will need a webcam in some teaching. Manufacturers such as Logitech, Microsoft, and Razer are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £25 - £100. If you have further questions, need more detailed advice or would like us to check the suitability of a particular model, then please email games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Software Engineering with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Reading:
- - Bond, J.G., 2018. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development from Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C#. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley.
- - Keith, C., 2010. Agile Game Development with Scrum. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
It would be beneficial to look into popular choose-your-own-adventure books, visual novels, and role-playing games. In particular, engaging with popular tabletop role-playing systems.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Computer - £1500
- Headset - £30-£150
- Webcam - £25-£100
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Design, Architecture & Interiors
Welcome to Architecture BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
We recommend that you engage with the following material in preparation for joining the first year of your architecture course:
- Instagram – follow us: @architecturefalmouth
- Subscribe to some of useful websites:
Design Project 1
We ask for task to be completed before you arrive:
Capturing Your Place - This is a pre-course project to help us all to get to know each other.
We invite you to interpret a space or place you are very familiar with from your home, hometown, city, or area. It could be a private room or a public space – as long as it is somewhere that means something to you.
You may use a variety of media: drawings, collage, paint, whichever you’re comfortable with, to complete your interpretation. You might want to include a few key words or text (but no more than 20 words) as part of your visual interpretation.
Presentation format
- One single A4 collage, drawing, or mixed-media piece.
Aims
- To act as an introduction topic between you and your fellow students and tutors.
- To start a conversation about representation techniques.
Please bring the above on your first day to the Architecture Studios during induction week during which you will have the opportunity to discuss this piece with tutors and peers as part of an informal introduction workshop....and your first studio discussion of your architecture studies!
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
The equipment and materials list below are what we recommend as a starting point. Over your three years of study you will develop specific interests and you may require additional tools and equipment.
Personal protective equipment (PPE): Essential at start of course
- Safety glasses - Honeywell A800 Safety Glasses Anti-Mist, Clear or similar EN166-1F Polycarbonate Anti-Scratch safety glasses, approximately £4.50
- Site safety footwear with steel toe and mid sole protection for site visits. Type SBP Approx £30
Studio equipment and materials
You will need the following items for the start of the course:
- A4 sketchbook unlined. Approx £5.
- 2B – 4B pencils. Approx £5.
- “Tervakoski” type sketching paper roll 30cm wide. Approx £28 (a year)
- Architectural scale rule (30 cm with different scales) , flat. Approx. £7
We also suggest (but not essential in the first couple of weeks):
- Pentel Sharplet Mechanical Pencils x 3 (.5mm/.7mm/.9mm) Approx £6
- Pentel 12 x HB 0.5mm Leads, Pentel 12 x 2B 0.7mm Leads, Pentel 12 x B 0.9mm Leads £1.35 each
- Set of 3 drafting pens size 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 Pentel Pointliner Technical Drawing Fineliner or similar. Approx £9.
- General Purpose Masking tape 24mm wide. Approx £5.
- Swann Morton retractable safety scalpel and 5 x 10a or 11a blades. Approx £8
- 300mm metal safety ruler (‘W’ section) Approx. £10.
- 300mm adjustable set square. Approx. £10.
- Steel Safety Rule - 300mm. Approx £7
- Flat Cutting Mat A3. Approx £8
- Polymer Eraser and Eraser shield. Approx £2
- Drawing Compass Approx. £3.25
The following items are desirable:
- A selection of Colouring pencils Faber Castell Polychromous or Derwent Studio around £20 for a set of 12
- Drafting brush Approx £10
- Clear Tough bag to carry your drawing equipment £3.50
- Foldover clear plastic and grey card interior type carry case A2 approx £10
Most of the above is available in the campus shop at Falmouth University, or easily found online.
A sensible budget for the above items is approximately £90 -£120
There will also be costs throughout the course in purchasing materials particularly drawing paper and materials for making models. It would be sensible to allow approximately £150 per academic year for these types of materials.
Computing equipment – Essential at start of course
A laptop will be an essential piece of equipment along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this).
The 3D CAD software and digital design tools we teach are fundamental design skills that require daily practice as part of your design process. We recommend budgeting around £1000 - £1500
The software we use for Architecture is industry standard; Autodesk AutoCad and Revit with rendering via Enscape, Twinmotion or similar. If you are buying new equipment, Windows-based is recommended.
- Operating System: Windows recommended
- Processor: Intel: Core i5, i7 or i9, or AMD: Ryzen 5,7 or 9 series
- RAM: 16GB Minimum, 32GB or higher recommended
- Graphics: Dedicated graphics cards with 2GB RAM. (either Nvidia RTX/Quadro or AMD Radeon)
- Storage: 500GB to 1TB+ storage capacity
Please also note Chromebooks, iPads, MacBook Airs and tablets are not suitable hardware for CAD design software but can be used for note taking and sketching.
Software – Essential at start of course
- Office 365, including Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. Free through the University.
- Adobe Creative Cloud, including Acrobat, Photoshop and InDesign. Available at a discounted price through the University (For guidance, this was £67.47 in 2023/34 academic year).
- Autodesk AutoCAD and Revit. Provided free through educational license agreement using your Falmouth email. Access will be setup during your first CAD session.
- Rhino 3D – available on campus and for purchase at discounted cost
- Cloud back-up is recommended
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Graphic Design BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
One-week-summer-projects
Introduction;
As part of your preparation for the new academic year, we would like you to begin ‘exercising’ your creative muscle over the summer. The following are a series of simple activities that can take as much/little time as you have available.
We would like everyone to engage with ‘Option 1’ and to then individually choose at least one other option – but spend no more than a week on each (and no more than 10 days over the summer in total). You can do more of the options if you have the time/inclination. Simply allow curiosity to be your guide and don’t put any pressure on yourself (these are just creative exercises – like going for a walk or a swim – think play and fun). Work in and around any existing commitments you already have and enjoy slowing yourself down a little.
–
- Option 1;
Choose a single type of object or artifact (spoons, pens, signage arrows, chairs, etc.) and spend the week capturing them in as many forms/ways as possible using a range of different mediums and materials (photographs, collage, drawings, prints, etc.). This is less about ‘perfect’ drawings or records of your objects, and more about the habit of ‘looking’ and the discipline of ‘recording’. The more you can document, the better (try to do several each day).
–
- Option 2;
Spend the week exploring the following websites. Our subject is broad, and we are keen that you begin digging a little deeper before you arrive. Keep a record of articles, examples of work or designs you are drawn to (for whatever reason) and be curious to find other links and references.
https://www.creative-conscience.org.uk/
–
- Option 3;
Get a blank sketchbook (A4 or ideally A3) and draw your non-dominant hand in pencil as follows. Repeat the activity five days in a row over one week. Use a timer and remember to look twice-as-much as you draw.;
- 5 drawings in 5 minutes – quick, loose sketches at 100% scale, all on the same page (so they overlap) as line art (no shading).
- One drawing in 5 minutes – slower, with more care at 100% scale. New page. Line art.
- One drawing in 20 minutes – very slow. 100% and include shading on a new page.
- If you are building momentum by the end of the week, keep going or take longer.
–
- Option 4;
Walk (ideally) to your local newsagents and buy a copy of The Guardian newspaper. If the weather is good, find somewhere quiet to stop and read on the way home. Explore some of the articles and ideas inside and make some notes regarding what inspires or challenges you. Repeat this each day for a week.
–
- Option 5;
Go for a walk around your local area and photographically document any found typography in the environment (house names, street signage, shop fronts, weathered lettering, etc.) using a phone/camera/etc. Then, either;
- Repeat the exercise each day for the week, collating them in any way that makes sense.
Or…
- Choose key letters/elements you like after day 1 and then draw your own typeface.
–
- Option 6;
If you have access to Netflix, watch as many of the 14 episodes of ‘Abstracts; The power of design’ as possible.
–
- Option 7;
Read a fiction novel. Pick anything you like or choose one from this list; https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/dec/07/the-best-books-of-2024
–
- Option 8;
Ask older family members or neighbours for their favourite film. Source and watch 5 of them.
–
- Option 9;
Go to your local charity shop and buy the most interesting object you can find for less than £1.00. Bring it home and write a short (imagined) story about its life up to this point.
–
- Option 10;
Think about the things you love, what is important to you, what you hope to see change in the world around you, how you spend your time, your money and so on. Write these things // as a list and pick one theme that is of most interest to you. Spend time searching for a podcast series that explores this theme in more detail.
Listen to several episodes over the week or explore further themes – one per day.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
As a discipline, graphic design is essentially about ideas, and our need for equipment is considerably less than many other creative practices. That said, there are sone ongoing costs each year and (if you so choose) some longer term investments as follows.
Studio kit (regular cost);
You should allow at least £100 for the basic studio kit needed across each year (outlined below). Everything is available from the University shop when you arrive, but there a few things (*) worth getting before-hand as you will need them in the first week;
- Academic year diary (essential, although you may prefer a digital, online version) *.
- A3 layout pads or sketchbooks (you will get through these!) *.
- Selection of pencils (in several different weights) *.
- Pritt Stick *.
- Masking tape.
- 12-inch metal ruler.
- A dozen-or-so packs of Sticky Notes (the cheapest you can find).
- Scalpel and blades such as Swan Morten (10a blades most useful).
- Retractable pencil (basic).
- Plastic eraser.
- Memory stick (USB).
- A selection of coloured pencils or markers.
