Masters Degrees (Stage Design)

The Masters in Urban Design course combines students' existing strengths with focused design training to produce urban designers capable of managing the complex problems of development, urban space and form.

The certificate and diploma stages of the Masters in Urban Design course introduce theoretical concepts and practical methods of urban design. They will enable you to understand processes of urban design production and consumption, and to develop skills and techniques for communicating three-dimensional urban design.

Why choose this course?

Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in both the public and private sectors, in planning, architecture, landscape and urban design practices; undertaking design, consultancy and research work. Several have also gone on to take up senior posts in universities in the UK and abroad. This is the longest established programme of study in urban design in the UK, and consequently has a vast network of graduates across the globe.

Staff are engaged in world-leading research (69% either world leading or internationally excellent in REF 2014) which feeds directly into the teaching and studio work. A major strength of the course is its multidisciplinary, collegiate, team-based approach to project work and presentation.

Based in Oxford, we are well located for access to both this historic city, to London and other urban centres in the UK.

This course in detail

The Masters in Urban Design is offered as a linked PGCert/PGDip/MA. The aim of the PGCert and PGDip stages is to provide a framework of current knowledge and skills in urban design and masterplanning.

The PGCert stage of the course focuses on the basic concepts and theory of urban design, establishing a solid grounding in the practical realisation of design qualities in a case site situation.

The PGDip stage increases the emphasis placed on the application of more specific design skills in differing contexts, through live projects and a more in-depth examination of design history. Theory and new research are provided through a series of history and theory lectures and seminars.

The aim of the MA stage is to provide an opportunity for developing urban design research skills through individually selected topics in theoretical and practical fields of study in urban design.

The MA dissertation gives students the opportunity to explore in depth a subject related to urban design, and to integrate the various elements of the course. Past topics for the MA include local identity, transport and design, public art and urban design, urban coding, environmental design, digital cities, and eco-towns.

The course is structured around nine modules.

Please note: as courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the module lists you choose from may vary from the ones shown here.

The PGCert stage of the course consists of the following compulsory modules and is worth 60 level 7 credits:
-Urban Design Studio I
-Urban Design Theory I
-Urban Design Practice I and II
-Urban Design Studio II

The PGDip stage of the course consists of the following compulsory modules and is worth 120 level 7 credits:
-Urban Design Theory II
-Urban Design Issues II
-Urban Design Development Seminars
-Research Methods in Design

The MA stage of the course consists of the following compulsory module:
-Master's Dissertation

Teaching and learning

Teaching and learning methods reflect the wide variety of topics and techniques associated with urban design in practice.

Lectures provide the framework, essential background and knowledge base for the course, while you are encouraged to probe deeper into different topics by further reading and review.

Analysis, synthesis and application of material introduced in lectures are demonstrated through studio sessions, workshops, seminars and practical project work. Site visits and a fieldwork component are an important component.

Careers and professional development

Our graduates have very high success rates in gaining employment and have secured posts in the public sector, private consultancy, the voluntary sector, and research and teaching areas.

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The Master of Design programme provide the opportunity for you to develop creative thinking and innovative strategies through an advanced understanding of the practical application of design thinking and design strategy that can be applied in a global context.

Service Design is a relatively new discipline that has emerged in the UK simultaneously with an increase in the service sector of the economy and the development of services which require innovative approaches to design, development and delivery in public, private and civil society organisations. Through the use of a specific set of methods and processes based on design thinking, Service Design aims to develop services that are useful and desirable for customers/stakeholders and profitable and efficient for the provider.

The course will provide you with the opportunity to develop and use design thinking as a device for modelling multi-faceted service experiences. In particular this requires the ability to design user research, to facilitate development workshops, and to project manage a process when initially outcomes are unknown. A detailed understanding of the management of design and innovation in service organisations is gained through case studies and project based learning. You are introduced to a range of concepts in Service Design such as co-design, user-driven innovation and social innovation. You are also encouraged to develop your own approaches and to respond to emerging industry practices.

You will benefit from staff research interests in methodology and in user experience design strategies. You may also have the opportunity to participate in one of Ravensbourne’s regular industry development projects with a strong service design dimension.

Study units

Stage One: developing a knowledge base and new reference points - introduces the learner to a range of theories and practices in the strategic use of design and innovation, with a particular focus on the method of design thinking in the global context and how it relates to Service Design. Emphasis is also placed on beginning to develop an innovation and leadership toolkit of skills and techniques.

- Unit 1: Cultural and Contextual Design Studies
- Unit 2: Practical Application of Design Thinking in Service Design
- Unit 3: Managing Design in a Global Society and Economy

Stage Two: putting new learning into a professional context - builds on the practical application of design thinking with a focus on innovation and industry oriented professional practice

Teaching and learning methods in this term are reflective of real world practices ensuring that participants are well versed in new service/product design methods, blueprinting, modelling, brand guardianship, consumer marketing and routes to market.

- Unit 4: Professional Practice in Management and Consulting
- Unit 5: Strategic Design and Innovation
- Unit 6: Studio Practice

Stage Three: evaluating and advancing existing knowledge

- Unit 7: Major Project.

Course aims:

- To encourage a human centred approach to design.
- To demonstrate that real innovation comes from gaining a deep understanding of the interaction between service providers and end users, their wants needs, participation and potential for co-creation.

Programme Aims of the Master of Design

The Master of Design programme aims to provide the opportunity for you to develop creative thinking and innovative strategies through an advanced understanding of the practical application of design thinking and design strategy to management and organisational leadership, in order to equip you with the knowledge and skills to apply your learning in a global context. In particular, this programme aims:

- To equip you with an advanced knowledge and understanding of the contextual background to, and developments in design thinking and to reflect on that learning in order to advance your own practice and subject area and to innovate.

