Falmouth University has a more than 100-year tradition of original thought and design.

The Falmouth School of Art, which was founded in 1902, has evolved over a century to become a center for digital innovation. Today, its array of undergraduate and graduate programs reflects the depth of the UK economy's fastest-growing industry—the Creative Industries. It is obvious that Falmouth's specialties in creative innovation, creative thinking, problem solving, communication, and storytelling will be essential to future economic and cultural success both locally and globally as we enter the fourth industrial revolution and as technology presents both great opportunities and challenges.

The University has lately gone through a period of fast expansion, with the number of students living on campus tripling since 2001 to reach close to 5300. There are two campuses for these students—one each in Penryn and Falmouth.

Falmouth University offers cutting-edge online distance learning in addition to the courses that are taught on the Cornwall campus, and it has interesting joint ventures with top organizations like the Academy of Contemporary Music and the Fashion Retail Academy in London.

According to Falmouth's 2030 strategy plan, recruitment to these types of joint provider partnerships will surpass recruitment to on-campus programs by 2024. There will be 6500 on-campus students and 8500 off-campus students by the year 2030.

The foundation of Falmouth's research initiatives is the open innovation philosophy, which holds that interdisciplinary collaboration across disciplines is the most effective way to address the great challenges of our time. They concentrate on creating new information, ideas, services, and products that have an impact on people's lives and economies.

In Cornwall, Falmouth University serves as an anchor institution, collaborating with both public and private sector organizations to advance the goals for the economy, skills, and enterprise of the region. The Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly LEP 2030 plan and Cornwall Council's long-term strategic vision are both in line with its 2030 strategic plan. The creative industries are important to Cornwall's economic plan because they are currently the third largest employer in the area and are also probably where future high-growth businesses and higher-paying jobs will come from.