We teach the diverse professional skills required in the arts and creative industries worldwide. Close links with leading organisations and employers keep our degrees relevant to sector needs.
Widely recognised for expertise and excellence in creative practice, our work is enhanced by extensive international collaboration across the arts, design and media sectors.
- We are a top 5 UK modern university for Film Production & Photography (5th out of 42) - Guardian Guide 2020
- We are a top 10 UK university for Drama, Dance & Cinematics (10th of 101) - The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020
- We are top 10 subject in the UK for English, Creative Writing and Publishing (5th out of 104) - NSS, 2019
- We are a top 5 UK modern university for Communication and Media Studies (2nd of 55) - Complete University Guide 2020
- We are a top 5 UK modern university for English (2nd of 49) - The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020
- We are a top 10 UK university for Media & Film Studies (10th of 88) - Guardian League Tables, 2020
- We are the top UK modern university for Music (1st of 39) - The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020
- Students on all our programmes get the opportunity to work in industry or with organisations in the charitable sector
Awards and recognition
Our students regularly receive acclaim for their work.
- Our students excell at the prestigious Creative Conscience Awards.
- Students’ work has featured at international film festivals including Venice, Edinburgh, Cannes, Beijing and Kolkata and won international design awards including D&AD, RSA and Deutsche Post International
- Graduates have won places on the prestigious BBC Production and ITV News trainee schemes, and Creative Advertising Scholarships from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising
- Music students are regularly awarded or shortlisted for national and international prizes
Our courses
If you want to pursue a creative industries career, we offer a range of degrees in an interdisciplinary environment, equipping you with the skills and knowledge to realise your ambition.
Our creative courses cover a range of arts and design related subjects, including:
- Acting
- Design, Photography and Advertising
- English, Creative Writing and Publishing
- Film, Television and Journalism
- Music
As well as full-time options, many of our degree courses are offered part-time, by distance learning, blended or through workplace learning - both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Our facilities
The School of Arts & Creative Industries is based at our centrally-located Merchiston campus. Here you’ll find the Jack Kilby Computing Centre, the Napier Students’ Association, television newsroom, radio studio, photography studios and industry standard music studios.
Our Merchiston campus features specialist facilities for creative students and the 500-seat Jack Kilby Computer Centre, which is open 24 hours a day. Television and acting students also use our TV and drama studio at our Morningside Church facility, five minutes' walk from the Merchiston campus.
Merchiston is also home to the School of Computing, Engineering and the Built environment.
As we are only a 15-minute walk from the city centre, students from across the University often drop into the campus, making it a great place to share ideas and expertise.
Screen Academy Scotland
Screen Academy Scotland is an embedded part of Edinburgh Napier University and is dedicated to fostering the future of film makers.
Teaching film, TV, animation, photography, journalism and acting, our aim is to allow talent to thrive while equipping students with the knowledge and hands-on experience they need to become skilled, confident and employable graduates.
Screen Academy Scotland is recognised by ScreenSkills as a Centre of Excellence in film practise education.
Screen Academy Scotland
Starting your own business?
Bright Red Triangle offers a free incubator space for students and graduates who want to set up and run their own business, and is located just down the road near our Bainfield student accommodation.
As well as free office facilities, students can access start-up and ongoing advice including a mentoring service from experienced advisors. You can also attend free networking events, seminars and workshops.
Bright Red Triangle recruits students as junior consultants and pairs them with a staff member to complete projects for external organisations.
Creative Edinburgh
Home to the world’s largest arts festival and recognised internationally for its artistic, creative and cultural excellence, Edinburgh is the place to be an arts and creative student.
The Edinburgh Fringe takes place throughout August with around 50,000 performances of 3,000 shows. Around the same time, the International Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, International Book Festival and numerous other events bring the city alive.
With a year round programme of 12 festivals supporting almost 4,000 jobs (Invest in Edinburgh), there are many opportunities for students to be part of the festivals and gain excellent experience.
Edinburgh is famous for its literary links and was the first member of the UNESCO Creative Cities initiative and the first UNESCO City of Literature in the world.
It is also home to the Scottish National Gallery, Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the National Library of Scotland, along with many other arts and cultural institutions – most of which are free.
Accreditations
Browse our courses and you’ll see many have the Creative Skillset Tick logo. The tick is an assurance you’ll gain the professional skills and knowledge to develop a career in the creative industries. We also host Screen Academy Scotland, one of only three Skillset Film Academies in the UK.
Many of our other courses have additional professional accreditation, including:
Industry partners
Employability is core to all our courses and we work closely with industry to meet their needs.
We collaborate with partners on a range of projects including:
- Internship and project opportunities for our students on the STV Edinburgh channel
- Developing Robert Louis Stevenson Day with Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust
- Engaging in reading projects in prisons with Scottish Prisons Service
- Publishing Scotland
- Grid Iron Theatre Company
- StudioLR
Entrepreneurship is an important to the success of the school. Students and graduates have access to Bright Red Triangle, our creative industries incubator at the Merchiston Campus, where they can develop ideas and set up their own business with the support of experienced staff.
Additionally, placements, industrial projects, talks and visits are integrated across programmes offering valuable opportunities to work with industry professionals.