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Explore the arts and creative industries, from Fine Art to Social Media Management, with our insightful articles, blogs, interviews and case studies.
With a journalism career spanning 25 years, Carole Watson is now Programme Leader in Fashion Journalism at the University of Sunderland. Here, she shares an insight into her distinguished career and talks about the opportunities Sunderland has to offer aspiring journalists.
Get an insight into Journalism at Sunderland
Sunderland has a thriving creative writing community that draws expertise and passion from a diverse group of people including many of our students and staff.
Learn more about Sunderland's community of creative writers
Our annual Degree Shows celebrate the work of our final year Art and Design students
Learn more about the University of Sunderland's Art and Design Degree Shows.
Read more about university life with our student blogs
UNILIFE: UNLOCKEDThinking about a creative degree but unclear about the career prospects? Here are some compelling reasons for a career in the creative sector.
Discover some compelling reasons for a career in the creative sector
Creative Industries Week, which takes place in November, offers a change in pace from your usual teaching sessions and gives you the chance to gain a wider view of the arts and creative industries.
Learn more about Creative Industries Week
In February 2019, the UK Government announced that it will make social media companies sign a legally-binding code of conduct that imposes on them a duty of care towards young users. This is a welcome change following the case of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017.
Find out how and why social media should be regulated
A few years ago, the idea of being a ‘Social Media Manager’ would have been almost laughable – how hard can it be to ‘manage’ your notifications!? Social media is so much more than taking selfies, instagramming your breakfast or sharing memes on Facebook though, it’s a powerful business tool that has resulted in an explosion of exciting jobs and careers.
Find out where a degree in social media can take you
The Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries has a sustained six-year collaboration with Northumbria Police’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), affording drama and media students the opportunity to produce films that increase awareness of complex category serious crime.
Find out more about a collaboration between SARC and The Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries
Like many other radio broadcasters around the world, the team at Spark have been learning to live in the new normal where their bedrooms and lounges have been turned into radio studios; and we’re not alone.
Hear from Senior Lecturer Richard Berry who explains why more people than ever are turning to radio during lockdown
For any budding filmmaker, receiving recognition from the Royal Television Society is not only acknowledgement of the quality of your work but can also lead you to a career within the industry. Natacha Richardson and Ellie King achieved just this at this year’s awards, triumphing in the Comedy and Entertainment category for their film The Family Food Fight.
Learn how to triumph at the RTS Awards
Jay Sykes, received international recognition for his work less than a year after graduating from MA Radio at the University of Sunderland. His radio drama SeaBurn received universal acclaim, winning Best Student Drama Program at the the New York Festivals World’s Best Radio Programs. Here, he shares his insight about why Sunderland is a great place to study radio.
Explore how to get the most out of your Radio course
Each year, our good friend Lord David Puttnam, Oscar-winning film producer, takes a handful of students under his wing in a unique mentoring opportunity. The ‘Puttnam Scholars’ attend a series of interactive seminars about the movie industry, while undertaking a project set by Lord Puttnam himself.
Learn more about The Lord Puttnam Scholars Scheme
For any student joining us on the Screen Performance degree, you will need to find a good balance between performance, production and theoretical knowledge and experience to prepare yourself for a future in this industry. Senior Lecturer Dr. Adelle Hulsmeier gives five tips to get the most out of your degree.
Discover how to get the most out of your Screen Performance degree
We place a strong emphasis on ensuring you have the skills and experience that will catch the eye of a wide range of employers and prepare you to start your career from the moment you graduate. As a result, our graduates have gone on to enjoy careers in a range of varied and diverse careers including performance, management, education and many more.
Learn how to begin your Performing Arts career
Want to know what it’s like to study Photography, Video and Digital Imaging at the University of Sunderland? And what it's like to work as a freelance Photographer? Here, graduates Esme Fletcher, Charlotte Draper and Nat Wilkins share their experiences.
Read more about working as a freelance photographer
There are many key skills that journalism students need to learn, from interviewing, writing, shooting video, shorthand and digital story telling on social media. But did you know that another essential skill for any accomplished reporter is learning the law? Senior lecturer and National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Media Law board member Carole Watson explains why.
