Arts based courses in deepest darkest Cumbria

Advantages: Small, friendly, relatively inexpensive.
Disadvantages: Does not offer a stereotypical "student lifestyle"

...Upon arriving at the main campus (the Fine Art department has a seperate, small campus) you will be struck by it's small size, but suprisingly modern design. A modern building, surrounded by trees and set above and just outside the city centre. The Institute offers a variety of Arts based degree courses, from Fine Art and Media Production to Journalism (full course details can be found at http://www.cumbria.ac.uk) and it also teaches a variety of post-16 educational courses such as ND's and A Levels, all in subjects related to the arts. All the course tutors and professionals in their own subject, but I will not go into too much detail about the courses as they are all so different, however I will say that most of them are practical in nature and all have specialist facilities within the campus. The campus has good facilities, all...

Missnaomi 16.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Cumbria Institute of the Arts

Largest Art College In Europe

Advantages: Close Knit Community Environment
Disadvantages: Living In a Small Village/Town can at times be boring

...Never heard of Surrey Institute of Art & Design, well check it out here!! I spent 4 years at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design (or SIAD, as I will call it from now on)!!! SIAD is actually split into 2 sites Epsom & Farnham. I will deal firstly with Farnham as it is the larger campus. SIAD - Farnham Campus 2 long years spent at Farnham!! Farnham itself is a small town/village with quaint little shops, boutiques and coffee shops. At times it can feel a lot like one of those cream tea and scone villages. However, ever present is the large number of students who make Farnham their home. It is quite expensive to live in Farnham and the rents reflect this. This coupled with a general dislike of private letting agencies to rent to students can make housing one of the first and biggest problems you encounter. SIAD does offer...

charis18uk 13.07.2001 (22.07.2001) · Read review
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Review of Surrey Institute of Art & Design

Art School in the US of A

Advantages: Excellent faculty, facilities, hoppin' city
Disadvantages: price- (no others)

...As an artist, having gone through various art 'programs', I found The School of the Art Institute of Chicago amongst the best of the best. Upon high school graduation, I went off to the Maryland Institute, College of Art, in Baltimore, MD/ USA. That was an intense program, a very solid foundation, (I was there for 2 yrs.) for drawing and painting, along with sculpture and literature too. However, I was never one to believe that art schools don't need to cater to young artists that may have a more acedemic inclination as well. With that in mind, I was in search of a school with an academic program that was a bit more challenging. I went to a University for a brief stint, but, that was not a good thing because all of a sudden I was going from, small, private art school where I was a painting major, to a HUGE university with an art bldg...

MariaGL 09.02.2001 (08.02.2001) · Read review
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Review of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

UWIC-University of Wales Institute Cardiff

Advantages: Own bus and nightclub. Cheap beer and excellent education.
Disadvantages: Can't think of one

...University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) has been a university since 1998. It was formerly known as Cardiff Institute of Higher Education, Llandaff Technical College and years before that it was the college for Mariners. UWIC quickly gained an award for excellence. UWIC has four sites across the city. Each campus has many different schools. Colchester Avenue- Catering and Hospitality. Howard Gardens- Art. Cyncoed- Teaching and Sport. Llandaff- Sciences, IT, Business, Design Technology, Art, Horticulture. There are about 10,000 students at UWIC across the four sites. UWIC has an active Students' Union which has its own bus service, bars and even has an interest in a night club in the city centre called Reds. Although UWIC already has an adequate provision of halls, 2005 will see the opening of brand new student...

Suziwann 20.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of University of Wales Institute - Faculty of Art, Design & Technology

Bolton Institute

Advantages: Good close knit community
Disadvantages: Not as high profile as some would like, still struggling to recieve university status

...I spent four long enjoyable years studying at Bolton Institute. The course I was studying involved a year in industry if your wondering why four years and not three. In my time at Bolton I studied for a degree in Civil Engineering. I started my industrial training year and ended up getting a full time job, thus I had to complete my fianl year through day release. This was allowed due to the flexibility of Institute and the wide variety of courses and modes of study available. At the time Bolton was one of the only places that offered both full time, sandwich and part time courses in Civil Engineering. Bolton itself it a great little town, close to the big city amenities of Manchester and yet everything you need is here in the town itself. The nightlife is outstanding with a wide variety of bars, pubs and clubs, together with a newly...

hepialid 24.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Bolton Institute

Step aside RADA, there's a new sheriff in town

Advantages: A school for Performing Artists put together by Performing Artists
Disadvantages: Limited number of places on each course means it is very difficult to get in to.

