BA (Hons) Design, Creativity & Learning/BA (Hons) Design, Creativity & Learning (QTS)
These programmes explore what it means to be a designer who is interested about the ways in which people learn through and about design. It is a practice-led degree that provides opportunities for you to experience working in a range of designing and learning contexts – such as museums, galleries, schools, educational/technological publishers – to develop your practice as a design educator.
3 years full-time
W201 (without QTS); X1W2 (with QTS)
BBC or equivalent; see find out more about our general entrance requirements.
Candidates from a wide range of academic and experiential backgrounds are considered and accepted on to the programme. Mature candidates who do not possess formal entry qualifications are considered for admission on individual merit and would be expected to have some familiarity with work in design. If you've been out of education for some time we encourage you to take an approved Access course or one or more A2 levels before entering higher education.
Art and Design Foundation Courses
Successful completion of an Art and Design Foundation course or other post-secondary Art and Design studies should be accompanied by a portfolio of work.
Diplomas
All Lines of Learning are acceptable as long as they include a recognised Level 3 qualification (such as an A-Level) in a subject relevant to the degree such as: Construction & the Built Environment, Creative & Media, Engineering, Information Technology, Manufacturing & Product Design.
If your first language is not English, please check our English Language requirements.
As part of our selection process, you are then required to submit an electronic portfolio for review (submission of which will be required by mid-February). We will review these portfolios and then inform you if you have been selected for interview. After submitting your application form you will be contacted by email with details of how to submit this portfolio, which will contain up to 12 items representing a variety of your art/design work and approaches. These will need to be .jpg image files, .mov video files or .mp3 audio files. You will also be requested to submit an essay from either your Foundation course (or equivalent) or from an A-level (or equivalent). We will inform applicants if they have been selected for interview by the end of February.
Please see undergraduate tuition fees.
Contact the Programme Convenor, Juliet Sprake.
Download a booklet [PDF, 673KB]
You will be involved in a wide range of courses that engage with creativity – exploring what it means to be creative as an individual as well as how to nurture creativity in others. You will develop and learn new skills to enable you to initiate design projects, responding to briefs in innovative and critical ways to produce outcomes that stimulate, challenge and engage learners – such as designing the educational environment that doesn’t yet exist.
What you study
The programme consists of five interrelated areas:
Design Learning Practice – projects that are taught through a variety of design briefs and in a range of locations and contexts. For example, you could work with professional museum educators to design for a contemporary exhibition. Or you might be involved in designing a mobile phone app that engages users in learning about a location in new and different ways.
Context – seminars and lectures that connect with your design learning practice to explore how learners learn, histories and theories of design, material cultures, creativity, sustainability and hacking.
Methods & Processes – practical workshops that support you in developing your design capability. Each session focuses on a different type of design activity such as: mapping, having ideas, researching, testing, modelling, exploring and so on.
Technical Studies – making workshops that develop your skills in using a range of technologies, materials and processes. There are self-chosen options available so that you can pursue the making skills most appropriate for your studies.
Professional Placement – during the final year of the programme, you undertake a professional placement. If you are on the QTS programme you will follow an H level course that secures your developing practice as a Design and Technology teacher for 12-18 year olds. If you are on the non-QTS programme you will do a placement in a museum, gallery or educational organisation that enables you to develop as a designer in a professional environment.
Register your interest
If you register your interest in this programme we will keep you informed about open days and send you relevant further information.
Courses and structure
The programme consists of five interrelated areas:
Design Learning Practice – projects that are taught through a variety of design briefs and in a range of locations and contexts. For example, you could work with professional museum educators to design for a contemporary exhibition. Or you might be involved in designing a mobile phone app that engages users in learning about a location in new and different ways.
Context – seminars and lectures that connect with your design learning practice to explore how learners learn, histories and theories of design, material cultures, creativity, sustainability and hacking.
Methods & Processes – practical workshops that support you in developing your design capability. Each session focuses on a different type of design activity such as: mapping, having ideas, researching, testing, modelling, exploring and so on.
Technical Studies – making workshops that develop your skills in using a range of technologies, materials and processes. There are self-chosen options available so that you can pursue the making skills most appropriate for your studies.
Professional Placement – during the final year of the programme, you undertake a professional placement. If you are on the QTS programme you will follow an H level course that secures your developing practice as a Design and Technology teacher for 12-18 year olds. If you are on the non-QTS programme you will do a placement in a museum, gallery or educational organisation that enables you to develop as a designer in a professional environment.
Credits and levels of learning
An undergraduate honours degree is made up of 360 credits – 120 at Level 4, 120 at Level 5 and 120 at Level 6. As a full-time student, you will usually take Level 4 courses in the first year, Level 5 in the second, and Level 6 courses in your final year. A standard course is worth 30 credits. Some programmes also contain 15-credit half courses or can be made up of higher-value parts, such as adissertation or a Major Project.
Skills and careers
Skills
Studying BA Design, Creativity and Learning will help you develop:
- innovation and creativity skills
- versatility and adaptability
- strategising skills
- awareness of and concern for environmental and ethical issues
- personal and interpersonal skills
These skills are sought after in many areas of employment.
Careers
Our graduates are highly successful at gaining employment and being promoted to posts of responsibility such as Heads of Department early in their careers. A number have gone on to become Advanced Skills Teachers or Assistant School Principals.
Awards
Our students and graduates have also been successful in national and international competitions, for example with the Draper’s Company/Industrial Trust Technical Textiles award and Special Commendation in the Guardian Teacher of the Year Award.
About the department
The Department of Design
Design at Goldsmiths draws on a wealth of critical, theoretical and creative perspectives. We pursue distinct – and often radical – design practices, educational programmes and research.
We are known for pushing the boundaries of design, and have a strong reputation in the design industry. This is enhanced by the work of our design practitioners (staff and former students), who produce internationally acclaimed commercial and exhibition work.
The Department of Design is renowned for important research in sustainability, design and technology education, interaction design, critical practice, user experience, materials, design thinking and futures. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008), 74% of our work was in the ‘internationally recognised’, ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world leading’ categories.
Facilities
Facilities within the department include:
- dedicated studio space for students
- extensive workshops with wood, metal, plastics, casting and CADCAM/RP specialities, maintained by knowledgeable technical staff
- a textile studio
- a dark room for black and white photography
- computing facilities, including software for communication graphics, video, web-authoring and multimedia applications, and computer-aided design
Find out more about facilities in the Department of Design.
Staff
Teaching within the department is based on excellence in staff research and practice. All members of academic staff engage in research. This helps us remain at the cutting edge of theory and practice in design and in design education, meaning that your degree is dynamic and relevant to industry.
Find our more about staff in the Department of Design.
- BA (Hons) Design
- BA (Hons) Design, Creativity & Learning
- BEng/MEng (Hons) Design & Innovation
Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK
Telephone: + 44 (0)20 7919 7171
Goldsmiths has charitable status
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