You will be taking part in a bookbinding workshop in your first year. We recommend that you purchase a good basic kit which can be picked up online for about £10–20, although this is optional as we will supply the basic materials you need.
–
Printing (regular cost);
You will also need to allow for ongoing weekly/monthly printing costs for projects and any experimentation undertaken, which can be anything between £120 and £350+ depending on your needs each year (especially in the final year). Printing is one of our most regular costs as designers, and basic A4/A3 black & white (5p/9p) or colour printing (18p/35p) is charged to your account as you use it. There are also modest ‘screen’ charges for screen-printing and ‘masters’ charges for riso-printing, but this should be included in the above (unless you focus heavily on the resources).
–
Reading material;
We know that reading is not everyone’s favourite past-time (especially in our tech-heavy, image-led world). However, reading (and thinking about a text) will be a central part of your journey with us. All of the materials you will need on the course are either in our Libraries or online, so any purchases are entirely optional.
That said, we would encourage you to buy the following book before you arrive, as it covers many of the themes we will be considering on the course. Try to dip in and out of it over the summer (and beyond), and we will focus on it more directly during the second year of the course.
Title; MC24 (24 Principles for Designing Massive Change in your Life and Work).
Author; Bruce Mau.
Publisher; Phaidon Press (2020).
Cost; Around £35.00 (although you may find it cheaper online or used).
–
Laptops & Computers (optional one-off cost);
A computer is an essential piece of equipment as a Graphic Designer (although, remember it is just a tool). That said, several of our students complete the degree each year just using our university machines – and many will wait until the second year before buying one. If you do choose to invest, you will need either an Apple Mac or Windows machine, capable of running the Adobe Creative Suite. Beyond the course itself, this is likely to be one of the biggest investments you make whilst studying design and could cost between £350 and £1800.
The Adobe Creative Suite is available for you as a student at Falmouth at a heavily discounted rate (around £68 per year) if you do have your own machine, although the software is on all the University machines – including the ones in our studios. The system requirements to run the software can be found here and you will be able to purchase it once you have enroled:
helpx.adobe.com/uk/creative-suite/kb/cs6-system-requirements.html
You will also need a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this already) for any remote work you may do.
–
Study trips (optional);
In the first study block of the first year, we run a short day-trip to St Ives. This is heavily subsidised by the course, but we ask that all students contribute a nominal £15 towards the travel costs. We will collect payment for this in the first week of term and please do let us know if this is likely to be a problem.
In the second Study Block of the second year (after Christmas) we normally run an cultural study trip to visit professional design studios and agencies (often in London), as well as key exhibitions. The trip lasts approximately four days although some students spend longer to visit further galleries and see exhibitions, etc. The trip is not mandatory, although it is a fantastic opportunity to visit some of the finest studios in the industry and put your own emerging design work into a professional context.
Travel and accommodation costs associated with this are arranged by the students going each year (so you can stay with family, friends, share/arrange your own room, etc.) and you should allow between £250 –£400 for this. We also include final year students on the trip (so you could go in either year, or twice if you were keen – although this is less common), which allows you to save for the trip if required.
–
Exhibitions & events (optional);
We regularly encourage students to attend events, exhibitions or conferences that take place both in and outside of Cornwall. These events do not form a core requirement of the course and whilst you can visit regional exhibitions for little expenditure, anything national or European can cost much more. This can include key industry events over the summer of the second year, and more specifically in the final year.
In the final year we sometimes run other network or portfolio events where we arrange the event itself, but students are required to arrange travel/accommodation as necessary. Costs here will vary, depending on need.
–
Cameras;
If you already own a 35mm SLR or digital camera, you may find it useful to bring it with you. However, Falmouth has a wide range of photographic equipment which can be booked free of charge from our stores, so there is no need to buy anything new. Most students use their phones for day-to-day recording of material, ideas & inspiration.
–
Queries;
If you have any concerns or questions regarding possible costs on the course, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the us (andy.neal@falmouth.ac.uk).
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Graphic Design with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Typical course material costs:
£250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism. It is strongly advised that you have a personal laptop, and preferable for you to have access to the Adobe Creative Suite which includes Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign software (the monthly student subscription price is heavily discounted).
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Interior Architecture BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Box-chitecture!
Transform an ordinary shoebox into an extraordinary miniature room that tells a story! This fun project will get you thinking like a designer before starting your course.
What You'll Need:
- A shoebox or similar-sized box
- Craft materials (paper, cardboard, fabric scraps, paint)
- Found objects and recycled materials
- Basic tools (scissors, glue, tape)
- Your imagination!
The Challenge - Create a miniature room that represents one of these themes:
- "A Room from the Future"
- "Nature Indoors"
- "Movie Scene Setting"
- "Dream Reading Nook"
- "Sustainable Living Space"
Design Tips
- Think about lighting - create windows or add LED lights if you'd like
- Add people - use figures or 2D cutouts to show scale
- Consider textures - maybe try to combine smooth, rough, and patterned surfaces
- Add personal touches that tell your story
- Experiment with different materials and how they interact.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
The materials and equipment list below is what we recommend as a starting point. Over your three years of study you will develop specific interests and you may require additional tools. We will provide you with the materials needed for workshop inductions. In some modules, you will need to purchase other materials for model making and sketching, but the technicians and tutors can advise on making this as cost effective as possible.
A yearly materials budget of £100 to £200 is recommended. We have divided material and equipment items into essential and optional to help you manage the costs.
Personal protective equipment (PPE): Essential at start of course
Your safety is paramount, and you will need to buy compulsory PPE to use in our workshops. Please ensure the items you purchase match the specifications listed below; all items can be purchased from RS Components Ltd website:
- Safety glasses - Honeywell A800 Safety Glasses Anti-Mist, Clear or similar EN166-1F Polycarbonate Anti-Scratch safety glasses, approximately £4.50
Workshop equipment and drawing and model making kit: Essential at start of course
The following items can be purchased from the campus art shop:
- Retractable craft/Stanley knife and blades - https://www.stanleytools.co.uk/product/2-10-099/stanley-99e-classic-retractable-blade-utility-knife?tid=569066, approximately £6.00.
- A5 notebook and A3 sketchbook, approximately £14.49
- A3 layout pad, approximately £5.70
- 12” Maun safety steel ruler, approximately £2.10
- A3 cutting mat, approximately £9.00
- Swann-Morton safety scalpel - https://www.craftknives.co.uk/product/retractawaypremium and 10A blades (4 packs), approximately £7.55
- Graphite sketching and colour pencils, fineliner pens (0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7mm), Letraset Tria (or equivalent) marker pens (1x dark and 1x light cool grey), approximately £28.00
- 3M masking tape (25mm), approximately £1.55
Computing equipment – Essential at start of course
A laptop will be an essential piece of equipment along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this). The 3D CAD software and digital design tools we teach are fundamental design skills that require daily practice as part of your design process. We recommend budgeting around £800 - £2500 for a recommended laptop specification. Educational and refurbished discounts are available direct from companies like Dell, Asus, etc., and can save you up to 50% sometimes. We also recommend having a laptop case/bag to carry and protect your laptop (approximately £50).
The software we use requires a computer with more computing power, memory and graphics than a standard home/work machine. Typically, the best options are professional ‘workstation’ laptops aimed at businesses, or Gaming machines which offer comparable performance at a lower price point, (e.g. from Dell – Workstation/Professional laptops – XPS and precision, Gaming laptops – G series and Alienware). We use AutoDesk Revit and the recommended specification is here: Recommended specification
- Operating System: Windows
- Processor: Intel: Core i5, i7 or i9, or AMD: Ryzen 5,7 or 9 series
- RAM: 16GB Minimum, 32GB or higher recommended
- Graphics: Dedicated graphics cards with 2GB RAM. (either Nvidia RTX/Quadro or AMD Radeon)
- Storage: 500GB to 1TB+ storage capacity (Preferably an SSD)
- Screen size: 13” or larger
Mostly, you will be required to use Windows-only software on the course, so an Apple computer (a Mac) might not be suitable. Chromebooks and iPads will not run the software you require for your studies, although they are very useful secondary machines for digital notetaking and sketching.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Interior Design BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Box-chitecture!
Transform an ordinary shoebox into an extraordinary miniature room that tells a story! This fun project will get you thinking like a designer before starting your course.
What You'll Need:
- A shoebox or similar-sized box
- Craft materials (paper, cardboard, fabric scraps, paint)
- Found objects and recycled materials
- Basic tools (scissors, glue, tape)
- Your imagination!
The Challenge - Create a miniature room that represents one of these themes:
- "A Room from the Future"
- "Nature Indoors"
- "Movie Scene Setting"
- "Dream Reading Nook"
- "Sustainable Living Space"
Design Tips
- Think about lighting - create windows or add LED lights if you'd like
- Add people - use figures or 2D cutouts to show scale
- Consider textures - maybe try to combine smooth, rough, and patterned surfaces
- Add personal touches that tell your story
- Experiment with different materials and how they interact.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
The materials and equipment list below is what we recommend as a starting point. Over your three years of study you will develop specific interests and you may require additional tools. We will provide you with the materials needed for workshop inductions. In some modules, you will need to purchase other materials for model making and sketching, but the technicians and tutors can advise on making this as cost effective as possible.
A yearly materials budget of £100 to £200 is recommended. We have divided material and equipment items into essential and optional to help you manage the costs.