...In 1996, a school opened with a new vision for the training and teaching of Performing Arts students. Funded by various outlets, including the Government and European Union, but most famously by Sir Paul McCartney, the school's vision was one in which students could learn by doing, and be trained in as many areas as they wished. LIPA was born. The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts is effectively a drama school with University status, through it's partnership with Liverpool John Moore's (although there is talk of it attempting to break away from LJMU and receive the status on its own). Offering courses in all areas of the Performing Arts, it is one of the most advanced Universities of it's kind, not only in this country, but in the world. The curriculum has been specifically designed to allow all students on all routes the best...

spacemonkey 18.07.2002 · Read review
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Review of LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts)

Schoooools out fooor the summer - BOOOOO HISSS!!

Advantages: Its's fan-dabby-doody
Disadvantages: It's expensive, they expect you to leave at the end of it - tsk

...Well, where to begin? The Kent Institute of Art & Design, KIAD for short, is situated between Chatham and Rochester in Kent (obviously - thus the name of the place). They offer a wide range of courses, anything from fashion, animation (or Digital 3D Design as they like to call it) which can be used for films or computer gaming to fine art to furniture design. Their official web address is www.kiad.ac.uk, if you go into this site and skip the flash intro you are taken into their main menus where you can search for whatever course you wish to study or if you merely want a job with them, it?s all covered in this site, they even have a link for you to provide you with a map very thoughtful of them. If however you don?t have access to the internet, they can be contacted on 01634 830022, this will get you through to the main reception...

gobalino 19.12.2003 (21.12.2003) · Read review
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Review of Kent Institute of Art & Design

The Art of Death

Advantages: Good second half, some interesting details
Disadvantages: Clunky plot, a bit meandering

...halfway through it was much better. The main character is Adelia - "The Mistress of the Art of Death" - i.e a forensic pathologist. Her struggle to conceal her profession is quite prominent in the plot as female doctors were unusual in the twelfth century. She is helping Simon of Naples discover the killer through the clues left on the bodies of the victims. I found this quite interesting although I'm not sure how realistic it would be in the twelfth century. The plot does wander a bit as it is so concerned with Adelia and her origins and training. The character of Rowley (the King's so-called tax inspector) is ok but the romance seems to have been thrown in as a bit of an afterthought and didn't add anything to the story for me. Mansur and Gyltha offered some light relief as the servants as did Gyltha's grandson Ulf. Simon of Naples was...

mogdred1 27.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin

Art Attack?

Advantages: Keeps the action going.
Disadvantages: Unoriginal, poor performances.

...74. Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992) This all feels a little like déjà vu, especially after watching American Ninja 3. Once again there is a fighting tournament in a tropical location. This time Rio De Janeiro. An American kickboxing champion, David Sloan, arrives with his sensei, Xian, in tow. On first sight Xian looked a little like Lee Van Cleef, or maybe that was the spectre of 1984 TV series Master Ninja repeating on me. Either way, it helps signify that this was the tale end of a long running era of budget American martial arts films and television shows. The first classic cliché comes quickly when the hapless heroes are mugged by a small Brazilian boy, Marcos, and his sister, Isabella. Naturally, after a long chase through the back alleys of Rio and the kicking of same random thugs, they befriend the knife wielding...

ThePolarOne 10.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of Kickboxer 3 - The Art Of War (DVD)

A great institution

Advantages: A really, funny and clever novel
Disadvantages: Too clever by half

...Gore Vidals novels are probably best described as quirky. My mum finds them unreadable so that should warn you not to expect a normal read. Instead you can expect a funny, clever and very readable (in my opinion) novel. The Smithsonian Institution is about a boy called T and his talent for Quantum Physics. He is invited to the Smithsonian to help develop the atom bomb and there finds that he can move through time. This results in an effort to save his own life (he is going to die in the war) an attempt to prevent the world war and plenty of sex. The sex part is obvious by the cover but is unusual in that T finds himself playing around with Squaw,who happens to be Mrs Cleveland, the wife of a former president. This is because the Smithsonian exhibits come alive when the museum closes and have lifes of their own. Hence...

Telute 12.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of The Simithsonian Institution - Gore Vidal