The University for the Creative Arts (UCA) has announced that it will be charging £8,500 per year for its undergraduate courses from 2012.

UCA, which as has campuses in Canterbury, Maidstone, Rochester, Epsom and Farnham, offers courses in art, design, architecture, media and communication.

Like all English universities, UCA is facing reductions in government teaching funding, with more than three quarters of its funding being withdrawn.

This means that in future it will have to rely on student fees to cover the whole cost of delivering its courses.

Professor Mark Hunt, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of UCA, said: “Student fees will provide our main source of funding for teaching and investing in the facilities needed to provide students with a high quality creative arts education.

“A creative arts education is an investment in the future.

"Many distinguished practitioners began their careers at UCA including Karen Millen, Zandra Rhodes and Tracy Emin.”

Under the new Government scholarship scheme, 164 scholarships of £3,000 will be available to those applying to UCA in 2012.

In addition, UCA is actively seeking donations and has a growing scholarship programme supported through donations.

For further information visit www.ucreative.ac.uk/scholarships

The Government recently confirmed that all 123 universities and colleges in England intend to charge over £6,000 per year from 2012.

The average fee stands at £8,600.

Kent University announced in April that it would be charging tuition fees of £9,000 per year.