Program Overview

Automotive and Transport Design BA (Hons)

Course Overview

This course is for students and industry professionals who want to work as automotive or transport designers, or on exciting conceptual projects.

• Develop your industry-relevant practical 2D and 3D skills as well as research skills to prepare you for a future-focused career in automotive and transport design.
• Master the use of clay modelling to advance your understanding of vehicle form and proportions.
• By combining creativity and research on global trends, you'll address contemporary challenges in the field and produce innovative designs.
• Alongside technical and creative skills, the course emphasizes portfolio development and innovative problem-solving to meet real-world industry demands.

Why You Should Study This Course

• Coventry University offers you access to industry-informed briefs and opportunities to engage with leading professionals in the field.
• Collaborate through interdisciplinary teams and work through individual assignments that reflect real-world professional practices.
• Benefit from advanced clay modelling, CAD resources, and studio-based learning, combining hands-on techniques with a user-focused approach to design.
• The curriculum integrates research, design practice, and the art of storytelling, giving you the skills to communicate compelling design solutions.
• From sketching and CAD to live industry briefs, the course blends technical skills with teamwork, leadership, and a focus on innovation, preparing you for contemporary challenges in design.

Collaborators

Coventry University works together with a range of companies to provide you with experiences to enhance your study. This may include projects to placements. In the past, our collaborators have offered competitions, portfolio surgeries, speaker events, and workshops. The scope of involvement may change from year to year and varies from provider to provider. Our collaborators may include:

• Aston Martin
• Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)
• Contechs
• Autodesk
• Gravity Sketch
• Tevva
• Avant
• Vital Auto

Course Structure

Year One

• The common first year enables you to work alongside students doing similar courses to you, to widen your knowledge and exposure to other subject areas and professions.
• You will have the opportunity to collaborate with other students, so you can share your insights and experience which will help you to develop and learn.

Year Two

• You will continue to develop the skills and knowledge you’ve learnt.
• We do this by embedding the following four principles into the curriculum and developing your:
  • Technical skills – digital fluency, backed with the right academic knowledge
  • Study skills – to be an adaptive, independent and proactive learner
  • Professional skills – to have the behavior and abilities to succeed in your career
  • Global awareness – the beliefs and abilities to be a resilient, confident and motivated global citizen

Placement Year

• There’s no better way to find out what you love doing than trying it out for yourself, which is why a work placement can often be beneficial.
• Work placements usually occur between your second and final year of study.
• They’re a great way to help you explore your potential career path and gain valuable work experience, whilst developing transferable skills for the future.

Final Year

• Your final year aims to bring you to the level to enter the world of work by consolidating your knowledge and skills from your first and second years.
• You will identify a range of potential themes for design innovation which respond to current global challenges or anticipated future trends/contexts.

Modules

• Design Exploration - 20 credits
• Design Visualisation - 20 credits
• Design Enquiry - 20 credits
• Design Reflection - 20 credits
• Design Context - 20 credits
• Design Experience - 20 credits
• Professional Development - 20 credits
• Design Innovation - 20 credits
• Design Futures - 20 credits
• Developmental Actions - 20 credits
• Design Investigations - 20 credits
• Industrial Design - 20 credits
• UK Work Placement – 0 credits
• International Study/Work Placement – 0 credits
• Concept Creation - 20 credits
• Design Project – Select - 20 credits
• Design Portfolio - 20 credits
• Design Presence - 20 credits
• Design Delivery - 40 credits

Entry Requirements

• Typical entry requirements:
  • UK: 112 UCAS points
  • International: IELTS: 6.0 overall, with no component lower than 5.5
• Portfolio: You may be required to attend a portfolio showcase, activity session or audition or submit a portfolio via email (as is appropriate to your course), either virtually or face to face, as is practical to arrange.

Fees and Funding

• Student | Full-time | Part-time
  • UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £9,535 per year | Not available
  • EU | £9,535 per year with EU Support Bursary** | Not available
  • International | £19,850 per year | Not available
• If you choose to study this course with a professional placement, you will need to pay a tuition fee to cover your academic support throughout your placement year.

Facilities

• Our purpose-built Delia Derbyshire creatives building will be your primary learning location.
• We have generous studio and making spaces.
• Our studio environment allows you to experience working practices that are typical in industry, and our workshops are equipped so that you can use a large variety of different materials and processes to make physical models.
• For digital work we have PC labs equipped with high performance machines that can handle digital modelmaking, visualisation and animation.

Careers and Opportunities

• Employability is a major strength of the course.
• The curriculum aims to embed industry interactions (such as short work experience, client projects, industry-aligned/inspired briefs) to offer the best preparation possible to help students to obtain graduate employment and achieve their career aspirations.
• Career opportunities in automotive and transport design are vast and varied.
• You could start your own business, become a design consultant, modeller, illustrator, CAD professional, design manager or marketing professional.
• Graduates have found opportunities in automotive exterior and interior design, lighting systems design, clay and ‘hard’ modelling, digital modelling and surfacing, 3D visualisation and animation, colour and materials design, user interface design, lifestyle products and design research.

Where Our Graduates Work

• Previous graduates have gone on to work for a number of prestigious companies.
• These include:
  • Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, Rolls Royce
  • General Motors, GMC
  • VW, Audi, Porsche
  • Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda
  • SAIC/MG
  • Geely (Lynk&Co, Lotus, Volvo, LEVC)
  • Sunseeker, Winch Design, RWD,
  • BSA, Royal Enfield, BMW
  • Kiska, Ariel, AVANT, Astheimer, Vital
  • Simba-Dickie Toys

Further Study

• Automotive and Transport Design MA
• Brand Management MA
• Design Management MA

You may be entitled to an alumni discount on your fees if you decide to extend your time with us by progressing from undergraduate to postgraduate study.