Personal protective equipment (PPE): Essential at start of course
Your safety is paramount, and you will need to buy compulsory PPE to use in our workshops. Please ensure the items you purchase match the specifications listed below; all items can be purchased from RS Components Ltd website:
- Safety glasses - Honeywell A800 Safety Glasses Anti-Mist, Clear or similar EN166-1F Polycarbonate Anti-Scratch safety glasses, approximately £4.50
Workshop equipment and drawing and model making kit: Essential at start of course
The following items can be purchased from the campus art shop:
- Retractable craft/Stanley knife and blades - https://www.stanleytools.co.uk/product/2-10-099/stanley-99e-classic-retractable-blade-utility-knife?tid=569066, approximately £6.00.
- A5 notebook and A3 sketchbook, approximately £14.49
- A3 layout pad, approximately £5.70
- 12” Maun safety steel ruler, approximately £2.10
- A3 cutting mat, approximately £9.00
- Swann-Morton safety scalpel - https://www.craftknives.co.uk/product/retractawaypremium and 10A blades (4 packs), approximately £7.55
- Graphite sketching and colour pencils, fineliner pens (0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7mm), Letraset Tria (or equivalent) marker pens (1x dark and 1x light cool grey), approximately £28.00
- 3M masking tape (25mm), approximately £1.55
Computing equipment – Essential at start of course
A laptop will be an essential piece of equipment along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this). The 3D CAD software and digital design tools we teach are fundamental design skills that require daily practice as part of your design process. We recommend budgeting around £800 - £2500 for a recommended laptop specification. Educational and refurbished discounts are available direct from companies like Dell, Asus, etc., and can save you up to 50% sometimes. We also recommend having a laptop case/bag to carry and protect your laptop (approximately £50).
The software we use requires a computer with more computing power, memory and graphics than a standard home/work machine. Typically, the best options are professional ‘workstation’ laptops aimed at businesses, or Gaming machines which offer comparable performance at a lower price point, (e.g. from Dell – Workstation/Professional laptops – XPS and precision, Gaming laptops – G series and Alienware). We use AutoDesk Revit and the recommended specification is here: Recommended specification
- Operating System: Windows
- Processor: Intel: Core i5, i7 or i9, or AMD: Ryzen 5,7 or 9 series
- RAM: 16GB Minimum, 32GB or higher recommended
- Graphics: Dedicated graphics cards with 2GB RAM. (either Nvidia RTX/Quadro or AMD Radeon)
- Storage: 500GB to 1TB+ storage capacity (Preferably an SSD)
- Screen size: 13” or larger
Mostly, you will be required to use Windows-only software on the course, so an Apple computer (a Mac) might not be suitable. Chromebooks and iPads will not run the software you require for your studies, although they are very useful secondary machines for digital notetaking and sketching.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
a
Welcome to Sustainable Product Design BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
2050: A sustainable vision of the future
- Context:
You are joining a talented and diverse group of designers, makers and creative thinkers on the Sustainable Product Design course in Falmouth this September. You are about to embark on a journey into the future and are mentally and physically preparing to pack; selecting objects that are both useful in terms of function, but also objects with links to the past.
Objects are often embodied with, or develop, narrative through their lifetime, acting as vessels that communicate value systems, ideas and memories. Often, we assign meaning to objects, raising their importance and elevating them in status beyond many more expensive items we purchase.
As designers, we are always imagining the future and creating new ideas that aim to make it better for people and the planet. Imagination is a critical tool as a creative and this project will enable you to show us your ability to imagine and forecast a future world in 2050. In the search for a more sustainable world, creating a vision through text, images, and objects, is crucial for helping people understand how we may transition from the present to a more sustainable future.
- The Brief:
Consider what a future world might look like in 2050. Have we managed to solve plastic waste? Is there enough food for all? Do we eat animals? How do we move around the globe? What materials do we use and how are objects made? Do we all live in megacities, or have we fled to Mars?
Design and illustrate an A6-sized picture postcard from your vision of 2050. This vision should help communicate what environmental and social challenges will be faced.
Design an object from this future world that responds to your vision of how life will change. Consider the function of your object in the broadest sense and develop a reason why it would be important. Use household materials, such as paper, card, and tape, to explore your concept three dimensionally. Have some fun and be imaginative.
Send your postcards to the following address, remembering to include your name, for delivery by Monday 15th September 2025:
FAO: Stage 1 Tutor
Sustainable Product Design
Falmouth University
Falmouth Campus
Cornwall
TR11 4RH
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
We will provide you with the materials needed for workshop inductions. In some modules, you will need to purchase other materials for prototyping, but the technicians and tutors can advise on making this as cost effective as possible. A yearly materials budget of £50 to £100 is recommended.
- Safety glasses - Honeywell A800 Safety Glasses Anti-Mist, Clear or similar EN166-1F Polycarbonate Anti-Scratch safety glasses, approximately £4.50
- 5 metre metal tape measure, approximately £4.45
- Retractable craft/Stanley knife and blades - https://www.stanleytools.co.uk/product/2-10-099/stanley-99e-classic-retractable-blade-utility-knife?tid=569066, approximately £6.00.
- A6 notebook and A3 sketchbook, approximately £14.49
- A3 layout pad, approximately £5.70
- 12” Maun safety steel ruler, approximately £2.10
- A3 cutting mat, approximately £9.00
- Swann-Morton safety scalpel - https://www.craftknives.co.uk/product/retractawaypremium and 10A blades (4 packs), approximately £7.55
- Graphite sketching and colour pencils, fineliner pens (0.3 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7mm), Letraset Tria (or equivalent) marker pens (1x dark and 1x light cool grey), approximately £28.00
- 3M masking tape (25mm), approximately £1.55
A laptop will be an essential piece of equipment along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this). The 3D CAD software and digital design tools we teach are fundamental design skills that require daily practice as part of your design process. We recommend budgeting around £1000 - £2500 for a recommended laptop specification. Educational and refurbished discounts are available direct from companies like Apple, Dell, Asus, etc., and can save you up to 50% sometimes. We also recommend having a laptop case/bag to carry and protect your laptop (approximately £50).
The software we use requires a computer with more computing power, memory and graphics than a standard home/work machine. Typically, the best options are professional ‘workstation’ laptops aimed at businesses, or Gaming machines which offer comparable performance at a lower price point, (e.g. from Dell – Workstation/Professional laptops – XPS and precision, Gaming laptops – G series and Alienware).
Students on the course become proficient in the use of industry standard software including:
- Office 365, including Word, PowerPoint and Outlook. Free through the University.
- Adobe Creative Cloud, including Acrobat, Photoshop and InDesign. Available at a discounted price through the University (For guidance, this was £67.47 in 2023/34 academic year).
- Autodesk Product Design Suite, including Fusion360. Provided free through educational license agreement using your Falmouth email. Access will be setup during your first CAD session.
- Rhino 3D – available on campus computers and for purchase at discounted cost
- Vizcom – Free student account
Optional - Would be nice to have at start of course:
- A wireless or Bluetooth, 3-button computer mouse – approx. £15
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Education
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Fashion & Textiles
Welcome to Costume Design for Film & Television BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
In a small notebook, keep a diary of the films and shows you watch from this date until you arrive at Falmouth.
Include details of what you watched, who directed or was show runner, who starred, the original release date etc, plus of course the costume designer.
Make notes on whether you enjoyed it and a sketch of one of the costumes.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will set up a credit account of £150 with the department in your first week. This will cover all your workshop materials for the three years of the course. Students will be required to purchase materials for any costume makes as well as purchasing second-hand garments and sketchbooks for design projects.
Additional costs
You will also need to factor in printing costs and presentation materials. It is difficult to give an exact figure on these additional costs as each project output will be individual to the student. A rough estimate would be £50 per practical module for these additional materials (based on one sketchbook, a charity shop purchase, thread, trims and/or fabrics), but this can vary depending on the ambitions of your project.
It is likely that you may need to spend more on materials in your second and third years, but this will depend on the areas you choose to work in and the materials you choose to work with. We anticipate second- and third-year costs being less than £70 per practical module.
Many students raise funds through crowdfunding to meet higher costs.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Costume Design for Film & Television with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Fashion Design with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Fashion Marketing BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
As marketers, we are at the forefront of commerce and communication, we understand the global standpoint, as businesspeople and as consumers. We are in a prime position to be able to shift opinions towards a more responsible way of being, to consider innovative ways in which the fashion industry can work towards positive solutions related to climate change, ethical practices, and prosperity.
We would like you to explore a few websites before you arrive, this will start you thinking about sustainable and ethical impact of the Fashion Industry and how fashion marketing plays a positive (and negative) role in the global challenges of our time.
We recommend you read the following report from Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Co. It is their latest 2025 update to the annual “State of Fashion” report (available on both websites).
- https://www.businessoffashion.com/reports/news-analysis/the-state-of-fashion-2025-bof-mckinsey-report/
- https://www.businessoffashion.com/reports/state-of-luxury-fashion-industry/
During Freshers’ week, alongside our colleagues in the Fashion and Textiles institute, we will be holding a range of mending workshops to prolong the life of your garments. Please bring along a garment that requires mending, this could be a hole or stain that needs covering with a patch, darning or Sashiko (traditional Japanese embroidery technique), or missing buttons, fallen hems or frayed cuffs. This is an opportunity to learn some repair techniques and enjoy a chat with your new colleagues.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Essential for the duration of the course (costs estimated):
- Black and white and colour printing (approximately £60 per year)
- Art materials for presenting work (approximately £50 each year)
Recommended for the start of the course (costs estimated):
- Black hard-back sketchbook, white pages, A4 or 30cm x 30cm (approximately £10)
- Fine black writing pen or sharp pencil for sketchbook annotation (approximately £10)
Nice to have at the start of the course (costs estimated):
- Notebook, pens (approximately £10)
Although you may use digital notetaking. Please consider that you may be asked to put your mobile phones away for the duration of the teaching session.
