Leeds College of Art has just become a university

Already the home of three universities, Leeds has a new one. Leeds College of Art has just become Leeds Arts University after being granted its new status by the Privy Council, making it the smallest university in the city with only 2,ooo students.

It will be the only specialist arts university in the north. It’s the highest ranked arts university in the UK for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2017, along with being the highest ranked university in Yorkshire.

Professor Simone Wonnacott, vice-chancellor at the new university, said: “This announcement is a significant landmark in our history, and one which recognises our robust governance structure, academic and teaching standards and the facilities supporting the delivery of our higher education courses. We will continue to strive to put ourselves at the forefront of arts education not just in the UK, but worldwide.”

Chair of the board of governors at Leeds Arts University, Chris Clements, said: “This announcement is a significant step in the current development of Leeds Arts University, which will also see the opening of a new state-of-the-art building expansion, and the introduction of five new creative degree courses, including BA (Hons) Filmmaking and BA (Hons) Fashion Design, all launching in 2018, along with a new MA in Curation Practices starting in September 2017.”

Cover photo: Betty Longbottom via Geograph