- To develop effective managers and leaders with effective design management skills who through creativity and global awareness are able to influence and create positive change in their organisations whether at an operational or a strategic level.

- To equip you with independent study skills that support research, practice and professional development and allow you to continue developing as life-long learners throughout their professional lives maintaining contact with emerging practice from a variety of fields.

- To provide a stimulating environment, which is supportive, flexible and collaborative and allows you to develop your potential.

- To develop a high level of professionalism and confidence to initiate and lead complex design projects involving diverse disciplines and business functions.

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The Design Management course provides the opportunity for you to develop an advanced understanding of the practical application of design thinking and design strategy applied within an organisational, business and global context.

In the corporate world design managers oversee the development of products and services and manage the innovation process workflow. However, they also have a significant strategic role in managing the articulation of a business strategy, product and service values, requiring continuous improvement of the customer experience and often involving the management of external specialists. Additionally, they may be engaged in broader organisational development issues.

Students studying Design Management Innovation will focus on design thinking, research methods and the development of management, leadership and change management skills. In addition to operational management they will also focus on design thinking approaches to organisational change, behavioural change and transformation programmes.

The MDes Design Management Innovation draws on current Ravensbourne research. This includes rapid prototyping (an increasingly important operational aspect of the design process); business start up; team building and team dynamics; and the more strategic area of new business model development.

You will work regularly with peers from different disciplines to develop interdisciplinary skills and develop your own approach to design leadership, management and innovation. Major emphasis is placed on developing your own specialist subject in order to create original solutions to social challenges, consumer behaviour, organisational and leadership issues. You will be encouraged to engage proactively in the wide range of activities and events and in the opportunities for cross-disciplinary learning offered at Ravensbourne. Of particular importance is industry engagement through live project briefs and work placements.

Course aims

- To understand the role of design management as a business discipline balancing both leadership roles in terms of innovation, the creation of vision and future directions and management roles in terms of using specific tools, methods and techniques.
- To approach leadership, organisational and enterprise development from the perspective of design thinking and creative innovation.

Study units

Stage One: developing a knowledge base and new reference points - introduces you to a range of theories and practices in the strategic use of design and innovation, with a particular focus on the method of design thinking in the global context and how it relates to design management.

- Unit 1: Cultural and Contextual Design Studies
- Unit 2: Practical Application of Design Thinking in Design Management
- Unit 3: Managing Design in a Global Society and Economy

Stage Two: putting new learning into a professional context – develops the practical application of design thinking with a focus on innovation and industry-oriented professional practice based on design management. It also extends your innovation and leadership toolkit.

- Unit 4: Professional Practice in Management and Consulting
- Unit 5: Strategic Design and Innovation
- Unit 6: Studio Practice

Stage Three: evaluating and advancing existing knowledge

Unit 7: Major Project.

Programme Aims of the Master of Design

The Master of Design programme aims to provide the opportunity for you to develop creative thinking and innovative strategies through an advanced understanding of the practical application of design thinking and design strategy to management and organisational leadership, in order to equip you with the knowledge and skills to apply your learning in a global context. In particular, this programme aims:

- To equip you with an advanced knowledge and understanding of the contextual background to, and developments in design thinking and to reflect on that learning in order to advance your own practice and subject area and to innovate.

- To develop effective managers and leaders with effective design management skills who through creativity and global awareness are able to influence and create positive change in their organisations whether at an operational or a strategic level.

- To equip you with independent study skills that support research, practice and professional development and allow you to continue developing as life-long learners throughout their professional lives maintaining contact with emerging practice from a variety of fields.

- To provide a stimulating environment, which is supportive, flexible and collaborative and allows you to develop your potential.

- To develop a high level of professionalism and confidence to initiate and lead complex design projects involving diverse disciplines and business functions.

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The Postgraduate Certificate in Landscape Design is the first stage of the Landscape Institute accredited two year 'conversion' route for applicants interested in becoming a professional Landscape Architect. On successful completion of the PG Certificate Landscape Design students join the MA Landscape Architecture programme. Together the two programmes form an exciting and intensive 2-year postgraduate route of studies for future Landscape Architects.

Across the programme candidates are involved in a rigorous curriculum, including advanced skills and knowledge in: design, history, theory, professional practice, technology, ecology, sustainability, horticulture, drawing and digital representation.

Candidates have strong design ambitions with backgrounds in disciplines related to design, society and the environment. These may include graduates from architecture, design, art, geography, sociology and ecology. Applicants may be changing career or further specialising their career in the profession of Landscape Architecture. The Postgraduate Certificate in Landscape Design programme provides a comprehensive introduction to Landscape Architecture and a basis for entry to the MA Landscape Architecture programme. Details of international events, open lectures and student events can be found on: http://thelandscape.org/.

The Department is based in a new state of the art building designed by the award winning architects Heneghan Peng; it is equipped with fourteen rooftop landscapes, cutting edge digital workshops, extensive design studios, a world-class library and two gallery spaces.

Our building is located in the heart of Greenwich, the newest addition to a suite of magnificent buildings that occupy the UNESCO World Heritage site and the location of the Greenwich Prime Meridian.

The aims of the programme are:

- To introduce students to the technical and design aspects of landscape architecture practice

- To provide students who already have a suitable degree, to develop the technical design skills necessary for entry to the MA Landscape Architecture programme

- To form part of the set of programmes accredited by the Landscape Institute.