Learn why learning the law is so essential for any accomplished reporter
Our MA Fine Art students have been given the unique opportunity to deliver a series of takeovers as part of the Arts Council Collection National Partners Programme (NPP).
View the first takeover #ReceivedWisdom
The Robson Art & Design Masters Award supports the ambitions of Sunderland Masters students studying Glass & Ceramics, Design, Photography or Fine Art. Students applying to these courses are invited to apply for the scholarship.
Find out how the Robson Art & Design Masters Award could benefit your studies
We had a chat with Dr Martin Shingler, Programme Leader for Film and Media Studies to find out how to get the most out of studying Film, Media and Cultural Studies at degree level.
Explore how to get the most out of studying Film, Media and Cultural Studies
If you didn’t see Emily Maitlis’ recent Newsnight intro debunking the myth that the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting Britain’s rich and poor shoulder-to-shoulder, you missed a shining example of how to do journalism properly.
Learn more about the role the media is playing
With an array of different options in a fast-growing industry and a whole host of career paths, a degree in Film Production has the potential to not only equip you to find a job in the sector upon graduation, but also hand you the transferable skills that are attractive to employers in a range of sectors.
Find out how to get the most out of studying Film Production
Employability days organised by the University and the opportunity to showcase her portfolio of work to industry experts in the Design Degree Show led Shauna Hambley to her dream career: working as a Graphic Designer with design specialists at Everything Different. Here she shares her best practice for getting the most out of your Design course and landing your dream job.
Read Shauna's tips for beginning your graphic design career
We had a chat with Dr Manny Ling, Senior Lecturer in Design, to find out what Sunderland has to offer Design students.
Read more about graphic design
The Creative Lives programme gives you an insight into the artistic process through a series of talks from local and nationally-renowned artists
Learn more about the Creative Lives programme
We had a chat with Dr Andrew Livingstone, Reader in Glass and Ceramics, to find out what you can expect from the Glass and Ceramics degree at Sunderland.
Read more about the glass and ceramics facilities at the University of Sunderland
For anyone who has a passion for performing, a degree in Performing Arts can be your path to a fulfilling and hugely engaging career. Here at the University of Sunderland, our Performing Arts department has a proud history of delivering quality degrees that are an immersive, enlightening and interactive experience for students.
Read more about studying Performing Arts
For any creative, receiving international recognition for your work is surely the ultimate accolade. Yet for Jay Sykes, it was something that he managed to achieve less than a year after graduating from MA Radio at the University of Sunderland.
Find out how to make award-winning radio
The opportunity to work in the National Glass Centre and the overwhelming support from staff are just some of the reasons that Sarah Heseltine was happy with her decision to study Glass and Ceramics at the University of Sunderland. Here, she shares her insight into getting the most out of your course while studying for your Glass and Ceramics degree.
Find out how to get the most out of your glass and ceramics course
Why study a fine art degree? We often get asked this at the University of Sunderland. Find out why from Fine Art graduate Stephanie Goldsmith.
Read more to find out why you should study a fine art degree
Getting into journalism can be challenging, but here at the University of Sunderland, we give you all the tools you need to make it as a great journalist. Here are just a few of the ways we equip you to make it in the industry.
Find out how we equip you to make it as a journalist
Sports Journalism student Matt Riggs scored a full-time job with West Ham United before he even graduated from the University of Sunderland. Matt beat hundreds of other applicants to land the 12-month editorial internship at the Premier League club, writing for the Hammers’ various publications and producing content for their multi-media platforms, from match day programmes to Snapchat.
Find out more about Matt's new role with West Ham
One University of Sunderland journalism graduate who decided to move into Public Relations is Amy Watson, Communications Manager at Sunderland Software City. Here, she shares her career insight into how transferable journalism is and offers advice to current students and graduates to achieve career success.
Discover how transferable journalism is
Want to know what it takes to become a journalist? We asked British political journalist and Associate Editor at the Daily Mirror, Kevin Maguire, to share his expert insight into what it takes to make it in the journalism industry.
Find out what it takes to become a journalist