Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon College of Arts undergraduate students can extend their degrees to 4 years by choosing to complete a Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) in their 3rd year. This optional and experience-based learning opportunity enables students to develop their skills, by undertaking a variety of placements while gaining industry experience.
Two students, Mila Dastugue studying at Wimbledon College of Arts, and Siana Bezuhanova at Chelsea College of Arts, shared with us an insight into their experiences during their DPS year:
So far this year Mila has completed 2 placements, both located in France. During her 1st placement, Mila interned as a costume assistant at La Criée, the national theatre of Marseille, then moved to Paris to intern as an assistant curator at the fashion museum Palais Galliera. Mila described both experiences as “a real eye opener” as to what career path she would like to pursue in future. Mila tells us more:
“During my 1st internship, I worked on a 2-month play rehearsal. The play was a take on the French classic Tartuffe by Molière. The aesthetic chosen by the director was a late ’50s early ’60s look which I loved! I learned so much from watching the director at work and taking on different responsibilities. It also made me think about which jobs I would like to do in the future, maybe even directing plays myself!”
“A typical day for me would start off by checking in with the stage director. Most mornings were spent doing fittings and sometimes shopping or designing new pieces. I would help with any research, inventories or pictures that needed to be taken of newly-acquired clothing. I would then work with the acquisition or fabrics team to assist with sourcing new clothes, or making minor alterations to existing ones. I only worked 7 hours a day, so the day passed extremely quickly!”
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Following a range of different placements, Siana’s DPS year has so far been an exciting one. From interning at a design studio with companies such as GoodBadMad and TripleDouble, to a traineeship at a film production company Eleven and painting murals for the London Underground, she tells us more.
“My traineeship experience at Eleven Film was quite exciting, as I got to work on a wide variety of different tasks throughout each day at their studio space. I had the opportunity to read through treatments and scripts that were at various stages of production. Some were already filmed, while some were soon to be filmed, and others still in their early development.”
“Some days, I had the opportunity to sit in meetings with the whole team, and listen and contribute to the conversations that were had. Other days, I spent working closely with quite a few members of the staff, such as the Head of Production, who I helped with on some of the pre-production work at Eleven. I was also assisting the Office Manager and Runner of the office in the day-to-day operations of the space.”
“As a volunteer mural painter, I spent everyday painting, and layering colours on the walls of the space in which we were working. I was part of a small but amazing team of women artists, who came together to realise the design of the acclaimed multidisciplinary maker, Annie Nicholson, also known by the name the Fandangoe Kid.
In the space of a week, the team and I brought Annie’s design to life, drawing it all out and painting it in the corridors of Fulham Broadway Tube Station. It was a lovely and refreshing experience, something I especially needed after having had done a 2-month design internship.”
Follow: @nanasiana.art
Note: If you're a current student who would like to find out more about DPS placements, please contact your Diploma Leader or Tutor, or email the Chelsea, Camberwell and Wimbledon DPS administration team on DPSCCW@arts.ac.uk.