Your learning - Arts, Design and Humanities
Moving to university marks the beginning of an exciting journey filled with new experiences, challenges, and opportunities for personal growth. Among the most important aspects of your university experience are the people who will teach you. These professors and instructors are not just sources of knowledge; they are mentors who can inspire, support, and help shape your future.
Our academic staff have extensive industry experience, allowing them to bring real-world insights into the classroom, and possess strong research backgrounds that contribute to advancements in their respective fields. Our lecturers continuously improve and innovate our curriculum and teaching methods to respond to the industry needs and student's feedback.
As a student, you will belong to one of the three schools within the Faculty of Art, Design and Humanities, depending on the course you study with us. Hear from the head of your schools below to learn more about the teaching staff that will guide you through the next three or four years of your university experience.
School of Humanities and Performing Arts
Our lecturers are experts in their respective specialty areas and bring a wealth of professional and academic expertise. 51Âþ»'s collaboration with Sisters Grimm, a theatrical production company based in Westend London, is providing the unique opportunity for our academics to collaborate and co-create with an industry-leading partner, fostering new innovations in creative practice development, community and audience collaborations, audience-broadening initiatives, and reshaping the relationship between research and performance.
Our academics also organised and hosted the British Association Shakespeare Conference: Shakespeare’s Writing Lives at 51Âþ», which attracted scholars worldwide. The conference included a diverse range of presentations on Shakespeare's, his company's and collaborators' biographies, Shakespeare's biographers, Shakespeare as a biographer, adaptations of Shakespeare's characters, and much more.
School of Art, Design and Architecture
Our academics are both practitioners and researchers, with extensive professional experience and strong industry networks. They are practising architects, interior designers, product design consultants, visual artists, craftspeople, and building performance engineers. Our research encompasses collaborations between art practitioners and scientists, regenerative practice in architecture and design, building performance, photographic histories and AI intersections with art.
This real-world expertise of our staff, combined with cutting-edge theory and practice-based research, informs our curriculum, equipping our students with the knowledge, skills, and inspiration to realize their creative and career potential. We are committed to empowering our students with the sustainable principles of the Circular Economy, fostering regenerative cultures, and addressing the Climate Emergency. This commitment is reflected in our curricula, enhancement activities, advocacy, and outputs.
School of Fashion and Textiles
Our academic team comprises of exceptionally talented and creative individuals dedicated to their academic roles and subject disciplines, such as outerwear, athleisure, knitwear, printed textiles, woven textiles, lingerie, corsetry, and footwear. Their collective experience as designers, pattern cutters, product developers, technologists, stylists, buyers, and merchandisers for international brands and the UK supply chain enriches the curriculum.
Research-informed teaching is a cornerstone of our approach and includes world-class research in fields such as textile chemistry and biotechnology, material cultures, dress history, and many more. Our academics continually develop their teaching and learning in responsible design, ethical working practices, and digital transformation. This approach was recognized in the 2021 Green Gown Awards, where the school won the Next Generation and Skills award.