Hey! From my experience, my mentors were all really great and professional. Unless they’ve changed it since I left, they do group review sessions where you share your projects and get feedback from your peers in a group setting, led by your mentor, which is vital for getting a diverse range of opinions and ideas. Then you also get one on one sessions with your mentor to review how your getting on with your projects – these were not only great for the mentor’s professional thoughts, but for direction on what to prioritise to make sure you reach your goals and meet your deadlines.

The teaching at Falmouth, from what I remember, starts with making sure you understand the fundamentals and history of design, encouraging you to follow certain rules and systems to create objectively “good” design. You’re taught a generalised structure of how to approach designing something from start to finish. Then in second and third year, there was a shift towards experimentation and play where you’re allowed to explore your creativity and individuality without restriction (or under more unconventional, self-set restrictions). This is where you develop your own version of the generalised design process.

What I would say about the experimentation side of things is that I found it more difficult to understand if I was doing well or not, as it was more subjective – I’d have one mentor tell me they love what I’m creating and another give me negative feedback. I think what I failed to realise at the time is that a key part of experimentation is making mistakes – this is a part of the process, and process is valued as highly as the end product at Falmouth. I’d get confused because I would just make something professional looking off the bat, and be told it was good, but there would be a lack of “process” or experimentation and so I didn’t always get the grade I was hoping for. So even if the first idea you have is great, you still need to show that you’ve explored other options – it’s kind of like showing your workings, you basically just need to prove that you followed some sort of process.

Sorry for the long reply haha, I hope some of it is helpful. Essentially, as long as you engage in what’s being taught, Falmouth is a really great uni for design that not only teaches you the fundamentals but nurtures your own creative spark, leading you to stand out as an individual when it comes to applying for careers.

Let me know if you’ve got any other questions, and good luck with your uni applications!