Visit the website http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/courses/pg/arc/landes

Architecture and Landscape

We need tools to help us create a built environment that is responsive rather than obstructive to its users and to the world around it. At Greenwich we encourage both students and staff to embrace the interconnectedness of design, construction and building management, of landscape architecture and graphic design, and to constantly look at new ways of exploring these areas.

All architecture programmes focus on the urgent necessity to change our living habits in order to design and build a sustainable urban environment.

The construction management programmes are designed to provide students with a high level of understanding of the design, function, construction and statutory requirements for buildings of all classes, and to prepare them for more advanced employment within the construction industry.

What you'll study

Full time
- Year 1:
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.

Design & Communication 1 (15 credits)
Ecology and Conservation (15 credits)
Landscape Basic Design (15 credits)
Design with Nature (15 credits)
Planting Design (15 credits)
Hard and Soft Materials (30 credits)
Site Design (15 credits)
Landscape Digital Design (10) (10 credits)

Part time
- Year 1:
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.

Design & Communication 1 (15 credits)
Ecology and Conservation (15 credits)
Design with Nature (15 credits)
Planting Design (15 credits)
Hard and Soft Materials (30 credits)
Landscape Digital Design (10) (10 credits)

- Year 2:
Students are required to study the following compulsory courses.

Landscape Basic Design (15 credits)
Site Design (15 credits)

Fees and finance

Your time at university should be enjoyable and rewarding, and it is important that it is not spoilt by unnecessary financial worries. We recommend that you spend time planning your finances, both before coming to university and while you are here. We can offer advice on living costs and budgeting, as well as on awards, allowances and loans.

Assessment

Students are assessed through design portfolio, essays, seminars and dissertation.

Professional recognition

The Postgraduate Certificate in Landscape Design programme is part of a Landscape Institute accredited route to becoming a fully qualified Landscape Architect.

Career options

Opportunities are available in Landscape Architecture, Landcape Planning and Urban Design. Recent graduates have successfully gained employment in the public and private sectors in the UK and worldwide. Many have continued to design and work on leading landscape projects such as the London Olympic Park, Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and the Eden Project.

Find out about the teaching and learning outcomes here - http://www2.gre.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/644021/Certificate-in-Landscape-Design.pdf

Find out how to apply here - http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/apply

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Our aim is to develop teachers whose vision, imagination and professionalism takes them beyond the realities of current educational policy, and encourage them to continually seek to evolve new and better models of practice- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pgce/secondary-design-technology/

Goldsmiths' Department of Design runs the PGCE (Secondary) in Design & Technology. The curriculum includes working with resistant materials (product design), systems and control (electronics, CAD/CAM), textiles, and food technology. What unifies these is the subject of Design, and the development of designing competence.

This programme is aimed at preparing you to teach in two broad areas.

You’ll be given the opportunity to specialise in one area to Key Stage 3 (age 11-14), and another to Key Stage 4 and beyond (age 14+). Key Stage 3 specialist fields are Materials; Textiles; Electronics and Communications Technology; and Food. The two Key Stage 4 specialist fields are Materials and Textiles.

Through an integrated course that involves both a practical and theoretical approach, you’ll be encouraged to reach your potential as a fully qualified teacher.

School Direct

It is also possible to study this course via our School Direct programme. Please visit our School Direct page to see which schools offer this subject.

Additional costs

As well as the PGCE fees, you will have to cover your travel costs to your school placements.

We produce reading packs electronically and in hard copy format. There’s a small charge for the hard copy reading packs. You may also be asked to contribute towards trips and some materials for your modules.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Alan Bright.

Structure

College-based work
There are seminars examining the nature of Design and Technology education, and workshops designed to develop your subject expertise. By the end of the programme you must offer a second area of competence to teach to the end of Key Stage 3, as well as your specialist area at Key Stages 4 and 5.

You engage in two design activities: one in the first term, and the second throughout the year.

The first activity is mirrored by the same project being undertaken by Year 9 pupils in a local school, and culminates in a shared presentation.

The second activity culminates in a presentation of a personal design-and-make project to your peers, to consider and reflect on the nature of the process of designing.

School-based work

During the Autumn Term you are placed in your first school, usually with a partner Design and Technology student teacher. The aim is induction, both into schooling and the teaching of design and technology, and into learning and teaching practices.

You do this by:

-observing teachers working and pupils participating in learning activities
-learning about whole school policies and practices
-studying the Design and Technology curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 (examinations)
-progressively taking on teaching activities, initially in tandem with the class teacher
-Spring and Summer terms are devoted to teaching practice in a second school, developing your competence to meet the Professional Standards.

You design a scheme of work for the Key Stage 3 curriculum, and develop your understanding of pupil learning styles, National Curriculum requirements, assessment and examinations.

Department

Design

Study in a department that's been ranked 1st in the UK for this subject.

Through design, we'll encourage you to bring about change, propose new visions of the future, and engage with sustainability. And we'll prepare you to become a teacher whose vision and imagination can inspire the next generation of young designers.

Design at Goldsmiths is ranked:

1st in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2016)
12th in the world (QS World University Rankings by subject 2015)
We’ve also been ranked by LinkedIn as one of the top graduate universities for designers, because so many of our graduates go on to find jobs in the industry.

Educational Studies

We have been training teachers since 1904, and have established a reputation for excellence in this field

We see education as a window through which to view the world, and as something with the power to define who we are and how we live

As a department we’re interested in seeing what education can tell us about the social, political and economic forces of our times. And what these forces mean for the everyday lives of individuals and groups.

We place a strong emphasis on active and collaborative learning, and we'll train you to become a reflective and socially conscious teacher.

Teaching placements

We have partnerships with many London schools, offering you the chance to gain teaching practice in socially mixed, multi-ethnic urban classrooms.

