UCA has campuses in Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham together with teaching bases at the Royal School of Needlework and The Maidstone Studios. The origin of the University for the Creative Arts lies in the establishment of various small art schools in the English counties of Kent and Surrey in the nineteenth century. In Kent the first of these was Maidstone College of Art, founded in 1867, and in Surrey the Guildford School of Art, founded in 1856. During the second half of the twentieth century many of these small art schools merged, eventually forming Kent Institute of Art & Design in 1987, and Surrey Institute of Art & Design in 1995. These two organisations joined forces in 2005 to become the University College for the Creative Arts In May 2008 the University College for Creative Arts was granted full university status by the Privy Council, and adopted its current name, the University for the Creative Arts, officially in September 2008.

UCA offer courses in Architecture, Crafts, Fashion, Graphic Design, Illustration, Fine Art, Photography, Film, Media, the Performing Arts and Creative Business. The programmes are acclaimed for their top teaching quality, and highly respected by creative sector employers.

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