It is useful to have the equipment listed below for the start of the course, but it is not essential (costs estimated):
- Scissors / scalpel blades + cutting mat (approximately £15)
- Glue Stick or double-sided tape (approximately £5)
- Small metal ruler (approximately £10)
Digital access:
Fashion Marketing students have studio-based access to MacBook Pros (13” +15” Laptops) with access to Adobe Creative Cloud software and there are desktop Apple Macs accessible throughout the Design Centre and Library during opening times.
If you are considering purchasing your own laptop, to allow more flexibility to work off-campus, the following specifications are advised: Mac or PC with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD, we also recommend a student subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud. (Approx £70 p.a.)
You can expect to spend approximately £200 on consumables for each year, e.g. printing costs. This can be less in year-one due to the nature of the project (shared group work). In year-three the final major project is likely to cost in the region of £350-£500. This is for the purpose of, for example, a research trip or professional print production (magazines/publications) or graduate showcase presentation.
Where appropriate, we encourage and accept digital submissions. However, understanding and demonstrating digital translation to professional print is a key part of the course.
Study trips and costs: (optional)
We are expecting that there will be an optional study trip, e.g. to London during London Fashion Week in mid-February, which we hope all students can attend. The cost will be confirmed at the beginning of term but is estimated to be around £250-£300, depending on student numbers. A nonrefundable deposit will be required within the first weeks of term when confirmation of the trip will be communicated.
Work Placements: (consideration)
Students may choose to undertake a non-essential self-funded work placement/internship across the summer break between stages, one and two, two and three. It is worth considering what the cost implications of this may be if you are required to live and work in London or another location outside of Cornwall for three months or more.
Membership: (optional)
Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) affiliated membership
Joining the CIM as an affiliate member allows you access to a wealth of networks and resources and initiates your professional journey as a marketer. During the first term there will be a presentation to explain the benefits of CIM membership and the graduate gateway to which BA(Hons) Fashion Marketing at Falmouth is affiliated. Membership costs £65 annually and is paid direct to CIM.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Fashion Marketing with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Fashion Photography with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Fashion Styling & Art Direction with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Textile Design BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
We would like you to explore two websites www.fashionrevolution.org and https://fashion-declares.org before you arrive, this will start you thinking about the textile industry and its impact on the environment.
You will focus your attention on colour in the first two weeks of the course. It’s particularly important that you have your gouache paints bought as mentioned in the equipment list.
If you have a ‘scrap-bag’ of fabrics, threads, or yarns this is always a useful resource on our course and we suggest adding to this on a continuous basis and having it available when you start the course. However, in line with our course ethos around sustainability and the environment, please do not buy new polyester or nylon.
In Freshers’ week, we will be holding some mending workshops to prolong the life of your garments. Please bring a garment that requires mending, this could be a hole that needs darning or patching, or a stain that needs covering. You might have missing buttons, fallen hems or frayed cuffs that you would like to fix up with our help.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Essential workshop items
You probably already have many items on this list, however, if you need to buy all these items from scratch, it will cost approximately £150. Current students recommend Hobbycraft for many items:
- Range of drawing pencils
- Gouache paints - ensure these are good quality paints with a high pigment content such as Windsor & Newton. (Current students recommend ‘Arteza’ and ‘Seawhite’). You will need these colours in the first week of study:
- White (large tube essential)
- Lemon yellow (or any bright yellow)
- Marigold yellow (or any orange)
- Magenta
- Spectrum red or primary red
- Ultramarine blue or primary blue
- Viridian green or a similar green
- Burnt umber
- Black
- A range of brushes
- White palette for mixing paints
- Masking tape and double-sided tape
- Sewing threads - a small range
- A2 folder (a transparent plastic portfolio folder can be bought in the University shop)
- A3 sketchbooks (can be bought in the University shop)
- A range of good quality paper for drawing
- Fabric scissors
- Small sharp-pointed scissors, kept for fabric and thread only
- Paper scissors
- Sewing needles, a variety of sizes
- (Optional) You may also consider a USB stick or hard drive for backing up your work.
Note that once you have settled into a main discipline area (weave, print or mixed media) there will be essential equipment that you will need to purchase such as shuttles, threads, needles, pins.
Studio materials charge
We ask students to pay £200 in the first week to cover the cost of studio materials e.g. use of dyes, print pastes and chemicals, and other miscellaneous items. This covers all three years and is a one off payment. You will also need to purchase fabrics and yarns and some specialist printing pastes as the course continues, but this cost varies from student to student depending on fabric/yarn choices and methods used. Some students spend £600 or more on additional materials in their final year, but it is possible to spend more or much less than this, depending on the processes used. We would expect year two costs to be less and recommend that second year students budget around £300 for materials.
Work placement (optional)
Short work placements and internships, generally undertaken during your second year, are very much encouraged, but are not required to pass the course. The costs of travel, accommodation and living should be factored in for this. Some placement providers may cover a limited amount of expenses, but this is not guaranteed.
New Designers Exhibition, London (optional)
We aim to exhibit our best students at New Designers in the summer following your third year. The University covers some of this cost, but students also need to contribute towards the cost of the stand and van hire to transport to and from London. As a guide, the students this year are contributing £400 each. We encourage students to fund raise as a cohort to help reduce this cost.
Study trips
We run overseas study visits from time to time in the second and third years of the course. Recent visits have been to important international trade fairs such as Première Vision in Paris. Trips such as this are optional, and we work hard to secure the best deals for accommodation and travel. Prices will vary at the time we organise the trips but as a guide, a trip we are planning to Amsterdam will cost approximately £500, including travel from London and accommodation, but not food.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Textile Design with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Games
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Welcome to Game Animation with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and their new exhibition on surfing culture - to inform the first IFY project 'Explore'.
So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This might include drawing, painting, film, photography and sketchbook work. Alternatively you could undertake investigations using digital /analogue methods - into ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
£250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips: There are several IFY field trips and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Game Art with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and their new exhibition on surfing culture - to inform the first IFY project 'Explore'.
So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This might include drawing, painting, film, photography and sketchbook work. Alternatively you could undertake investigations using digital /analogue methods - into ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Typical course material costs:
£250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Game Development: Art with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and their new exhibition on surfing culture - to inform the first IFY project 'Explore'.
So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This might include drawing, painting, film, photography and sketchbook work. Alternatively you could undertake investigations using digital /analogue methods - into ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
£250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips: There are several IFY field trips and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Game Development: Design with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Reading:
- - Bond, J.G., 2018. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development from Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C#. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley.
- - Keith, C., 2010. Agile Game Development with Scrum. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
It would be beneficial to look into popular choose-your-own-adventure books, visual novels, and role-playing games. In particular, engaging with popular tabletop role-playing systems.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Computer - £1500
- Headset - £30-£150
- Webcam - £25-£100
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Game Development: Programming BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
The course will primarily focus on developing your practical problem solving and programming skills, alongside fundamental knowledge of agile project management, computer science, and mathematics.
There will be considerable emphasis on the challenges and opportunities presented by game development projects and studio-based teamwork. Initially, we will gently introduce the principles of computing to you using Python and C# on Windows. This will ensure that, regardless of your level of prior programming experience, you are afforded the opportunity to develop a firm understanding of computing as a discipline and develop core competencies which are expected of all computing professionals. This forms the foundation that will then enable you to explore the richer, more complex programming constructs available in other languages.
It is important that you join the course with some programming experience, otherwise you will struggle. To this end, if you have never created your own software on the Windows operating system using Python, you should do so in preparation for the course.
Firstly, you will need to setup a suitable development environment. Please download and install:
- Python 3: link.falmouth.games/python3
- PyGame 2: link.falmouth.games/pygame-instructions
- PyCharm Community Edition: www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/download/
You may also need to install Java too as PyCharm is dependent on the Java Virtual Machine for portability. Any recent version will be fine: www.java.com/en/download
We have prepared some videos to show you what to do if you are uncertain how to do the setup: link.falmouth.games/pythonsetup
If you run into difficulties, please feel welcome to contact: games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Programming Tasks
Once you are setup and ready to get programming, start to work through the activities in Invent Your Own Computer Games in Python: Inventwithpython.com/invent4thed/, games provide an interesting (and fun!) application of the principles of computer science you will encounter on the course. Having some understanding of the complexities of interacting systems will be a great advantage to you when you join us.
When you’re feeling more confident with programming fundamentals, your task is to:
- Recreate a simple arcade game (eg, snake, platformer) using pygame and python
Use the following materials for support:
- Python 3 Docs: docs.python.org/3/tutorial/index.html
- PyCharm Docs: www.jetbrains.com/help/pycharm/meet-pycharm.html
- PyGame Tutorials: www.pygame.org/wiki/tutorials
There will be a Programming Olympiad in the first week of formal teaching on the Digital Creativity module which will challenge your Python programming skills.