Support

We offer a high level of support through a system of school and personal tutoring.

Research

Staff in the department carry out world-leading research – we're ranked 8th in the UK for the quality of this research.**

**Research Excellence Framework 2014, Times Higher Education research intensity subject rankings

It delves into areas including culture and identity, gender, multilingualism, and youth cultures, and why we maintain a commitment to social justice and inclusion.

Learning & Teaching

A range of teaching methods are employed across the PGCE programmes, including:

• Taught subject sessions
• Taught General Professional Study sessions
• Practical workshops
• Core lectures
• Group tutorials/seminars
• Individual tutorials
• Individual and group presentations
• Supported self-study

As with the other PGCE courses, you’ll be given the opportunity to work with children in a wide range of contexts. These might include focused interventions with individuals or groups, or larger scale events for the community.

How to apply

You apply for this PGCE through the UCAS Teacher Training website. Our institution code is G56 GOLD.

Please take a look at the information on applying, including the specific qualifications or experience you need for this course.

There's no closing date for primary or secondary applications, but we advise you to apply early to avoid disappointment.

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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This course encourages the exploration and understanding of the methods and processes at work in contemporary visual communication, and will further develop your personal practice and approach to graphic design. It focuses on individual research and inquiry and helps you to develop your understanding of the significance of the wider cultural role of the visual designer. In addition, you will be introduced to disciplinary and interdisciplinary models of thinking that will underpin your own focused study on the course.

Key features
-The emphasis on problem finding, research methods and critical thinking is intended to enhance your long-term employment possibilities through an understanding of the changing global, technological and social context of design.
-The course is taught by academics who are also practising designers and researchers in design. This is supported by studio visits and visiting tutors from industry, live projects, competitions, lectures and workshops.
-Core modules are studied with students from across the Design School's postgraduate community.

What will you study?

Project work will challenge you to develop and enhance your existing ways of working. You will explore the importance of research in underpinning your practice and will be encouraged to build your own visual language and ‘tools' in response to set briefs within each module. In the final stage of the course, you will propose and develop your independent major project. You will be taught by experienced academics and specialist tutors from industry who encourage you to develop your understanding of the relationship between words, pictures and their means of communication and transmission.

Assessment

Project work: visual research, written project report/summary, exhibition, and final major project.

Course structure

This specialist pathway of the Communication Design MA course is part of the School of Design's postgraduate programme. The structure – shared with students from Product & Furniture Design MA, Sustainable Design MA and Fashion MA – enables you to explore your individual specialist interests in graphic design within an integrative learning environment that provides a comprehensive understanding of the value and role of interdisciplinary methods and ways of working. The influences and impact of thinking from other related design subjects on your own specialist study is an important aspect of the identity and the community of interdisciplinary practice at masters level in the School of Design.

This structure is designed to help progress and develop your independent learning, encouraging you to construct and explore projects concerned with areas of particular personal interests. The overarching course philosophy, based upon an emphasis on research, methodology and design thinking, allows individual and personal concerns to be explored through focused study in graphic design.

The two shared modules of the School of Design's Postgraduate Framework both commence with a symposium, in which high-profile external speakers present their work and contribute to a debate on a topic of relevance to all courses in the Framework.

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MA Graphic Design explores the ever-changing landscape of graphic design, to create insightful and well-defined specialist projects. The course is uniquely centred around the staged creation of a year long self initiated design project which builds critical understand and alongside practical design applications. A journey that focuses on individual research and enquiry, asks questions, promotes curiosity and build design investigations, to meet the needs of tomorrow's ambitious designers and their future at the leading edge of the Creative Industries.


Why you should study MA Graphic Design at Middlesex

At Middlesex there is an opportunity to fully submerge your self within the discipline of graphic design and be part of the well-established, award winning Graphic Design Department. Where we take a problem solving approach to Graphic Design to explore contemporary design practice through design thinking, insight and co-design processes, prototyping ideas, methods of design analysis and through building expert collaborative networks and external partners. Students come from a wide range of design and creative backgrounds, all with their own individual skill set, experience and cultural background. A diverse working collective, working across project areas of typography & information, brand identity & campaigns, new technology & digital experiences, design writing & insight analysis, sustainability & environmental issues, structural packaging and book design.

Based in our £80 million Art and Design School and taught by some of the UK's leading practitioners from a range of disciplines, our course features world-class facilities and specialist workshops fitted with both new and traditional equipment. With opportunities to build industry contacts and exhibit your work off-site, you'll also gain the employability skills, exposure and experiences you need to navigate a successful career path in today's competitive creative industries.

Course highlights:

- Our facilities are among the best in the UK, with fully equipped 3d workshops, laser cutting and 3d printing, printmaking and letterpress, digital printing, reprographics, bookbinding and fully equipped photography, animation and film studios, with expert technical support
- Each self-initiated project is tailored to the individual to support individual specialism and next stage links to industry, research, design writing, PhD or education. With the aim to establish expert links and specialist networks for each project.
- An exhibition of your work in central London to create networking opportunities, build industry contacts in a professional environment
- To contribute to research themes within the course and be part of a growing alumni collective.
- Access to networking opportunities, world-leading design research and expertise through the Art & Design Research Institute (ADRI) on campus

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Summary

The course is aimed at graduates and professionals with a background in any area of 2 or 3 dimensional design. You will learn how to apply design visualisation techniques and strategies to areas such as product design, interior design, graphic design and various other specialisations. Students will evaluate, choose and apply relevant theories, concepts and techniques to the solution of design and the knowledge that underpins it.

