The spirit of Ceramics & Glass at the RCA springs from the heart of those media, and a belief in the transformative power of material thinking, research and making to enrich our world in imaginative and meaningful ways. The programme is a site for contemporary discourse where personal concerns and global perspectives intersect. We seek those with passion to extend the possibilities and perspectives of ceramics and glass within and beyond traditional limitations, informed by their rich provenance of materials and practices.
The Ceramics & Glass MA at the RCA provides outstanding opportunities to develop a dynamic, informed and connected practice in a study environment that embraces diversity and depth. We believe in interrogating practices and challenging conventions.
Our hyper-material age presents exciting and critical opportunities to explore cultures of production; to ask questions about what, why and how we make; to express ideas through the symbolic modes of things and transformative character of substances, and to consider how our work can influence physical, personal and psycho-social environments. We challenge and encourage you to stretch your imagination, expand your potential and find your voice.
The MA spectrum of enquiry includes art and design works, design for manufacture and the built environment, emerging experimental practices and applications. Curiosity is nurtured through the imaginative exploration of concepts, the investigation of material properties and technologies, the potential of interdisciplinary practice and collaboration. Making, thinking and writing skills are integrated to develop critical perspectives of practice and purpose, and to foster new understandings of our interaction with ‘things’.
The exceptional ceramic and glass facilities at the Royal College underpin a dynamic study environment led by outstanding teachers and technical experts, supported by contributions from peers, acclaimed visiting lecturers and graduates, who have shaped the programme’s leading research and international standing over many years.
The MA study experience integrates studio-based project learning with a formal dialogue in Critical & Historical Studies, scaffolded by the rigour of enquiry and reflective practice. Workshops, lectures, visiting experts and collaboration opportunities are supplemented by seminars and personal tutorials to provide guidance, foster critical reflection and encourage the development of individual trajectories and ambitions.
The programme offers:
Offered as part of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme.
Full-time and part-time students study a number of one-week short-course modules comprising lectures, laboratory sessions and tutorials.
The modules cover metals, polymers, ceramics, composites, nanomaterials, bonding, surfaces, corrosion, fracture, fatigue, analytical techniques and general research methods. Each module is followed by an open book assessment of approximately 120 hours.
There is also a materials-based research project, which is made up of the Research Project Planning and the Project modules.
The MSc in Advanced Materials is accredited by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) when a Project is undertaken.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time over five academic years. It consists of eight taught modules and a compulsory Project.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:
Knowledge and understanding
Intellectual / cognitive skills
Professional practical skills
Key / transferable skills
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Materials Engineering at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
Engineering at Swansea University has key research strengths in materials for aerospace applications and steel technology. As a student on the Master's course in Materials Engineering, you will be provided with the depth of knowledge and breadth of abilities to meet the demands of the international materials industry.
Through the MSc Materials Engineering course you will be provided with training and experience in a broad range of topic areas, including metallurgy and materials selection, modern methods used for engineering design and analysis, the relationship between structure, processing and properties for a wide range of materials, materials and advanced composite materials, structural factors that control the mechanical properties of materials, and modern business management issues and techniques.
The MSc Materials Engineering course is an excellent route for those who have a first degree in any scientific or technical subject and would like to become qualified in this field of materials engineering.
MSc in Materials Engineering programme is modular in structure. Students must obtain a total of 180 credits to qualify for the degree. This is made up of 120 credits in the taught element (Part One) and a project (Part Two) that is worth 60 credits and culminates in a written dissertation. Students must successfully complete Part One before being allowed to progress to Part Two.
The part-time scheme is a version of the full-time equivalent MSc scheme, and as such it means lectures are spread right across each week and you may have lectures across every day. Due to this timetabling format, the College advises that the scheme is likely to suit individuals who are looking to combine this with other commitments (typically family/caring) and who are looking for a less than full-time study option.
Those candidates seeking to combine the part-time option with full-time work are unlikely to find the timetable suitable, unless their job is extremely flexible and local to the Bay Campus.
Modules on the MSc Materials Engineering course can vary each year but you could expect to study:
Composite Materials
Polymer Processing
Environmental Analysis and Legislation
Communication Skills for Research Engineers
Simulation Based Product Design
Aerospace Materials Engineering
Structural Integrity of Aerospace Metals
Ceramics
Environmental Analysis and Legislation
Physical Metallurgy of Steels
The MSc Materials Engineering course at Swansea University is accredited by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).
This degree is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates who have already acquired an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng(Hons) or an Accredited IEng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.
Accreditation is a mark of assurance that the degree meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). An accredited degree will provide you with some or all of the underpinning knowledge, understanding and skills for eventual registration as an Incorporated (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng). Some employers recruit preferentially from accredited degrees, and an accredited degree is likely to be recognised by other countries that are signatories to international accords.
Our new home at the innovative Bay Campus provides some of the best university facilities in the UK, in an outstanding location.
Within Engineering at Swansea University there are state-of-the-art facilities specific to Materials Engineering.
- Comprehensive computer systems for specialist and general purposes.
- World-leading equipment for characterisation of the mechanical properties of metallic, ceramic, polymeric and composite materials.
- Extensive range of laboratories housing scanning electron microscopes with full microanalysis and electron backscatter diffraction capabilities.
Materials engineering underpins almost all engineering applications and employment prospects are excellent.
Employment can be found in a very wide range of sectors, ranging from large-scale materials production through to R&D in highly specialised advanced materials in industries that include aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, sports, and energy generation, as well as consultancy and advanced research.
Materials engineering knowledge is vital in many fields and our graduates go on to successful careers in research and development, product design, production management, marketing, finance, teaching and the media, and entrepreneurship.
The internationally leading materials research conducted at Swansea is funded by prestigious organisations including:
Rolls-Royce
Airbus
Tata Steel
Rolls-Royce
The Institute of Structural Materials at Swansea is a core member of the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre in Materials.
This venture supports a wide ranging research portfolio with a rolling value of £6.5 million per annum addressing longer term materials issues.
Airbus
Over £1m funding has been received from Airbus and the Welsh Government in the last three years to support structural composites research and development in the aerospace industry and to support composites activity across Wales.
Tata Steel
Funding of over £6 million to continue our very successful postgraduate programmes with Tata Steel.
Other companies sponsoring research projects include Akzo Nobel, Axion Recycling, BAE Systems, Bayer, Cognet, Ford, HBM nCode, Jaguar Land Rover, Novelis, QinetiQ, RWE Innogy, Timet, TWI (Wales), as well as many smaller companies across the UK.
These industrial research links provide excellent opportunities for great research and employment opportunities.
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 ranks Engineering at Swansea as 10th in the UK for the combined score in research quality across the Engineering disciplines.
The REF assesses the quality of research in the UK Higher Education sector, assuring us of the standards we strive for.
The REF shows that 94% of research produced by our academic staff is of World-Leading (4*) or Internationally Excellent (3*) quality. This has increased from 73% in the 2008 RAE.
Research pioneered at the College of Engineering harnesses the expertise of academic staff within the department. This ground-breaking multidisciplinary research informs our world-class teaching with several of our staff leaders in their fields.