Understanding Game Engines: Unity
After you have successfully implemented your bot, you should familiarise yourself with the other programming languages and engines that you will be using on the Digital Creativity module:
C#: www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-c-sharp
Unity:
- learn.unity.com
- learn.unity.com/course/beginner-scripting
- learn.unity.com/project/intermediate-gameplay-scripting
Brackeys: link.falmouth.games/ytbrackeys
Exploring C++, SDL, OpenGL, and Unreal Engine 5 will also be useful. We will cover these topics in more depth after the first stage of the course.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will need access to your own private personal computer to be able to put in the computer programming practice that is needed to become a computing professional. A suitable personal computer for this course will likely cost around £1,500. The latest advice about which computers we recommend you buy for your course is available here: link.falmouth.games/computer-advice
You will also have access to machines with a very high specification in our studios where you’ll be expected to do most of your work. It is important that you have a reliable internet connection, as some materials are made available to you through our virtual learning environment. We recommend a fibre broadband connection if available, but a minimum of at least 5Mbps will be suitable for livestreaming content.
Consumable electronics
You must reserve a budget of at least £40 to purchase additional materials and electronic components for your individual creative computing project.
Headset with Microphone
You will need a headset with a microphone for some classes. We recommend purchasing a high-quality headset for your comfort. Manufacturers such as Sennheiser, Razer, HyperX and Corsair are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £30 - £150.
Webcam
You will need a webcam in some teaching. Manufacturers such as Logitech, Microsoft, and Razer are rated highly by our current students. These can cost between £25 - £100. If you have further questions, need more detailed advice or would like us to check the suitability of a particular model, then please email games.support@falmouth.ac.uk
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Game Development: Programming with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Reading:
- - Bond, J.G., 2018. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development from Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C#. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley.
- - Keith, C., 2010. Agile Game Development with Scrum. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
It would be beneficial to look into popular choose-your-own-adventure books, visual novels, and role-playing games. In particular, engaging with popular tabletop role-playing systems.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Computer - £1500
- Headset - £30-£150
- Webcam - £25-£100
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Game Development: Writing with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Reading:
- - Bond, J.G., 2018. Introduction to Game Design, Prototyping, and Development from Concept to Playable Game with Unity and C#. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Addison-Wesley.
- - Keith, C., 2010. Agile Game Development with Scrum. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
It would be beneficial to look into popular choose-your-own-adventure books, visual novels, and role-playing games. In particular, engaging with popular tabletop role-playing systems.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Computer - £1500
- Headset - £30-£150
- Webcam - £25-£100
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
a
Performance, Theatre & Music
Welcome to Acting BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
We’d like you to introduce yourself by creating a self-portrait — in any form that feels right to you. This could be a painting, a short film, a monologue, a poem, a piece of music, a collage, or something else entirely. There are no rules about how you do it — just aim to capture something of who you are.
It doesn’t need to be long or polished. We're not looking for perfection, just honesty. Don’t try to be ‘interesting’ — you already are.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Essential equipment:
- Suitable loose warm clothing appropriate for all practical classes (acting, voice, movement, rehearsals). No jeans or restrictive clothing. Clothing for sessions should be plain colours (nothing too bright and no big logos etc).
- Please have clean, soft-soled trainers/low-top skate shoes (Vans, Converse etc.) Again, not too bright/leopard print etc. The studios do not permit outdoor shoes, so please have these with you to change into from the first day.
- A reusable metal straw for Voice classes (an example one: amazon.co.uk/dp/B094R7G66N/ref=pe_27063361_485629781_TE_item )
- A Yoga mat for Movement classes
- A refillable water bottle
- A notebook, pens and pencils
- A waterproof coat and suitable shoes for working outside
- Smart black/brown shoes, either flat or with a heel
- Plain shirt and black trousers and/or long black skirt (plain simple style)
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Cert HE Creative Music Technology. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
There are no set pre-enrolment tasks, but it is always helpful to:
- Update your software skills in your chosen and perhaps a new DAW, plug-in or coding environment through online tutorials and practical experimentation.
- Work on your portfolio of music and/or sound design material and share via streaming services, YouTube, SoundCloud etc.
- Learn more about your particular areas of interest through reading, watching and listening. A highly-recommended text is Audio Culture by Cox and Warner.
- A highly recommended website that will point you towards loads of learning resources and inspiration is Create Digital Media: www.cdm.link
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Computers & DAWs
A computer running a suitable Digital Audio Workstation such as Ableton Live, Logic, FL Studio, Pro Tools, Reaper or Bitwig will be essential. A laptop rather than a desktop is highly recommended. If you need further guidance on computers and software then please speak to the course team during induction week.
- Instruments
All of our practice studios are equipped with a piano or keyboard, amplifiers, PA and a drum kit. Drummers should bring their own sticks, cymbals, and snare. Other instrumentalists must bring their own instrument with them, and budget for any expendables relating to your specific instrument such as strings, plectrums and leads.
- Headphones
You can book headphones from AMATA’s Technical Resource Stores, however a pair of good quality, open-back headphones are recommended for regular studio and production work. Prices vary but expect to pay upwards of £80-£100. If you are not sure what you need, search the Internet for ‘studio monitor headphone review’.
- Ear protection
Your ears are the most important pieces of audio kit you will ever own! Looking after them is therefore top priority. Dispensers with free disposable foam earplugs are situated outside the practice and performance studios throughout the AMATA building, but it is also recommended that you purchase high quality earplugs - especially if you play in a loud group or attend gigs and/or clubs.
- Backups
Backing up your work is essential. You will have access to online storage via Microsoft OneDrive but a physical drive may also be useful for additional security or when Internet upload speeds are slower than they are on campus.
- Software
You will have free access to Microsoft Office software throughout your time at Falmouth.
- Notetaking
You may wish to use your laptop for notetaking. However, if you prefer pen and paper, then we would suggest spending around £10 on pens and notepads / journals.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Cert HE Music. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
We would like all students to prepare a short performance of either an original song/piece of music, or a cover of their choosing. We will hear all of these in the welcome week, and they will help in the forming of initial groups/bands for the study block one performance modules.
If a student would prefer to showcase their production work, this is fine too.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
There are no mandatory costs here, but students are advised to bring their instruments with them. We would also recommend that they equip themselves with notebooks and pens.
Headphones are useful but can always be supplied by stores.
Likewise, a laptop is useful, but there are bookable computers in AMATA, laptops available for tech sessions, and all studio control rooms have a computer in them.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Cert HE Popular Music. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
We would like all students to prepare a short performance of either an original song/piece of music, or a cover of their choosing. We will hear all of these in the welcome week, and they will help in the forming of initial groups/bands for the study block one performance modules.
If a student would prefer to showcase their production work, this is fine too.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
There are no mandatory costs here, but students are advised to bring their instruments with them. We would also recommend that they equip themselves with notebooks and pens.
Headphones are useful but can always be supplied by stores.
Likewise, a laptop is useful, but there are bookable computers in AMATA, laptops available for tech sessions, and all studio control rooms have a computer in them.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Creative Music Technology BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
There are no set pre-enrolment tasks, but it is always helpful to:
- Update your software skills in your chosen and perhaps a new DAW, plug-in or coding environment through online tutorials and practical experimentation.
- Work on your portfolio of music and/or sound design material and share via streaming services, YouTube, SoundCloud etc.
- Learn more about your particular areas of interest through reading, watching and listening. A highly-recommended text is Audio Culture by Cox and Warner.
- A highly recommended website that will point you towards loads of learning resources and inspiration is Create Digital Media: www.cdm.link
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Computers & DAWs
A computer running a suitable Digital Audio Workstation such as Ableton Live, Logic, FL Studio, Pro Tools, Reaper or Bitwig will be essential. A laptop rather than a desktop is highly recommended. If you need further guidance on computers and software then please speak to the course team during induction week.
- Instruments
All of our practice studios are equipped with a piano or keyboard, amplifiers, PA and a drum kit. Drummers should bring their own sticks, cymbals, and snare. Other instrumentalists must bring their own instrument with them, and budget for any expendables relating to your specific instrument such as strings, plectrums and leads.
- Headphones
You can book headphones from AMATA’s Technical Resource Stores, however a pair of good quality, open-back headphones are recommended for regular studio and production work. Prices vary but expect to pay upwards of £80-£100. If you are not sure what you need, search the Internet for ‘studio monitor headphone review’.
- Ear protection
Your ears are the most important pieces of audio kit you will ever own! Looking after them is therefore top priority. Dispensers with free disposable foam earplugs are situated outside the practice and performance studios throughout the AMATA building, but it is also recommended that you purchase high quality earplugs - especially if you play in a loud group or attend gigs and/or clubs.
- Backups
Backing up your work is essential. You will have access to online storage via Microsoft OneDrive but a physical drive may also be useful for additional security or when Internet upload speeds are slower than they are on campus.
- Software
You will have free access to Microsoft Office software throughout your time at Falmouth.
- Notetaking
You may wish to use your laptop for notetaking. However, if you prefer pen and paper, then we would suggest spending around £10 on pens and notepads / journals.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Dance & Choreography BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Brief: In anticipation…
Anticipation is the feeling we experience when we are expecting something to happen and we are left in a state of suspense. Anticipate means to look forward to or await with the expectation of new experiences or change. It can also provoke a heightened state of awareness of both ‘before’ and ‘what’s to come’. To anticipate can be conceptualised as being on the edge of something new: on the edge of change.