Graduates from this course can use their acquired knowledge and skills in a variety of jobs including: design practice: in-house and consultancy; design entrepreneurship- self-employment; 3D design visualisation in interior design, architecture, product design, 3D virtual environments for games; education as teachers/lecturers of design-related topics.

This is a 45-week course divided into three 15 week trimesters. Each trimester is divided into a ten week structured programme followed by five weeks of independent learning and reflection.

Modules

The Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) stage offers a choice of modules in which you will study Design Realisation which has a choice of project briefs from other MA programmes within the school, such as Interior or Product Design and Design Visualisation. Here you will complete a project showcasing your analogue and digital visualisation techniques, also exploring the potential of processes that are not totally dependent on digital technologies. These include evolutionary mock-ups, scenario enactment, physical modelling, two and three-dimensional collages and other animation techniques.

The Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) stage offers a choice of modules such as Competition or Collaboration and Collaborative Practice (Co-Lab). The competition brief will be based on a contemporary project where you will initially collaborate with other product or interior design MA students. Co-Lab offers a choice of exciting project briefs which can then be incorporated into the planning of your personal project. Each project brief will demonstrate your strengths in a chosen range of visualisation techniques, and the potential of those techniques for enhancing the effectiveness of an appropriate design process.

The Master's stage will require completion of a personal project.

Assessment

Assessments will take place during individual/ group presentations at interim stages and at the end of each module. Immediate verbal feedback is given to students during the interim stages and written feedback is given at the end of each module.

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Our MA Product Design course provides a conceptual process and context for the development of creative and innovative products. This includes the study of socio-cultural and economic issues, new technologies and creative visual language in relation to your practice.

As a student on our course, you'll undertake individual research projects using an integrated product design process. You'll also develop and communicate design solutions which align with design criteria and respond to broader issues such as lifestyles, markets or the information economy.

On this course you'll benefit from seminar sessions with visiting professional product designers. They'll provide critical feedback to advance your design concepts to prototype stage, in order to ready them for final exhibition and commercial manufacture.

You'll also have seminar sessions with visiting professional product designers, who provide critical feedback to advance your design concepts to prototype stage, ready for final exhibition and commercial manufacture.

The Centre for Sustainable Design is based at our Farnham campus, too. This research centre facilitates discussion and research on eco-design, and broader sustainability considerations, in product and service development.

Industry Partners

Our range of industry contacts include:
-Industrial Design Consultancy
-TheAlloy (product and interaction consultants)
-IDEO (design consultants)
-Philips
-Kenwood/De'Longhi.

And recent guest lecturers include:
-John Gertsakis, product ecology
-Philip Davies
-Stuart Heron, Design Director

Careers

Our course will equip you with a host of valuable and transferable skills. Graduate opportunities exist within:
-Product design practice
-Independent design studios
-Specialist design consultancies
-Design teams in manufacturing industry
-Design management
-Environmental management
-Service design sectors

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Working across the disciplines of architecture, art and cultural geography, our Architectural and Urban Design MA combines critical debate and creative practice to help you develop as a designer who will plan the urban environments of the future.

You will benefit from a supportive studio environment, two field trips and a variety of workshops and seminars, taught by active practitioners in architecture and urban design. You will engage with research on the analysis of cities and lead your own projects, speculating as to how cities will evolve and be used in the future.

The course is highly experimental and aims to stretch your imagination and critical ability. You will produce innovative portfolios and learn about the issues of global urban environments, expanding your knowledge beyond the usual subject boundaries.

Academic context

Urbanism and urban design are ambiguous terms that surround and reflect both the physical and mental attributes applied to the built environment.

The material of roads, pavements, buildings, railways, bridges and so on represents the physical. The mental is represented by narratives, histories, personal perceptions and anticipations.

The two sensibilities combine to form a layered knowledge of the city, which could be compared to a mature palimpsest or to semi-obscured archaeology. In this context, we study the city with emphasis on the space of the private realm and its seamless engagement with the public domain.

Why study with us?

• Experimental course that stretches your imagination and critical ability.

• Focus on the urban realm: the experiential aspect of cities and the gap between planned and lived.

• Field trips to cities including London, Berlin, Marseille, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

• Teaching staff who are also practitioners in architecture and urban design.

• Guest lectures from leading figures such as Anthony McCall, Stefano Rabolli Pansera, Katy Beinart and Peter Clash.

• Alumni network of professional architects, academics and urban designers.

Areas of study

The course is taught over 3 semesters over 12 months.

Design 1: Urban Strategies
This module introduces you to design strategies, methods and issues pertinent to your design studio, helping you to explore the potential of different approaches to design. There is a strong emphasis on the development of conceptual ideas and their correlation with the development of design strategy, helping you to articulate your individual position as a design practitioner.

Design 2
Design 2 aims to consolidate and extend the priorities, ideas and strategies established in Design 1. You will explore architectural and urban ideas in more depth and complexity. The emphasis here is on curiosity and speculation, supporting the development of methods to help with enquiry, reflection and debate.

Independent Project
The independent project runs concurrently and is concerned with your identification of places of ‘conflict’ and negotiations of space. The module encourages experimentation in a specific field of study. Students have developed projects in fields of architectural and artistic practice, creative design, techniques of communication or new technologies.

Critical Readings
The Critical Readings module will develop your skills in critical practice through an analysis of cultural, historical, theoretical and practical issues in architecture. It provides the opportunity to carry out initial investigations into the ideas that will drive your Masterwork project.

Research Skills and Training
Research Skills and Training introduces you to the challenges involved in designing, implementing and disseminating a research project. You will develop a written proposal that can inform the development of your Masterwork project, encouraging you to consider how your investigations contribute to the academic knowledge in your field.

