THE Arts University College at Bournemouth has been named in the top five universities for getting work and education.

Latest figures show that 97.8 per cent of graduates had found jobs or further study after six months.

Deputy principal Professor Jim Hunter said: “We have a long history of working with industry and the creative industries are buoyant at the moment.”

The AUCB is next to Bournemouth University but is completely separate and has a history dating back to 1883.

It has 2,800 students on courses like fine art, acting, commercial photography and digital design.

Prof Hunter said examples of employment success include the new make-up for performance degree, which links to their film and costume courses.

“These students are getting employed in the entertainment industry,” he said.

Prof Hunter also said more of the AUCB’s digital design graduates were now choosing to stay in Bournemouth rather than head to London.

The data was released this month by the Higher Education Statistics Agency and is based on a survey of students who left in 2010/2011.

The national average was 90.3 per cent, which was also Bournemouth University ’s score.

Prof Hunter said employment scores would become “increasingly important” now tuition fees limits had tripled.

The figures also show 63 per cent of AUB’s graduates were in work, which Prof Hunter said put the AUCB within the top 20 per cent of institutions.

The worst performers included the University of Bolton (78.8 per cent) and London South Bank University (78.1 per cent). The national average for the last year before the recession, 2006/2007, was 93.8 per cent.