We invite you, in advance of starting your studies with us, to tune in to your state of anticipation. You might want to notice how this makes you want to move, how your daily or habitual activities are affected by your upcoming new journey into the Dance and Choreography course. We encourage you to create 2 x 1 minute solos. One of them will respond to ideas of ‘edge’ and one to ideas of ‘change’.
It is up to you how you choose to interpret this brief. There is no right or wrong. The emphasis is on generating material connected to these ideas that you will be able to share with others in the early days of us working together. Make time for experimentation and allow your ideas to evolve using a mix of different methods for generating movement material eg. improvisation, writing, video and review etc. This project will form the starting point for discussion and generating interactions in the first weeks of the study block.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Essential equipment: Dance clothing eg leggings, tracksuit bottoms, tops etc (you do not need to wear ballet tights and leotard); water bottle; trainers.
Would be good to have for the start of the course but not essential:
- Ballet shoes
- Foam roller
- Yoga belt
- Yoga mat
- Indoor trainers.
Costs: You should make sure you have suitable dance clothing and equipment, which might cost around £70- 100 per year.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Music BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
We would like all students to prepare a short performance of either an original song/piece of music, or a cover of their choosing. We will hear all of these in the welcome week, and they will help in the forming of initial groups/bands for the study block one performance modules.
If a student would prefer to showcase their production work, this is fine too.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
There are no mandatory costs here, but students are advised to bring their instruments with them. We would also recommend that they equip themselves with notebooks and pens.
Headphones are useful but can always be supplied by stores.
Likewise, a laptop is useful, but there are bookable computers in AMATA, laptops available for tech sessions, and all studio control rooms have a computer in them.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Musical Theatre BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Brief : Musical Theatre is an evocative and inspiring art form. It can make us breathless with excitement, cry on cue or laugh hysterically all within a matter of moments. Prior to you starting your training at Falmouth, we would like you to reflect on a particular piece of Musical Theatre which has evoked strong emotions within you and led you to wanting to make a career within this industry.
Please prepare a short verbal presentation of 2 -5 minutes (or 500 word equivalent) to share with your peers during workshops in induction week and seminars at the start of the term. This could be based around a particular show, individual performance or musical film that you have seen, either live or in recorded medium, which has moved or inspired you in a visceral way. This should not just be a review of the contents or synopsis of a piece of theatre, but rather focus on the emotional impact it has had on you and how it has changed you.
You should consider:
- How did the piece affect you emotionally, and how did it create this effect?
- How the performance inspired you?
- What change has it affected within you?
- What personal goals has it inspired you to set yourself?
- What is your personal manifesto for your 1st year of training – what three things do you want to focus on achieving?
- What is your personal manifesto for the 3 yrs of your course and beyond? - Where do you want to be? What roles are you inspired to play?
- What change do you want to make within the industry inspired by the piece you discuss?
Your short presentation will be given verbally to the group, but notes should also be written. This will prepare you for the structure of seminars in your essay module in SB1. We are by no means looking for a finished product, but rather an insight into your views and explorations.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
To engage in the digital learning activity, although you will be able to access IT suites on campus, you will benefit from a laptop to access the platforms and tools we use. You will be provided with free access to the Microsoft Office suite, (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint) while you study at Falmouth.
Essential for the start of Study Block 1:
- Suitable loose warm clothing appropriate for all practical classes (acting, voice/singing, movement/dance and rehearsals). No jeans, jeggings or restrictive clothing. Studio temperatures will be variable, and you should always bring extra layers.
- You will often be working in bare feet in acting/voice classes. You may find it useful to have at least one good pair of comfortable rehearsal socks which you keep for rehearsal.
- Dance gear including footwear for ballet, jazz, tap & conditioning (Tap starts in Study Block 2). Suitable clothing should be tight fitting and would ideally be leotards / tights / unitards / gym type wear with ballet shoes/Jazz shoes or jazz sneakers and trainers for study block 1. Tap shoes are essential for the end of Study Block 1 prior to classes starting in study block 2.
- A Yoga Matt of any description would be useful, but not essential. Medium strength resistance / stretch bands will be useful for Study Block 1 but are not essential. Knee pads may be useful for Study Block 2 but are not essential.
- A non-shatter water bottle for sessions. A small hand towel is also essential for all movement classes.
- Paper journal and pens
Additional costs
In addition to your living costs, it is important to set aside some funds to purchase books, scores, scripts and key textbooks throughout your three years of study. Approx. £70 - £100/year. There is a useful online market in secondhand books which you should consider as well as an excellent Library here at Falmouth.
You should also budget approx. £70 - £100/year for clothing and shoes for rehearsal and performance.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
The Academy of Music and Theatre Arts (AMATA) is a live performance venue offering a year-round programme of contemporary, cutting-edge, up-and-coming & high-quality performances for students to experience on their doorstep. For AMATA students in particular, access to live work is an essential part of your degree and the programme will feature artists and performances that relate directly to the AMATA courses of study.
Welcome to Popular Music BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
We would like all students to prepare a short performance of either an original song/piece of music, or a cover of their choosing. We will hear all of these in the welcome week, and they will help in the forming of initial groups/bands for the study block one performance modules.
If a student would prefer to showcase their production work, this is fine too.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
There are no mandatory costs here, but students are advised to bring their instruments with them. We would also recommend that they equip themselves with notebooks and pens.
Headphones are useful but can always be supplied by stores.
Likewise, a laptop is useful, but there are bookable computers in AMATA, laptops available for tech sessions, and all studio control rooms have a computer in them.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Sound Design BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
There are no set pre-enrolment tasks, but it is always helpful to:
- Update your software skills in your chosen and perhaps a new DAW, plug-in or coding environment through online tutorials and practical experimentation.
- Work on your portfolio of music and/or sound design material and share via streaming services, YouTube, SoundCloud etc.
- Learn more about your particular areas of interest through reading, watching and listening. A highly-recommended text is Audio Culture by Cox and Warner.
- A highly recommended website that will point you towards loads of learning resources and inspiration is Create Digital Media: www.cdm.link
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Computers & DAWs
A computer running a suitable Digital Audio Workstation such as Ableton Live, Logic, FL Studio, Pro Tools, Reaper or Bitwig will be essential. A laptop rather than a desktop is highly recommended. If you need further guidance on computers and software then please speak to the course team during induction week.
- Instruments
All of our practice studios are equipped with a piano or keyboard, amplifiers, PA and a drum kit. Drummers should bring their own sticks, cymbals, and snare. Other instrumentalists must bring their own instrument with them, and budget for any expendables relating to your specific instrument such as strings, plectrums and leads.
- Headphones
You can book headphones from AMATA’s Technical Resource Stores, however a pair of good quality, open-back headphones are recommended for regular studio and production work. Prices vary but expect to pay upwards of £80-£100. If you are not sure what you need, search the Internet for ‘studio monitor headphone review’.
- Ear protection
Your ears are the most important pieces of audio kit you will ever own! Looking after them is therefore top priority. Dispensers with free disposable foam earplugs are situated outside the practice and performance studios throughout the AMATA building, but it is also recommended that you purchase high quality earplugs - especially if you play in a loud group or attend gigs and/or clubs.
- Backups
Backing up your work is essential. You will have access to online storage via Microsoft OneDrive but a physical drive may also be useful for additional security or when Internet upload speeds are slower than they are on campus.
- Software
You will have free access to Microsoft Office software throughout your time at Falmouth.
- Notetaking
You may wish to use your laptop for notetaking. However, if you prefer pen and paper, then we would suggest spending around £10 on pens and notepads / journals.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Technical Theatre Arts BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Creative Journal / Creative Scrapbook Brief.
It is up to you how you interpret this brief and how you respond to it. It will form the basis of ongoing conversations about the importance of creative journalling, reflection and making connections across technical and creative areas as well as other diverse elements of life.
In addition to you seeing as much theatre, live performance and live events as you are able, we would like you to experiment with developing a Creative Journal / Creative Scrapbook. Ideally this will be a physical analogue thing, but you could explore building a digital one if you wish or a combination of both.
Your Creative Journal/ Creative Scrapbook will be a place where you gather a diverse range of thoughts, ideas, and responses to things you have seen, heard, imagined, dreamt etc. Yes, in relation to technical and production areas and theatre, performance and the arts in general, but also, and importantly, stuff related to life, human beings and your response to the world.
It might contain a whole range of things that you see, hear, read, smell, taste, imagine that inspire or confuse you or excite your imagination or your thinking. It might contain ideas for significant things you’d like to do or make in terms of technical theatre, theatre, the arts or indeed life.
For example, responses to technical things you have seen or read about, images and objects that you have seen that engage and launch your imagination and thinking creatively, news items that particularly interest or engage you, stories you’d like to tell, or be part of telling, books and articles you have read, wild thoughts you have in the middle of the night, summeries of a workshop or exercise or technical training session you did that somehow interested you, responses to bits of theatre , events or interactions between people that you see.
It’s a scrapbook for making connections between things. It’s for you and not necessarily for others to see, though you might show other people elements of it if you wish.
It should be full of stuff, as it grows, that records things of interest you see or do, ideas you have, areas of interest and stuff you’d like to follow up on in terms of training or delivery, for example. It’s a kind of technical theatre artist explorers record book or creative scrapbook.