Masterwork
The Masterwork is the final stage of study, requiring you to perform as a self-reflective critical researcher and lay down the foundations for innovation in your future practice. You will develop your project from an agreed research proposal, which may be either a text-based dissertation or a design-led research project with critical reflection. You will be asked to focus the areas of interest that have developed in your previous practice and studies, identify research questions and develop research methods, bringing critical investigation and creative responses together.

Facilities

• You will benefit from a new Masters Centre including studio space, tutorial areas and shared creative spaces.

• Modelling and construction workshops: timber and metal, dedicated 'wet' modelling bay, plastic dying facility, drill press, spray booth, vacuum former, strip bender, plastics oven, hot wire cutter and spot welder; further workshops available by arrangement with rapid prototyping and laser cutter.

• IT facilities include 3D paper and printer, plotters, scanners and a reprographics suite.

• Software includes Adobe suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat Professional), VW2010, Cinem 4D, Premiere, Blender, AutoCAD, Maya and Rhino.

• Library facilities include additional computing equipment, digital and hard copy specialist library facilities, and specialist collections.

Careers and employability

The Architectural and Urban Design MA gives you a deep understanding of the issues involved in contemporary practice. As you evolve your own specialist work, you will discover ways to reimagine and reshape the contemporary urban environment.

Our graduates have gone on to be professional architects, academics and urban designers in the UK, Vietnam, Russia, Palestine, Japan, Taiwan, Kenya, Turkey, Lithuania and other countries. Among our alumni are award-winning architects Wei Jiang and Quang Nguyen, who are based in Shanghai and London respectively.

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Introduction

Gain practical skills and expand your knowledge of design principles, research methodologies and theory with this postgraduate diploma. Explore visual language, typography, colour and information design through set and self-initiated projects. This course offers an intensive vocational route in the graphic design profession and is an ideal option if you need a bridge to Masters study.

Content

Build up a strong vocational portfolio on this intensive 30 week course.

The Postgraduate Diploma Design for Visual Communication provides a unique learning experience across an intensive 30 week programme. The highly structured delivery of the first stage of the course places emphasis on the development of fundamental design skills. This is underpinned with the importance of visual research and the development of critical and analytical skills. During the second stage of the course you will choose from a wide range of postgraduate electives and go on to develop a self-initiated major project that focuses on individual interests.

The Postgraduate Diploma is designed to build design skills even if you are relatively new to the subject of graphic design. The course provides you with a strong, vocational portfolio and is also useful in building your confidence to undertake further postgraduate study at Masters level.

The course recognises that graphic design is one of the most important and influential of what has become known as the creative industries and that it contributes significantly, directly and indirectly, to our economic and cultural well being.

Structure

Phase 1 is delivered through three units. Design Resolution is an intensive series of 'hands-on' studio workshops that develop basic design skills including visual grammar, typography, structure and the grid. Research and Development breaks down the research process and encourages contextual understanding of graphic design practice. It is designed to develop understanding of research methods and to provide you with research skills that can be applied to other units on the course.

The third unit encourages you to position your work within the framework of professional and/or academic contexts.
Phase 2 is also delivered through three units beginning with options from the extensive postgraduate elective program. Typical examples might include letterpress, printmaking, sound design, photography, narrative and sequence, typologies, design and politics, moving image and book design. The final units require you to propose, research and bring to completion a substantial practical project.

The major project builds on the knowledge and skills acquired in the first stage and applies these in the creation of a self-initiated design project based on extensive research, analysis, investigation and a clear research question. The major project is supported throughout with weekly seminars and tutorials.

The course, which fits within the University credit framework, comprises: tutored study, self-directed study and access to facilities. Tutored study is generally two days a week. In addition to this you are expected to attend lectures and work independently.

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The 1-year course aims at consolidating the basics of visual design, thereby allowing a critical approach to the design stage. The study plan includes lessons on basic design alongside general training.

The first of these provide an historical, cultural and scientific background to visual design focusing in particular on visual processes, also studied from a theoretical and physiological point of view.

The relation between the subjects covered helps in constructing a design methodology, a designers' most vital possession. The general training provides the necessary creative, technical and methodological skills for the further study of visual communication and design during the masters program.

The course lasts 10 months (from October until the end of July) and is entirely taught in English language.

PROFESSIONAL OPENINGS

Allows admission to:
-Master’s course in Visual Design
-Master’s course in Web and Digital Design

ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Founded in Milan in 1954, SPD Scuola Politecnica di Design is the first postgraduate school for design disciplines in Italy. Situated in Milan, the capital of design, Scuola Politecnica di Design pioneered design education thanks to its solid grounding and to its peculiar approach integrating different domains: ergonomics, art, perception studies, semiotics.

Today, SPD is an international laboratory for the exchange of ideas, experience and creativity in order to develop projects. Since its foundation the school has welcomed an extraordinary community of students from various countries and backgrounds.

All courses are taught in a personalized and small learning environment promoting easy contact with the faculty and the staff. Indeed, at SPD every student is followed individually by a faculty formed by designers, professionals from different fields and visiting tutors.

The masters programs offered by SPD are organized in collaboration with IULM University, and award academic degrees recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education, The University and Research MIUR, corresponding to 60 credits under the ECTS system.

The teaching method at Scuola Politecnica di Design is arranged into intensive workshops, studio classes, theoretical lectures, seminars and visits. Research work is carried out in collaboration with leading companies such as Volkswagen, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Heineken, IKEA, Artemide and Poltrona Frau Group among the others.

These projects are deveopped according to an interdisciplinary approach which is a testing ground for the student’s skills, from the concept idea to its execution.

