Design Degrees Online

This Electronic Design Technology course is a one year course that allows you to top up your HND qualification (or equivalent) to a full honours degree in only one year. This is fairly unique as most routes require two years, but this course combines technical, project management and entrepreneurial skills in the electronics field to give you a good all round education in the modern skills that count in today’s world. Not only will you improve your managerial as well as technical skills, you will also dramatically improve your understanding of how businesses work in an engineering environment.

Much of your learning will occur in the specialist state-of-the-art Electronics labs or the modern computer network lab and these labs are available to work in outside of timetabled classes.

Course aims

The course includes a variety of staff-set, ‘live’ projects, competitions and student self-set assignments delivered through studio practice, workshops and lectures. Projects may include: advertising, editorial and information design, interactive design, moving and time-based graphics and packaging design. There are excellent facilities for digital media, printmaking, illustration and photography with opportunities to study typography, illustration digital imaging and web design.
Special course features
Small group sizes allow good individual support
Well equipped Apple Mac suite and design studios
Course located in the new Windmill Avenue Campus of the Tresham Institute
All lecturers and facilitators have design industry experience
Option to convert the HND to a BA (Hons) by opting for an additional third year of study at Northampton
Course content
Stage one

Four compulsory modules: integrated graphic studies (range of design projects using both digital and traditional techniques and processes; professional studies (professional disciplines, group work, live project work); visual studies (illustration, drawing and related design projects) and visual and material culture (study of design history, and how design relates to our 21st century culture).
Stage two

Four compulsory modules – communication designs (range of design projects using both digital and traditional techniques and processes); elective study (opportunity to specialise in either illustration, photography or typography – each in a graphic design context; professional studies (professional disciplines, group work, live project work), and visual and material culture (study of design history, and how design relates to our 21st century culture).
Stage three

Students wishing to progress to level three in order to ‘top-up’ the HND qualification to a BA (Hons) degree will attend an interview at The University of Northampton. The level three programme consists of a final major project in the selected area of specialism, and a dissertation.
Typical modules include
Design project
Development work
Practical and written projects
Career opportunities

Today’s fast-moving design industry provides a wide range of exciting employment opportunities for graduates who may be employed as graphic designers, photographers, illustrators and web designers. Creativity and technical ability are required in equal measure by design organisations wishing to recruit newly qualified designers.

Alternatively you may continue to full BA (Hons) study in Graphic Communication/Advertising or establish your own design company.