How you do this is very much up to you. There is no right way. Ideally, it will grow as something useful to you to record and connect different bits of your life, thinking, practice, technology, imagination and research and will feed your ideas, thinking and practice as a developing theatre maker and artist.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Students must come prepared with suitable personal protective equipment (PPE): please bring protective footwear (steel toecap or equivalent) and gloves. We will provide further PPE (safety glasses, helmet etc) as required.
Please also come with a torch (Maglite or similar), adjustable spanner (or equivalent), manual screwdrivers & clothing appropriate for all practical classes.
You are welcome to bring further tools if you wish, however please present them to technical staff on arrival for checking.
In addition to your living costs, it is important to set aside some funds to purchase books and consumable items throughout your two years of intensive study. We recommend you put aside approximately £150-175 per year. This would include the cost of a Live at AMATA pass (see below).
Additional costs
Opportunities to opt-in to partake in subsidised formal industrial training will be available at a reduced cost.
Estimated cost £80-£150.
Optional placements in your final study block of modules can sometimes have costs: £500-£1000.
Additionally, we would strongly recommend that you join the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) and familiarise yourself with the materials and articles on their website and in Sightline Magazine which is issued to all members on a quarterly basis. This will help you to understand current issues and developments involved in our industry.
Student membership of the ABTT costs £25 per annum.
Further information can be found here https://www.abtt.org.uk/join- abtt/
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Theatre & Performance BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Creative Journal / Creative Scrapbook Brief.
It is up to you how you interpret this brief and how you respond to it. It will form the basis of ongoing conversations about the importance of creative journalling in the course.
In addition to you seeing as much theatre and live performance as you are able, we would like you to experiment with developing a Creative Journal / Creative Scrapbook. Ideally this will be a physical analogue thing, but you could explore building a digital one if you wish or a combination of both.
Your Creative Journal/ Creative Scrapbook will be a place where you gather a diverse range of thoughts, ideas, and responses to things you have seen, heard, imagined, dreamt etc. Yes, in relation to theatre, performance and the arts in general, but also, and importantly, stuff related to life, human beings and your response to the world.
It might contain a whole range of things that you see, hear, read, smell, taste, imagine that inspire or confuse you or excite your imagination or your thinking. It might contain ideas for significant things you’d like to do or make in terms of theatre, the arts or indeed life. For example, little snippets of dialogue you overhear that interest you, Images and objects that you have seen that engage and launch your imagination and thinking, news items that particularly interest or engage you, stories you’d like to tell, books you have read, wild thoughts you have in the middle of the night, summeries of a workshop or exercise you did that somehow interested you, responses to bits of theatre or interactions between people that you see.
It’s a scrapbook for making connections between things. It’s for you and not necessarily for others to see, though you might show others elements of it if you wish.
It should be full of stuff, as it grows, that records things of interest you see or do, ideas you have. It’s a kind of explorers record book or creative scrapbook.
How you do this is very much up to you. There is no right way. Ideally, it will grow as something useful to you to record and connect different bits of your life, thinking, practice, imagination and research and will feed your ideas, thinking and practice as a developing theatre maker and artist.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
In addition to your living costs, it is important to set aside some funds to purchase books, scripts, and appropriate rehearsal clothing throughout your three years of study. We recommend you put aside approximately £150 per year.
Essential Equipment
- Students must come prepared with suitable loose warm clothing appropriate for all practical classes (acting, devising, voice, movement, rehearsals). No jeans, jeggings or restrictive clothing. Studio temperatures will be variable, and you should always bring extra layers. We request that you work in “blacks” as much as possible: that is to say: black leggings or tracksuit bottoms or equivalent and black singlet, sweatshirt, t-shirt crop top or vest. Please avoid heavily branded clothing with big logos as work/rehearsal clothing.
- You will often be working in bare feet. It is also useful to have at least one good pair of comfortable rehearsal socks which you keep for rehearsal an/or a pair of indoor only shoes. If you wish to you can also work in grippy socks/soft jazz type shoes.
- A non-shatter water bottle for practical sessions.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’ : £25
AMATA is Falmouth University’s Arts Centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance. The programme complements our portfolio of degrees and enables students to experience high quality, contemporary performances on their doorstep.
Students can purchase a one year Live @ AMATA Pass which offers five tickets for £25. This represents a 50% reduction on our standard student ticket price of £10.
Photography
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Welcome to Commercial Photography with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
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Welcome to Documentary & Editorial Photography with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Marine & Natural History Photography BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
Pre-arrival activity: Habitat storytelling in five frames
Over the summer, before starting the course, students are invited to choose a local habitat—this could be a park, a garden, a pond, a patch of coastline, a hedgerow, or even a balcony ecosystem—and create a short photographic story in five images that captures something of its character, changes, or hidden life.
The idea is to begin thinking like a natural history photographer by observing closely, working patiently, and communicating a sense of place or process through imagery.
As an optional creative challenge, students are encouraged to research the work of a contemporary photographer working in natural history, marine, documentary or environmental storytelling and consider responding to their visual style, use of light, framing, or tone. The aim is not to mimic, but to begin developing an awareness of photographic voices and visual storytelling. Submissions won’t be marked.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Before commencing the course, you will need to make sure you have the necessary kit.
Photographic equipment is constantly developing so the following figures are intended as a rough guide of anticipated expenditure on the course starting in September 2025.
Although you will be able to borrow University camera equipment during term time, you are required to have the following list of items at the start of term:
- A Digital camera of reasonable quality with manual over-ride to any automatic settings. Nikon, Canon, Fuji or Sony are recommended as they are compatible with university equipment (Approximately £500-£1,000)
- Lens hood and UV/Skylight filter for each of your lenses (Approximately £50)
- Memory cards (High speed) minimum 8GB, but higher recommended (Approximately £25)
- USB card reader for the above (Approximately £10)
- USB external hard drive, minimum 1TB recommended (Approximately £50-£100)
- Sturdy tripod (Approximately £100-£200)
Laptop
You will need to have your own laptop, PC or MAC, on which you can access online learning materials and can process high resolution digital images.
In addition to the above, the following items will also be required, but can be purchased during the first Study Block:
- Print Box for storing prints and submitting them for assessments, these can be purchased at the university or online retailers (Approximately £20)
- In addition, there will be several stationery items that you will need to purchase during the course such as notepads, A4 binders, pens and so on (Approximately £20)
You may need to purchase additional items to suit your developing practice as you progress through the course. Tutors will give advice where needed to support the purchase of additional equipment.
Ongoing Materials costs
You are expected to provide most of the photographic materials yourself such as film, printing paper and so on. The actual cost will depend on the amount and type of work you do. You are advised to allow approximately £400 for materials per year. This is particularly important in your final year as you will be required to have your portfolio pictures professionally printed.
Personal items
By the very nature of the course, you will be expected to work in a variety of locations and weather conditions. It is therefore essential that you come fully prepared with the right sort of personal clothing to protect yourself from the elements and meet risk assessment requirements. This list is not exclusive, so please use it as a guide; you are likely to have some of this kit already, but if buying new you should be able to equip yourself for the outdoors for approximately £300:
- Weather/wind-proof jacket
- Warm headgear
- Strong waterproof boots/shoes
- Wellington boots
- Waterproof trousers
Study trips
During the course there are a number of one-day field trips. Some of these will incur a small additional cost. In addition, there may be the possibility of an optional international field trip or period of study abroad. The cost of these will depend entirely on location, means of travel etc.
It should be stressed that, whilst undoubtedly offering an excellent experience, international travel is not essential for successful completion of the course: £500 - £2500
Additional costs
Optional Diving Modules
- For the two optional diving modules, there will be an additional fee of approximately £350 per occurrence.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Marine & Natural History Photography with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Photography BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
A sense of self / A sense of place
Tell us something about you visually, to introduce yourselves to us and your new friends on the course.
Task one: Pick up a camera (any camera will do). Walk out of your front door and head in one direction for 30mins. Take a photo on the minute, every minute (you might want to set a timer on your phone for this). Put these images into a sequence that tells the story of your walk and says something about the area you live in.
Task two: Take a selfie! Show us a side to you we might not ordinarily see. This could be a performative portrait like Cindy Sherman or a straight self portrait. You might think about including things that are important to you in the shot.
Bring these images with you for induction week so we can share them and get to know each other a little.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
Important Equipment
All students should aim to have the following equipment for the start of term:
Laptop
- You will need to have your own laptop, PC or MAC or tablet, on which you can access online learning materials and can process high resolution digital images. This should be capable of running Photoshop as a minimum, the specifications can be found here https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/photoshop/system-requirements.html.
Please note you will have access to computers on campus as well but a laptop you can work from home on will make life much easier.
Camera
- Ideally, a basic digital camera and a standard lens (either DSLR or a Mirrorless System) capable of shooting in RAW and shooting Moving Image with full manual mode (Approx. £200 - £900). The IOP supports Canon, Sony and Nikon so these may be the best choices for compatibility with our lenses and accessories. Remember that you will be able to borrow for free all the equipment in the IoP stores including cameras.
- If you have an analogue film 35mm SLR camera (Canon & Nikon cameras will be most compatible with our equipment), bring it with you. If interested you can purchase second-hand stock from online sites e.g., MBP, FFords, Mifsuds.com, London Camera Exchange etc. (Approx. £50 to £100).
Accessories
- SD card(s), minimum 16Gb.
- USB hard drive, minimum 250Gb recommended.
