Graphic Design, FdA

Overview

This Foundation Degree will help set you up for employment in design roles and related creative positions, and also equip you with the advanced academic skills needed for further study.

The course provides insight into day-to-day life in the design industry through its commercial studio ethos. You will liaise with clients, work independently and collaboratively on ‘live’ briefs, and generate design work from concept to completion.

Course length:

Full-time: 2 years (3 days a week)
Part-time: 3 years (2 days a week)

Start date:

13th September 2021

Location:

Loxton Campus and Knightstone Campus

Course codes:

Institution: B20
Course: W210
Campus: C

Awarding institution:

Bath Spa University

Find out more

Course detail

It also aims to foster a culture of lively and stimulating conversation and debate to inspire analytical and innovative thinking.

The programme is delivered by design professionals who continue to practise and expert visiting practitioners, ensuring its taught elements continue to be up-to-date.

You will benefit from their strong links with prestigious companies and involvement in the regional design sector at organisations including the South West Design Forum.

Alongside gaining practical skills in desktop publishing, digital illustration and image manipulation, you will explore emerging design technologies and the ethical and social issues surrounding contemporary design practice.

You will also develop skills in marketing and project management through the development of a professional self-promotional portfolio and by showcasing your creative skills in a self-directed exhibition.

The degree is taught at Loxton Campus – the home of our creative arts programmes. Students on this course are encouraged to work across courses – with their Games and Animation Production counterparts at our Knightstone Campus, for example – and can also take advantage of the dedicated higher education library, extended opening hours and bright and spacious study spaces at our new University Centre in the Winter Gardens building in the centre of Weston.

All students have their own work space within the studio, which is theirs to use all week during term, and access to an Apple Macbook loaded with industry-standard software.

Students on our Graphic Design degree pathway are invited to attend optional residential visits and trips to design studios and exhibitions at an additional expense. In recent years students on this course have visited New York, for example.

Please contact the course leader Vicki King or UCW’s HEART student services team if you have any questions.

We can arrange bespoke visits so you can meet the team and have a look around our studios and campuses.

It would also be great to meet you and show you around at our next Open Day.

All of the modules on this course are compulsory and worth 40 credits each. Successful completion of all of the modules in the first year is worth 120 credits at Level 4 and equivalent to a Certificate of Higher Education. Successful completion of the second year is also worth 120 credits and will lead to the award of the Level 5 Foundation Degree.

Year 1:

Design in context (visual meaning and analysis) – 40 credits
Design studio (creative industries) – 40 credits
Practical design skills (professional and practical skills) – 40 credits

Year 2:

Design in context 2 (visual meaning and analysis 2) – 40 credits
Design studio (creative showcase) – 40 credits
Professional and practical skills (work-based skills development) – 40 credits

This course is taught via a combination of lectures, seminars, studio workshops, presentations, skills practice and project work. UCW’s Higher Education Library Plus (HE.LP) team also deliver a series of sessions on degree-level research and academic writing to all first-year students. When not in scheduled lecturers and seminars, students are expected to continue learning through independent self-study. This involves reading relevant literature, working on individual and group projects, and undertaking research in preparation for coursework.

This course has an average of 12 hours of scheduled teaching per week.

Assessment is via a combination of practical exams and coursework. The assessment breakdown is 5% practical exams and 95% coursework. There are no written exams on this Foundation Degree.

Please click on the Course Handbook button to find out more, including how it is delivered part-time basis.