MA Design

Program Overview

MA Design

Overview

MA Design encourages a healthy interplay of approaches and ideas across the visual design and the applied arts. You may want to explore a particular design interest on the programme, or select a pathway in Visual Communication, Graphics, Textiles or Illustration.

This is a practical design course, grounded in developing skills in all areas of professional, critical and research process. We encourage you to work both independently and collaboratively, alongside students specialising in range of areas including fine art photography, painting, media and ceramics.

Over the course of the programme, you'll build a build a strong professional approach to your practice, and you’ll demonstrate this in a public show of your final MA project at the end of the programme.

What You'll Learn

• Research Methods
• Theory and Professional Context
• Practice 1 (Design)
• Research Practice
• Theory and Professional Practices
• Practice 2 (Design)
• Master's Project

Course Structure

This Design Master’s runs over one year and is divided into three trimesters.

Trimester One

From the start of the programme we encourage playfulness and risk-taking. You’ll begin by making work that responds to a range of instructions in ways that will help you to interrogate your practical approach, and to learn from lecturers and other students as you progress. You'll develop primary and secondary research that will feed directly into your practical work and assessments, and the project that you produce will form the basis of your developing practice.

We introduce a range of key issues in design and communication practice that allow you to explore how your specialist pathway relates to the wider field and to gain professional, critical and collaborative working skills.

Trimester Two

Maintaining an experimental approach, you'll consolidate what you are learning and begin to narrow your focus within your chosen pathway or subject area. Academic staff will help you evaluate your development and refine your approach to support your project outcome. You’ll be encouraged to scrutinise the way in which your project functions and engages its audience. With help from our excellent subject specialists, technical demonstrators and technicians, you will hone the conceptual, technical aesthetic and contextual components of your project.

Trimester Three

In the final trimester, you will work exclusively on your Masters Project. This is a self-directed, double weighted practice module in which you’ll be focussing your attention on your final Degree Show. By this stage you will have established a line of enquiry for your practice and will be working to a proposal for the show that you have developed. You’ll work in the studio with increasing independence to produce a body of work that demonstrates your advanced knowledge and understanding of your professional practice. The final MA Show exhibition will take place at the Locksbrook campus and will be open to the public.

Assessment

Your progress is evaluated by formative assessment (throughout the duration of the course) and summative assessment (at the end of each trimester), through a mixture of exhibitions, verbal/visual presentations, research folders/blogs and written assignments.

Teaching

You’ll learn through lectures, seminars, workshops, talks, individual and group tutorials, studio critiques and self-directed study.

Throughout the year visiting lecturers and professionals, designers and artists, visit the campus and give talks and seminars. You will have the opportunity to attend many of these. They will help you determine where your current practice sits within industry.

Our collaborative structure also means that you’ll learn from each other – for instance, Illustration, Photography, Textiles or Painting students might engage in debates with a range of other Art and Design students.

Technical Demonstrators, who manage our workshop facilities, provide teaching and support across a wide range of subject specialisms. Your learning is also supported by specialist librarians.

Facilities and Resources

You’ll benefit from access to comprehensive digital workshops and specialist art and design facilities, including:

• Our student service point at Locksbrook where you can purchase subsidised art and design materials, hire out equipment for free and collect Library resources
• Access to our well-stocked Library at Newton Park
• Specialist technical workshops across all of art and design
• Access to studio space where you can work on projects and refine your practice

Fees

2025 entry

• UK full time: £9,950
• UK part time: £4,975
• International full time: £18,560

Additional Course Costs

You may need to pay additional course costs over and above your tuition fees, for example, for specialist equipment or trips and visits. Please check the course Programme Document for details of any additional costs.

Funding Opportunities

Please visit our Funding pages for an overview of the funding options that may be available, including scholarships and bursaries.

Entry Requirements

You’ll need a good undergraduate degree in a design, visual communication or art specialism, or its equivalent in terms of learning or experience, and a good working knowledge of design, visual communication or art contexts.

How to Apply

Ready to apply? Click the "apply now" button in the centre of this page.

Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply webpages.