Approx. overall cost £50 – £100
Consumable materials
Throughout all three years students need to budget for material costs for film, printing, portfolio materials and other consumables. The actual costs will depend on the amount of work you do and on the decisions you make in terms of processes, presentation, print size and so on. A budget of £100-£400 per year should cover basic costs.
Study Visits
There will be a number of educational trips during the course which include study visits, individual research trips and placements. These experiences are an integral part of your studies, and you are expected to attend. We estimate this to be about £100 in total per year although this may vary, depending on the visits or placements arranged.
Additional costs
Optional trips
We run a number of optional, national and international trips every year; with costs ranging from £400 - £1500.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Photography with Integrated Foundation Year. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
When you start with us in September, we will all be visiting the National Maritime Museum Cornwall to inform the first IFY project. So, over the summer we would encourage you to consider a creative response to the theme of ‘SURF’.
This response might include drawing, painting, film, photography and/or sketchbook work and investigations - digital/analogue – into the work of other artists and creatives and an exploration of initial ideas that relate to the sea, maritime and marine.
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
You will be recording your creative progress and writing about your work throughout the IFY and so a laptop computer and a smartphone are highly recommended.
Typical course material costs:
- £250 - Recurring annual costs may include: art/creative materials and costs towards your end of year show exhibition and can vary depending on material choices and specialism.
Study trips:
There are several IFY field trips, and you will need to allow for some costs for student contributions towards coach hire and exhibition entry. Total annual cost of day trips approximately £60.
If you want to attend the planned IFY week-long residential trip to London in the Spring of 2026 then you will need to plan for a £100 deposit payment shortly after arriving on the course, to secure a place, and to budget for a total trip cost of approx. £400 - to be paid in instalments.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Photography BA(Hons) (Online). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
‘Unfixed Meanings’
‘Photographs are wild, indeterminate, multi-layered and unpredictable things, regardless of intentions.’ – David Campany
belonging | sisterhood | romantic |
intimacy | performance | beautiful |
identity | community | candid |
staged | reality | fictional |
theatrical | painterly | playful |
safety | vulnerable | empowering |
escapism | collaboration | nostalgic |
- Choose a word from the list above.
- Make a photograph to go with the word.
- Place the word on top of (or near) the image on your screen (note: this activity works best with phone screens).
- Reflect. What happens when words and images are placed next to one another?
Examples:
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
As this Photography degree course is studied wholly online, as well as a computer or laptop, you will need a reliable broadband connection. You may wish to investigate the cost of a broadband plug-in dongle if you travel a lot or are worried about your internet usage or connection.
You will also need the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. We anticipate that there will be a discounted annual subscription available through the University before the start of your course. We will confirm this with you as soon as possible.
You will need a camera, preferably a DSRL Digital Camera and a tripod. The cost for these can vary, depending on brand and models. You will need SD memory cards and an external hard drive to back up all your work. We will be making recommendations during the course for accessories and materials you can add to your kit, such a lighting and digital editing tools, these are optional, however.
From September you will have experts to help you make decisions about kit and offering technical advice and support.
Additional costs
You will also need to consider ongoing printing costs for projects and experimentation undertaken, which can be between approximately £100 and £200.
This will be less should you work from analogue to digital or with film or animation. This cost is down to how you finish and produce your work and the production services you use.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
The programme complements our portfolio of undergraduate degrees and enables students to experience high quality, contemporary performances on their doorstep.
Students can purchase a one year Live @ AMATA Pass which offers five tickets for £25. This represents a 50% reduction on our standard student ticket price of £10.
You can view the programme at the AMATA Arts Centre and the Live @ AMATA Pass is available to book now.
Please note: If a parent or guardian is purchasing on behalf of a Falmouth University student, the account should be set up in the student’s name, using their email address.

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Welcome to Course name<<Acting BA(Hons)>>. Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
An introduction of a ‘pre-arrival’ task for each course, aligned to activity planned for induction week – to be provided by academic teams
Test content
Tuition fees
Tuition fees for undergraduate students starting in September 2025
Tuition fees for postgraduate students starting in September 2025
Course equipment and costs
- Test content
Additional costs
Test content
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Dance & Choreography BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
An introduction of a ‘pre-arrival’ task for each course, aligned to activity planned for induction week – to be provided by academic teams
Tuition fees (per year)
Annual tuition fee | Student |
---|---|
£9,535 per year | Full-time UK |
£17,950 per year | Full-time EU/international |
£1,905 per professional placement year | Full-time UK and EU/international |
Course equipment and costs
To engage in the digital learning activity, although you will be able to access IT suites on campus, you will benefit from a laptop to access the platforms and tools we use. You will be provided with free access to the Microsoft Office suite, (including Word, Excel and PowerPoint) while you study at Falmouth.
Essential equipment:
- Dance clothing; water bottle; trainers.
Would be good to have for the start of the course but not essential:
- Ballet shoes; foam roller; yoga belt; yoga mat.
Additional costs
You should make sure you have suitable dance clothing and equipment, which might cost around £70- 100 per year.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Welcome to Film BA(Hons). Here you will find information about any pre-course preparation, as well as confirmation of your tuition fees together with any other costs that you might incur throughout your course that are not covered by your student loan.
Pre-course preparation
An introduction of a ‘pre-arrival’ task for each course, aligned to activity planned for induction week – to be provided by academic teams
Tuition fees (per year)
Annual tuition fee | Student |
---|---|
£9,535 per year | Full-time UK |
£17,950 per year | Full-time EU/international |
£1,905 per professional placement year | Full-time UK and EU/international |
£9,535 per Integrated Foundation Year | Full-time UK |
£17,950 per Integrated Foundation Year | Full-time EU/international |
Course equipment and costs
A laptop will be an essential piece of equipment along with a reliable broadband connection (if you are living in University accommodation you will have this). You will also need access to a camera phone. You should make sure that you have sturdy waterproof shoes or boots, and waterproof clothing appropriate for wet weather – shooting on location in Cornwall can be a damp affair!
We are an AVID-accredited course, which means that you may if you choose to at some point (probably in third year, and particularly if you are interested in working in post-production) wish to sign up for our Pro Tools or Media Composer Certification courses. Tuition for these is free, but you will pay a fee to AVID for the exam, which also covers the ebooks they provide for your training. In 23-24 this fee was £76 per module.
Study trips
Trips aren’t mandatory but over the past few years, in most years we’ve been able to offer students the opportunity to travel to a major film festival (usually the Berlin Film Festival) as part of a group of students. Places are not funded and the cost as last estimated for travel in 23-24 was between £710 and £775 (this depends on the number of students travelling, and the rate of exchange at the time).
Students may find that they travel to one or more of the Royal Television Society Breaking Into Media events over the course of their degree, which are often held in Bristol or Plymouth – these are free but you may wish to consider the cost of bus or train transport to them, and potentially overnight accommodation.
Highly Recommended - the ‘Live @ AMATA Pass’
AMATA is Falmouth University’s arts centre, offering a diverse year-round programme of exciting performances and productions, from monthly comedy nights to fantastic live music, trailblazing new theatre and dance.
Cert HE Creative Music Technology
Cert HE Music
Cert HE Popular Music
Music Business BA(Hons)
Music Business MA
Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management MSc
International Business Management MSc
Marketing MSc
Costume Design for Film & Television BA(Hons)
Fashion Photography BA(Hons)
Artificial Intelligence for Games MSc
Game Design MA
Game Development: Design BA(Hons)
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Game Development: Design BA(Hons) Year 1 Welcome Letter 2024 (303.25 KB)
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Game Development: Design BA(Hons) Year 1 with Placement Year Welcome Letter 2024 (293.83 KB)
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Game Development: Design IFY Welcome Letter 2024 (282.09 KB)
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Game Development: Design BA(Hons) Direct Entry Welcome Letter 2024 (234.04 KB)
Game Development: Writing BA(Hons)
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Game Development: Writing BA(Hons) Year 1 Welcome Letter 2024 (296.32 KB)
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Game Development: Writing BA(Hons) Year 1 with Placement Year Welcome Letter 2024 (301.88 KB)
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Game Development: Writing IFY Welcome Letter 2024 (350.81 KB)
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Game Development: Writing BA(Hons) Direct Entry Welcome Letter 2024 (253.39 KB)
Game Programming MSc
Documentary & Editorial Photography BA(Hons)
Marine & Natural History Photography BA(Hons)
Architecture BA(Hons)
Communication Design MA
Creative Advertising MA
Professional Writing MA Welcome Letter
Film & Television MA
Prosthetic Effects MA Welcome Letter
What can I do in the meantime to prepare?
On these pages, you can find all the important information you need for starting your journey at Falmouth, so you’ve got more time to relax and feel ready for this new and exciting chapter.

New On-Campus Undergraduate Students
Get all the info you need about starting your student life at Falmouth as an undergraduate.

New On-Campus Postgraduate Students
Get all the info you need about starting your student life at Falmouth as a postgraduate.

New International Students
Get important information for what you need to do as a new international student.

New Online Students
Kick-start your online studies with the help of our simple guide.

Board of Governors
Established in accordance with the University's Articles and Instrument of Government, the...

Academic Board
Academic Board is Falmouth University’s senior academic authority.

Karen Marie Aneiro
Thesis title: Microscopic Gothic: Harnessing Visual Stories to Reveal Anthropogenic Spectres ...

Naomi Lee Schulke
Thesis title: Gender-affirming singing training for Musical Theatre performers.