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MA Fashion at Kingston University is a unique and innovative course combining the creative thinking of the Design School core beliefs with a very solid and 'creative' fashion industry focus.

With a heritage and specialism in womenswear, menswear, knitwear, digital or fashion artefact outcomes, the course combines industry standards with a creative and contemporary approach to fashion design developing a holistic and exciting approach to fashion design and beyond.

Our broad design community and positioning as a progressive and highly-rated design institution means that Fashion can actively collaborate and share ideas with designers in across the post graduate framework.

Key features
-With our well-established industry links and partnerships, the craft and skill of fashion is paramount and is developed through pioneering projects with industry practitioners from our team.
-Interdisciplinary modules give you the unique opportunity to expand your current design thinking and methodology, experiment and transform your medium, and work in dynamic teams to exchange and create ideas.

What will you study?

The fashion-based modules will encourage you to think creatively and will challenge you to apply your ideas and concepts to a series of briefs, some of which will arrive directly from industry sources and practitioners. The outcomes are non-prescriptive and should be driven by your ambitions and approach to fashion.

You will identify design narratives to inspire extensive research culminating in exciting, considered and forward-thinking design developments, challenging you to create new responses for fashion design. Addressing the contemporary culture of fashion, you will engage within important areas of development - social politics, economics, environments, sciences and technology futures - creating a clearer understanding of Fashion context.

The core modules, which explore the fundamentals of design and identify its role in your practice, offer the opportunity to connect and interact with designers from a wide set of creative disciplines.

Assessment

Design projects realised in 2D and 3D outcomes; written submissions supporting your studio practice; presentations to staff, your peers, and creative stakeholders; a major project mastering your practice.

Course structure

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list. Those listed here may also be a mixture of core and optional modules.

The Fashion MA course is part of the School of Design's postgraduate programme. The structure – shared with students from Communication Design MA, Product & Furniture Design MA, and Sustainable Design MA – enables you to explore your individual specialist interests in fashion within an integrative learning environment that provides a comprehensive understanding of the value and role of interdisciplinary methods and ways of working. The influences and impact of thinking from other related design subjects on your own specialist study is an important aspect of the identity and the community of interdisciplinary practice at masters level in the School of Design.

This structure is designed to help progress and develop your independent learning, encouraging you to construct and explore projects concerned with areas of particular personal interests. The overarching course philosophy, based upon an emphasis on research, methodology and design thinking, allows individual and personal concerns to be explored through focused study in fashion.
The two shared modules of the School of Design's Postgraduate Framework both commence with a symposium, in which high-profile external speakers present their work and contribute to a debate on a topic of relevance to all courses in the Framework. View the promotional flyers from the following recent symposiums:
-Here and There (PDF) – on the theme of interdisciplinarity
-Creating Futures (PDF) – on the theme of forging a path in the creative industries

Stage 1
-Designing Research
-Fashion Context I

Stage 2
-Fashion Context II
-Creative Futures

Stage 3
-Major Project

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Conventional methods of construction are highly resource-intensive; they require energy, electricity and water, and generate landfill waste and CO2 emissions. With governments and the public becoming increasingly aware of dwindling global resources and interested in sustainability issues, there is a growing demand for professionals working in the built environment to be well-versed in sustainable design.

Our MSc Environmental Design of Buildings aims to develop knowledge and expertise in the design of comfortable and healthy environments in and around buildings, regardless of climate, and with due regard to sustainable issues.

Structure

Our MSc Environmental Design of Buildings is delivered in two stages. Stage one is comprised of taught and project modules totalling 120 credits. Your dissertation is stage two. If you are a full-time student, you will take both stages in one year. If you are a part-time student or distance learner, you will take around two to three years to complete both stages, depending on the pathway you are enrolled on.

You will undertake six taught and two project modules (stage one) before commencing your dissertation (stage two). All modules will approach environmental design from a different angle, while taking specific themes, such as heating, lighting, acoustics and sustainability into account. Throughout the course, we will address good practice in climates around the world. We will explore:

• Current issues facing environmental designers and how the profession may be impacted by climate change
• Environmental standards - their prediction, measurement, and legislation
• Ways of achieving high standards of environmental performance, making appropriate use of building fabric and mechanical services
• Broader issues that environmental designers should be aware of in order to practice in a sustainable way

The taught modules on this course provide a grounding in architectural science within the context of sustainable development and environmental performance of buildings.

The project modules focus on specific themes in building design, such as climatic environment, internal building environment and passive design strategies. In these modules you will have the opportunity to apply taught design ideas to real-world scenarios.

After completing the modules, you will prepare a dissertation, where you will analyse a subject of environmental design that interests you in more depth.

Please visit the website for more information about the structure and content of this course:

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught/courses/group/environmental-design-of-buildings

Assessment

Taught and project-based modules are assessed in a variety of different ways depending on the module content and learning outcomes (found in the module descriptions). We use class tests, course work (both written assignments and oral presentations or critical assessments/crits), and project work, or a combination of these to assess your progress on the module.

In the dissertation stage, your dissertation is the sole object of assessment. The dissertation is a written report on a piece of research which you have carried out in an agreed subject area under supervision. 

Career Prospects

Students on this course frequently go back into their original profession with the advantage of having a new specialism in sustainable design. Following their completion of the course, some of our students with sufficient prior career experience have even gained leading roles in their respective professions.

Fieldwork

During the course, Cardiff-based students go on a range of study trips. Guided visits are organised to buildings that demonstrate the application of ideas taught in the course. In the past, these have included visits to the carbon-positive SOLCER House. We currently also offer an optional student exchange trip to Navarra in Spain.

