Creative Practice

Creative practice is a broad field that encompasses the making of art, design, craft, performance, writing and other forms of creative work, understood not merely as technical skill but as a form of inquiry and expression. It is a discipline that asks what it means to make things, how creative ideas are developed and realised across different media and contexts, and how creative practitioners engage with audiences, communities and the cultural landscape around them. Part-time study in creative practice allows you to develop your skills and thinking while maintaining other commitments, which is often particularly appropriate in a field where professional creative life is rarely full-time and linear.

At the University of the West of Scotland, this part-time programme provides a structured context in which to develop your own creative practice, engage with the theory and history that informs it, and connect your work to the broader creative community. UWS has a commitment to widening access to higher education and to supporting students who may not have followed traditional educational pathways, and a part-time creative practice programme reflects that commitment by making degree-level creative education available to people at different stages of life and career.

You will develop your creative work through a combination of studio practice, critical reflection and engagement with the work of others, building a portfolio that demonstrates your development as a practitioner.

Graduates of creative practice programmes work as artists, designers, makers and cultural producers in a wide range of contexts, from independent studio practice and exhibition to community arts, education, arts administration and the creative industries more broadly. The discipline also provides a foundation for postgraduate study in fine art, design or arts practice for those who want to develop their work further.