Design (with Optional Professional Placement)

Entry requirements

Applicants should hold a 2:2 degree or equivalent professional experience or learning in a related field.

Applications from all candidates will be considered on their merits in the light of the nature and scope of the programme.

Professional experience in the field of design.

IELTS: Score of 6.5 or above.

A high level of achievement in undergraduate studies at a university elsewhere such as North America: Minimum overall GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.

Applicants are requested to submit digital supporting material and where possible will be invited to attend an interview with a portfolio.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The design arena is filled with opportunity. Our Design (with optional Professional Placement) course provides the framework and direction for a deep dive into a personal area of interest, so you grow professionally and personally. It’s for graduates, practising artists or designers, in visual communication and applied arts.

By the end of the programme, you’ll have a cohesive body of work, produced to a professional standard that clearly articulates a sound intellectual rationale and a broad critical viewpoint.

Why study with us

• You’ll pursue a unique personal line of inquiry in your chosen subject area and generate a portfolio of work tracking your development towards the goals agreed by you with academic staff.
• The course is taught by tutors who are professional design practitioners and who play a prominent role in the University's research activities.
• An optional placement year, gives you the chance to spend a minimum of 24 weeks putting theory into practice, and discovering how to make a living from doing what you love.

What you'll do

• You’ll be part of, and learn alongside, a large and varied postgraduate design community in the School; sharing knowledge and accessing a wide range of staff skills and resources. Our strong industry links and the opportunity to spend an additional year in industry gives this course a competitive edge.
• Your work could be recognised with prestigious national awards including D&AD, Graduate Fashion and London Photographic Awards, Creative and Strategic Marketing Awards and ID magazine competitions.
• Trips, visits to shows and exhibitions and overseas study underpin your creative practice and develop your work visually and academically; we’ve been to Paris, Milan, Barcelona, Berlin and New York.

Learning and assessment

The MA is a taught programme, blending practice and theory, with one day's tuition per week, supplemented by private study.

Full-time study is based over three semesters, with 60 credits studied each semester. The first and second semester is a double 'practice' module and a single 'theoretical' module: Research and Creative Perspectives. Part-time study is based over five semesters.

Both routes conclude with a 60 credit module, bringing together all practical and theoretical aspects of the course, through a major investigation into a particular personal area of study, leading to a final assessment presentation / public exhibition.

Project work will be exhibited in a final show which is well attended by industry and the general public and potential employers and open to your family, friends and students.

Further information

We have well equipped studios and workshops, supported by highly skilled technical staff. You’ll have access to an excellent suite of high spec computers for CAD, assignment writing and image manipulation as well as the University’s excellent library and study facilities. It holds an extensive collection of design books and periodicals, together with many e-resources and support.

Information for international students

Visit our website for further information.