Significant Growth at WaterBear Music College

WaterBear, the College of Music with campuses in Brighton and Sheffield, is celebrating remarkable growth as it once again receives a record number of student applications.

The pioneering college, which offers BA (Hons) degree and master’s courses for today’s musicians, artists and industry professionals, has seen a noteworthy year-on-year uplift of 64% (January 2023 – January 2024), following the UCAS equal opportunities deadline. Students applying for a coveted place at the college, who are keen to embrace WaterBear’s unique ethos of building a sustainable career in the music industry, will have the option to study at one of the college’s two campuses or online. 

This year’s record number of applications further bolsters WaterBear’s significant success since establishing in Brighton in September 2018 and opening the doors to its second college in Sheffield in September 2023. WaterBear also reports a monumental surge of 236% in undergraduate student applications in the last two years (since January 2022).

Eve Massaad, Director of Marketing at WaterBear commented:

“WaterBear has experienced an extraordinary expansion in recent years, a testament to our highly dedicated and passionate team of industry professionals. Our student-centred approach and student experience is a key factor to our success. From day one, our vision has been firmly focused on offering support to the DIY artist and enabling young musicians to take control of their career, fostering independence and resilience.

“The vast increase in applications received again this year is hugely encouraging, giving us confidence that we are creating an offering that students want, ultimately nurturing them to be professional, independent and adaptable creative thinkers in an ever-changing industry.”

Founded by music education pioneers Adam Bushell and Bruce John Dickinson, WaterBear has built an unrivalled reputation for its dedication to specialist one-to-one mentoring, focused class sizes and exclusive career development opportunities.

WaterBear offers BA (Hons) degree and master’s courses made for today’s musicians, artists and industry professionals. Its colleges are based in the heart of Brighton and Sheffield, two amazing UK cities with incredible musical roots and heritage. The college also has a range of online distance-learning courses.

WaterBear is a College of Falmouth University, a pioneer in creative industries education, entrepreneurship and innovation. Run by musicians, for musicians WaterBear is about smaller class sizes, flexible course delivery, bespoke one-to-one mentoring and exclusive work experience and career development opportunities.