Providing an environment focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, Bath Spa University has a reputation for excellence in teaching, reflecting its 167-year history. The university is located in Bath, England, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which combines the past and the future in its landscape. The result is the best of both worlds: Roman heritage and elegance amid modern facilities, with state-of-the-art technology.
The university was founded in 1852 as the Bath School of Art, riding the wave of influence caused by an international art exhibition – the so-called Great Exhibition – held the previous year in London. The event was the first in a series of world's fairs that gained popularity in the 19th century and led to the development of new educational institutions in the field.
At Bath Spa, students are encouraged to develop creativity, exercise innovative thinking and solve problems in an entrepreneurial way, aspects considered by the institution to be the most important in the current job market.
This tactic, combined with the ease with which students can create different combinations of subjects – thus creating a course that reflects their best skills – results in a record number of 96% employable after six months of graduation, according to Higher Education Statistics for the UK, an achievement achieved by few British universities.
“Bath Spa University is where creative minds meet. We teach and research across the arts, sciences, education, social sciences and business. We are a leading institution for creativity, culture and business, in a World Heritage city. Our excellent facilities and dynamic courses will prepare you for a changing world,” says Paola Bassindale, the university’s International Recruitment Officer.
Bath Spa is the sixth-best British institution in terms of teaching and has four excellent departments: Art and Design; Business and Management; Humanities and Social Sciences; and Education Studies. The university is the eighth most modern (Sunday Times) and is among the five most creative institutions in the United Kingdom (Which? Student Survey).
In addition to these recognitions, the university has been rising for more than three years in student satisfaction rankings, with a 90% approval rating from its students – 4% above the national average. Among the main aspects highlighted by its student community is the high probability of becoming directors or “their own bosses”, compared to other recent graduates in the country.
According to Bassindale, “Bath has a very open and friendly student and academic community. Our international students are creative, ambitious, genuinely interested in pushing boundaries and willing to explore new challenges. These are the key qualities we look for.”
Bath Spa has hosted a number of big names, including The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick, Olympic medallist Jason Gardener, shoe designer Manolo Blahnik, writers Mo Hayder, Sally Nicholls and Tracey Corderoy, Oscar-winning film director Roger Deakins, Coldplay musician Davide Rossi and artist Howard Hodgkin.
According to the International Recruitment Officer, Bath Spa Student Union was listed among the 100 organisations in the UK working to advance equality, diversity and inclusion by the National Centre for Diversity, winning the 2017 and 2018 awards for Student Union of the Year.
Speaking of equality and inclusion, Bath Spa runs Oak Tree Nursery, a childcare centre founded on campus in 1995, which has won numerous awards for its outstanding work, including The Baby Quality Award (2011), Children's and Young People's Rights Gold Award (2012) and the Director of Public Health Award (2013). The centre is dedicated to the children of staff, students and the local community.
Currently, the university has few Brazilians on campus, but the goal is to increase this community in the coming years, according to Bassindale, counting on scholarship incentives for Latin Americans, such as the Creativity and Culture Scholarship (two places for a £5,000 grant) and the International Office (one place for a £5,000 grant).
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