Design Degrees Online

Programme Structure
The diploma is completed through one year of full-time study divided into two 15-week semesters which run from September to January and from February to June. Students are given the opportunity to experiment across different media in their first semester. They experience teaching in Fine Art which includes Painting, Drawing, Sculpture and Printmaking, Media including Animation and Photography, and Design covering Fashion, Graphic and Three-dimensional Design Practice. Students are then able to select and focus on the specialism which they will progress towards their application for a degree programme.

Study on the diploma is divided into several parts or modules, some of which are core or compulsory, and others which could be optional. Modules available include one specifically designed to explain the structure and content of the programme whilst providing an introduction to the University and the region. Another module allows students to explore the meaning of cultural identity with the areas of painting, print, sculpture, photography and design. Students spend the first semester developing their practice in a range of Fine Art and Design specialisms. Then during the second semester they focus on their chosen specialisms and are helped in the preparation of a portfolio of work in their assessment interview.

Throughout the programme great emphasis is spent upon developing drawing skills, and life drawing is studied on a weekly basis, giving students the chance to experiment with different techniques and methods.

Career opportunities
All courses offer recognised progression routes onto the following London Metropolitan University courses: BA (Hons) Architecture • BA (Hons) Architectural Studies • BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design • BA (Hons) Interior Design and Technology • BA (Hons) Spatial Arts. Many of our students go on to further study of architecture, interior design and related subjects and then successfully into practice. You can gain RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Part I exemption as part of our BA (Hons) Architecture undergraduate course, and can complete your professional studies through a further two years full-time study (to RIBA Part II exemption), and at least two years in architectural employment (with part-time classes and an examination to gain Part III).

Course structure

For full-time students, the first two semesters comprise six taught modules, with a period of independent study for assignments and project work. Two weeks are designated for the assessment of modules, plus counselling of students.

The summer studies period is for independent study, the construction of prototypes and tutorials relating to project work, report writing and your dissertation.

Part-time students take two cycles of the course, with a break in the first summer studies period in order to complete the MA. If you are part-time, you take four modules in the first year, two in the second year, and your Major Project/Dissertation (double module) in the summer studies period.
Modules include:
Assimilation
Research Methods
Design for Production
Disability and Society
Life Science or Visual Communication
Case Study and MA Concept Development
Major Project or Dissertation (double module)

Each design project that you undertake will have either a client or will be based upon an established need defined by members of staff. Additional links with business and research partners are made when you work on your Major Project/Dissertation.

Course structure
The course is based on a commitment to independent study at postgraduate level.

The course involves thinking and working through what is entailed in the project, and locating it in appropriate contexts. The research methods module and research seminars are designed to open up a range of approaches to the analysis and discussion of research methods and strategies, in order to foster analytical, reflective, and evaluative skills, and the ability to locate practice within critical, theoretical, and cultural contexts.

You follow a core programme of research seminars, and an agreed course of independent study monitored by a negotiated learning agreement. During the first semester both full-time and part-time students develop their initial ideas into a fully worked-out project proposal. This is put before the examination board for approval before progress on the course can continue. Completion of the MA requires that your project proposal is developed into a body of practical work of the required standard with a critical report, or developed into a body of research written up as a thesis.

Course structure
The course is based on a commitment to independent study at postgraduate level.

The course involves thinking and working through what is entailed in the project, and locating it in appropriate contexts. The research methods module and research seminars are designed to open up a range of approaches to the analysis and discussion of research methods and strategies, in order to foster analytical, reflective, and evaluative skills, and the ability to locate practice within critical, theoretical, and cultural contexts.

You follow a core programme of research seminars, and an agreed course of independent study monitored by a negotiated learning agreement. During the first semester both full-time and part-time students develop their initial ideas into a fully worked-out project proposal. This is put before the examination board for approval before progress on the course can continue. Completion of the MA requires that your project proposal is developed into a body of practical work of the required standard with a critical report, or developed into a body of research written up as a thesis.

Course structure
The course is based on a commitment to independent study at postgraduate level. The course involves thinking and working through what is entailed in the project and locating it in appropriate contexts. The research methods module and research seminars are designed to open up a range of approaches to the analysis and discussion of research methods and strategies, in order to foster analytical, reflective, and evaluative skills, and the ability to locate practice within critical, theoretical, and cultural contexts.

You follow a core programme of research seminars and an agreed course of independent study monitored by a negotiated learning agreement. During the first semester both full-time and part-time students develop their initial ideas into a fully worked-out project proposal. This is put before the examination board for approval before progress on the course can continue. Completion of the MA requires that your project proposal is developed into a body of practical work of the required standard with a critical report, or developed into a body of research written up as a thesis.

Course structure
The course is based on a commitment to independent study at postgraduate level.

The course involves thinking and working through what is entailed in the project, and locating it in appropriate contexts. The research methods module and research seminars are designed to open up a range of approaches to the analysis and discussion of research methods and strategies, in order to foster analytical, reflective, and evaluative skills, and the ability to locate practice within critical, theoretical, and cultural contexts.

You follow a core programme of research seminars, and an agreed course of independent study monitored by a negotiated learning agreement. During the first semester both full-time and part-time students develop their initial ideas into a fully worked-out project proposal. This is put before the examination board for approval before progress on the course can continue. Completion of the MA requires that your project proposal is developed into a body of practical work of the required standard with a critical report, or developed into a body of research written up as a thesis.

The role of product designer is being increasingly recognised as a vital factor in the successful development of all manufactured products. This course offers an advanced study in plastics product design for science and engineering graduates in either full-time or part-time modes. It aims to provide you with the academic, professional and personal skills necessary to help you lead projects in product design, development and production. You will complete the course with a sound knowledge of the principles and processes of product design and the ability to design plastic products from a sound engineering base.

Since 2000 it has been possible to do postgraduate studies at HDK. Currently we have eight PhD-students in design. A research training programme is provided by the faculty’s research school. The school offers research training in several disciplines, among others design. Recently applied arts (= crafts) has been added as a discipline for postgraduate studies.

Studying for a research degree normally takes four years of full time studies. Together with a supervisor each student makes up an individual study plan. Part of the plan consists of taught courses and seminars that the faculty’s research school organize. The main focus is on the indivually defined research topic. A final thesis is submitted at the end of the four years.

Professional Opportunities
As Painting falls into the category of fine, graduates tend to start independent careers as artists. In other words, many of our students become full-time artists. Some of the graduates supplement their income by working for art museums, art publishers, and art centers as curators, or companies as designers, or they run art schools.

Advice when considering this major
Most of all, you need to have a positive outlook on fine arts. You may agree that excellent art comes from creative thinking and an innocent view on life. You need to have your own perspective while observing and expressing subjects, instead of being closed-minded and blindly following conventional techniques.