Interview and Portfolio Guidance

Interviews can be conducted onsite or online with a digital portfolio.

When to Apply

Many of our postgraduate courses have a limited number of student spaces. To avoid the disappointment of the course being full, we recommend that you apply now.

Late applications (generally those made after 31 July) will only be considered if places remain on the course.

Contact Us

Admissions:

• +44 (0)

Course Leader: Andrew Southall
Email:

Related Courses

• Design (Illustration)
• Design (Textiles)
• Design (Visual Communication)
• Design (Graphics)

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The MA Design program at Bath Spa University is a practical design course grounded in professional development and research. It encourages a healthy interplay of work and ideas between disciplines, blurring the boundaries between design, visual communication, and visual arts practices. The program aims to help students develop genuine skill, understanding, and confidence, taking their practice to a professional level through exciting professional projects and exhibitions. Students will learn from accomplished design professionals with excellent academic and technical support, working in dedicated studio spaces and benefiting from excellent workshop and fabrication facilities. Upon successful completion of the course, students will have increased confidence and abilities, evident in their developed portfolios, and will be ready to move into industry or continue further study.

Outline:

The MA Design program is a one-year program divided into three trimesters.

Trimester One:

• Encourages playfulness and risk-taking, asking students to respond to a range of instructions in ways that allow them to interrogate how they work.
• Students begin gathering primary and secondary research that will feed into their assessments.
• Introduces key issues in design and communication practice, allowing students to explore how their specialist areas relate to the wider field.
• Students begin developing professional practice skills such as marketing, social media, IT, collaborative working, and exhibition installation.

Trimester Two:

• Students maintain an experimental approach and begin to narrow their focus.
• Academic staff help students evaluate their development and refine their work to support the project outcome.
• Students are encouraged to pay greater attention to how their project functions and engages its audience.
• Technical staff support students in bringing their project to a level appropriate for assessment submission.

Trimester Three:

• A self-directed, double practice module leads to the final Degree Show.
• Students establish a line of inquiry, working to a proposal of their devising, which positions their work within their specialist discipline.
• Students work in the studio with increasing independence to produce a body of work that demonstrates their advanced knowledge and understanding of their professional practice.

Course Modules:

The course includes or offers the following modules.

• Research Methods
• Theory and Professional Context
• Practice 1 (Design)
• Research Practice
• Theory and Professional Practices
• Practice 2 (Design)
• Master's Project

Assessment:

Student progress is evaluated through formative assessment (throughout the course) and summative assessment (at the end of each trimester). Assessment methods include:

• Exhibitions
• Verbal/visual presentations
• Research folders/blogs
• Written assignments

Teaching:

Students learn through:

• Lectures
• Talks
• Taught sessions
• Individual and group tutorials
• Studio critiques and seminars
• Visiting lecturers
• Seminars with external professionals and internationally renowned designers and artists
• Collaborative learning with students from other Art and Design specialisms
• Technical Demonstrators who manage workshop facilities and provide teaching and support across a wide range of subject specialisms
• Specialist librarians

Careers:

Careers opportunities encompass skills such as book design, digital design, branding, and typography, and roles include:

• Art Director
• Illustrator
• Graphic Designer
• Interior Designer
• Multimedia Artist
• Animator
• Set and Exhibit Designer

Other:

• The program offers fieldwork opportunities throughout the academic year when permitted.
• Students have worked with organizations such as The Holburne Museum, New Designers, British Ceramics Biennial, Collect, Ceramic Art London, The Contemporary Craft Fair, and Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institute.
• Bath Spa University is one of only three Adobe Creative Campuses in the UK, providing all students with access to the full Adobe Creative Suite.
• The program is taught at Locksbrook Campus, a Grade II listed building designed by Nicholas Grimshaw in 1976.
The campus has been transformed into an innovative, open plan space, redesigned to meet 21st-century environmental standards, with technical workshops surrounded by flexible studio spaces and large social areas.
• Locksbrook has received both a RIBA South West Award 2021 and RIBA National Award 2021, recognizing and celebrating its inspirational space for design, making, doing, creating, and learning.