Courses Information of UG in Product Design at Glasgow School of Art
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009COURSE INFORMATION
Unique in the UK, these groundbreaking degree courses were conceived and developed at The Glasgow School of Art in partnership with six other leading design universities across Europe and with the Faculty of Arts & Social Science at the University of Glasgow. Aimed at exceptional students with an interest in the professional practice, management and cultural contexts of Product Design, each degree pathway offers exciting and challenging opportunities within an international framework at the cutting edge of design education.
The course typically recruits around 20 students per year, from all over the world including Australia, Japan, Germany, Luxemburg, Norway and Italy. There are now at least as many female students as male in the department, and applications from mature students are welcomed.
The relatively small number of students in each year group, combined with the studio-based nature of the course, creates a friendly and socially coherent dynamic group.
The course offers two principal pathways:
BDes Hons [Bachelor of Design with Honors] over four years
MEDes [Master of European Design] over five years
An additional exit point, BDes [Bachelor of Design], is available after three years.
In order to assess and facilitate the appropriate pathway for each individual, every student follows a common, core programme over the first two years of the course, during which time they are introduced to a range of basic communication and design skills, methodologies, team-building and project management strategies.
THE TWO PATHWAYS
At the conclusion of the second year, students with special abilities and preference for the design elements of the course may choose to follow the four year BDes (Hons) programme. During the 3rd year they can elect to undertake a substantial student placement or competitive internship through the department extensive international academic and professional networks.
Those students who have shown equally high abilities in all the elements of the core programme, including languages, may elect to undertake the five year MEDes. One of the unique features of this Master of European Design degree is that students spend two whole academic years abroad within two of the MEDes european partner schools: for example a student might elect to spend their 3rd year at the Politecnico in Milan and then proceed to UIAH in Finland for their 4th year. All students in the partnership return to their parent institutions for the final year of their Masters degree.
LEARNING AND TEACHING
The course content, both at Glasgow School of Art and its partner institutions, is delivered primarily within the design studio. This approach creates a socially interactive, yet individually driven, working practice, with teamwork & shared experience core to its philosophy. The small size of each year-group, typically 20-25 students, coupled with close & frequent contact with the tutors, creates an informal yet highly effective student-led learning environment.
Design work is assessed by project review, often in the form of a presentation to the year group and members of staff & relevant visiting speakers, lecturers and critics. These can be lively events, and students quickly learn to communicate and present themselves and their work in a manner both professional and engaging.
The Social Science programme is delivered by the Glasgow School of Art’s department of Historical & Critical Studies and integrated into the studio projects where appropriate. The intention of the course is to provide BDes(Hons) and MEDes students with a design-orientated body of theory and knowledge related to the cultural, social and commercial contexts of professional design activity: not only will the design process be enhanced but so, too, will the designer.