Our distance learning students are welcome to join these field trips, if their circumstances allow.

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It is expected that applicants from the field of architecture will already possess an accredited graduate diploma or postgraduate degree in architecture (UK), a professional master's in architecture (US), or the international equivalent.

The MArch course is an experimentally minded design studio. You will be working with students from all over the world to generate design proposals that explore the edges of architectural thought.

There is an emphasis not only on the materials and techniques of construction but also elements such as air, heat, water, sound, smell and lights as materials too. This exploration will involve visits to factories and workshops where materials are manipulated in a variety of unusual ways, and also practical experimentation and testing in the studio environment.

This programme offers the opportunity to explore ideas in great detail, resulting in a thesis that might take the form of a video, set of drawings or physical model. The portfolio generated alongside the thesis will act as a curated record of your findings.

Why choose this course?

Oxford Brookes University is unusual in offering this design-based speculative research course in architecture that builds on its excellent reputation for architectural courses at postgraduate and undergraduate level. Brookes' School of Architecture is recognised as one of the country's leading schools and is consistently ranked by The Architects' Journal as one of the five best schools in the UK.
Students from the school figure regularly in national and international prizes and awards, and go on to work for many of the best-known practices in the country. We have an international reputation in research, in areas ranging from sustainable design to modular buildings and from design for well-being to vernacular architecture.

Staff in the school regularly secure research funding from the UK's research councils and the European Union as well as industry, with an annual research grant income averaging £1,000,000 in recent years. This research expertise feeds directly into the teaching programme at all levels, from undergraduate to PhD. The School of Architecture has dedicated studio space and postgraduate facilities.

This course in detail

The Advanced Architectural Design Modules (50+30 credits) represent the core of the learning experience. Project–based learning is used in a studio environment to individually and collectively explore architectural design problems. The design studio tutors will set the specific design problem and methodology employed. It is envisaged that several parallel studios may be established, numbers permitting, each led by separate studio tutors with different agendas, programmes and methodologies. However, the learning outcomes will be common. Initially, there will be only one studio which will be organised as follows:

The first semester is always a rigid organised fabric of reviews, workshops, tutorials and deadlines with students working both individually and in groups. Within this framework students engage in two strands of investigation: A. an in-depth research into the tectonic possibilities of a new material/s and B. the analysis of a real site with the aim of generating a series of questions that demand an architectural response. By the end of the semester each student is expected to present to a jury of invited critics a catalogue both conceptual and material, from which they will make a project, in a coherent manner using appropriate media. This jury provides formative feedback for students on their learning.

The first semester design studio is complimented by a series of challenging, group and individual based workshops, Urban Cultures, on drawing, model making and movie making, run by the tutors. Students are expected to engage in questioning and debate with the lecturers and are required to produce a series of responses in drawn and written forms, which contribute to their design portfolio, around a theme related to the lecture series.

Spread over the second semester there is a further series of lectures on Architecture and the City given by external academics and practitioners. Students are expected to engage in questioning and debate with the lecturers and are required to produce a series of responses in drawn and written forms to exercises set by the visiting lecturer. The results are to be bound into a book, which contributes to and supports their design portfolio, around a theme related to the lecture series.

The second semester design studio focuses on the architectural implications of bringing the two apparently dissimilar strands of the first semester’s investigation into surprising conjunctions. Students are asked to approach the possibilities created by these apparently disconnected procedures in an entirely logical way.
At this stage the studio places emphasis on the importance of developing students’ ability to demonstrate conceptual clarity, to locate their ideas in the spectrum of current and past architecture and to maintain a strong link between concept and product.

Students are also encouraged to explore a wide range of media and technique and to develop a rationale for selecting appropriate techniques for the representation of particular kinds of architectural ideas. Students are required to present their design projects to an invited group of invited critics close to the end of the semester.

This proves formative feedback for students. The final Module mark is generated from a portfolio-based assessment held at the end of the second semester involving a panel internal staff. This system will ensure a parity of marking when the module consists of multiple design studios.

Students also undertake a Research Methods Module in the second semester that prepares them for their dissertation project. A set of generic postgraduate school-wide lectures on research paradigms, methodology and research tools is followed by Masters specific seminars in which students develop a synopsis for their dissertation’. The module is assessed by means of a review of a relevant past Masters dissertation and a synopsis proposal.

The MArch programme concludes with the Dissertation Project in which individual students work with a supervisor on projects that have developed from the work of the design studio. Students are expected to produce original, relevant and valid projects. The dissertation can take a written or design based form. In the latter case a written commentary is expected as part of the dissertation submission. Students submit their dissertation projects at the end of the summer vacation and are expected to hold an exhibition of their work in the Department or elsewhere as agreed.

Students who have qualified for the award of MA are encouraged to apply to continue to the PhD degree programme in the School if they so wish. A Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Architectural Design can be gained by students who complete 120 credits but do not complete the full master's programme.

Teaching and learning

Studio research is complemented by a series of challenging talks by visiting academics and practitioners at every stage of the process as well as a consistent programme of individual discussions and workshops with your tutors.

You will work both in groups and individually, exploring a new kind of architecture. The methods of exploration include techniques primarily associated with the movie industry, such as the making of collages, optical composites, physical models and drawings both by hand and computer. The tutors act as guides to reveal areas of interest so that you develop an individual approach to the brief, the programme and the realisation of a project.

Teaching is heavily design-studio based, with project-based learning in a studio environment. Several parallel studies may operate, offering different methodologies but with common learning outcomes. The design studio will be complemented by a series of lectures, reviews, tutorials and site visits.

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