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Year 1
Interior Practice Process 1
You’ll be introduced to fundamental design processes from concept to outcome as well as research methods and visual communication techniques. You’ll learn about historical and contemporary practice, building your skills and confidence so you can begin exploring and experimenting.Contextual Studies 1
Through a series of illustrated lectures and seminars, you’ll be introduced to a range of historical and contemporary contexts, beyond your own subject interests. Encouraging cross-disciplinary thinking as well as instilling the importance of broad contextual frame-working for innovative practice, you’ll be required to develop structured narratives which analyse and evaluate specific examples of crafts and/or design.Interior Practice Process 2
Building on Interior Practice Process 1, you’ll test and develop your skills and material knowledge, enhancing your design ideas, processes and understanding. The study of people’s relationship to a space will further your design decisions. You’ll introduce graphic communication techniques into presentations, and photo collages into your site contexts.Interior Practice Process 3
Developing competency in the range of processes, materials and structures learned in previous units, you’ll extend your understanding of the context of your work through relevant design practice and thinking. This will refine your ability to respond creatively and with confidence to project briefs. -
Year 2
Interior Practice Exploration 1
Through individual and team project briefs, you’ll extend and develop your conceptual thinking and design proposals, while demonstrating your decision making and external industry awareness. Project concepts remain the catalyst for further design development.Contextual Studies 2
Objects and environments are fundamental to our understanding of the world. The purpose of this unit is to introduce a range of contexts demonstrating the importance of meaning, and how this meaning can be used to create and express value within design practices.Interior Practice Exploration 2
Exploring projects in further detail, you’ll consider how a concept develops through to realisation and demonstrate your knowledge of technical drawing, scale model creation, joints and junctions, material efficiency and orthographic drawing, as well as detailed design drawings. Emphasis will be placed upon the production of models and drawings at scales from 1:20 through to full size.Interior Practice Exploration 3
Within a defined framework, you’ll have the opportunity to develop work in response to a live brief, resulting in a full-size built environment. You will be encouraged to develop and refine teamwork as well as individual approaches to research, designing and making, and to reflect upon the full scope what you explored through Year two. -
Study Abroad International Year
On this course you'll have the unique opportunity within UCA to add an additional year of study at an overseas institution (either at a higher education establishment or workplace).
This optional year is designed to broaden your educational experience and deepen your understanding of cultural diversity, enabling you to study within a different cultural context and gain fresh perspectives.
Studying abroad can be a life-changing experience. Living in another country, you'll experience new places, people, cultures and possibilities. You'll develop initiative, independence, motivation and, depending on where you go, a working knowledge of another language – all qualities employers are looking for. You will return to complete your degree with all the benefits of the International Year experience behind you.To find out more about studying abroad as part of your course please see the Study Abroad section: Study abroad information
The International Year is not available to students enrolled onto the Professional Practice Year award.
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Professional Practice Year (if undertaken)
You may enrol to undertake an additional ‘Professional Practice Year’ as an integral part of this course.
This will take place in year three. You will undertake a work placement with a subject appropriate employer to further develop your skills and CV.
Please note: If you are an international applicant, you will need to enrol onto the course ‘with Professional Practice Year’. It will not be possible to transfer onto the Professional Practice Year after enrolment
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Year 3
Professional Practice and Portfolio
The professional development of a design project is explained through a lecture series based on the Royal Institute of British Architects’ “Stages of Work”. Lectures and tutorials provide methodologies for the preparation of a portfolio of work, curriculum vitae, letter of application and interview techniques.Contextual Studies 3
You’ll conceive, develop and construct a personally meaningful portfolio of contextual research. This research will inform, augment and reflect upon your practice, will critically engage with a range of contextual and theoretical frameworks and will serve to support the positioning of your practice in relation to past, present and possible future endeavours.Final Major Project
The purpose of this unit is for you to realise a graduate major project from a self-initiated brief, within a given framework, that realises individual potential. A selection of topics and sites of a high level of architectural quality will be provided, offering an appropriate level of design challenge. -
Fees and additional course costs
Tuition fees
The course fees per year for 2021 entry are:- UK students - £9,250
- International and EU students - £16,950 (standard fee)
- International and EU students - £16,270 (full early payment fee)
If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee for that year. This fee will be determined using government funding regulations. Based on current regulations, we expect this to be a maximum of 20% of the tuition fee rate that you are charged for your second year of study. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during this year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this as you approach your Professional Practice Year.
Additional course costs
In addition to the tuition fees please see the additional course costs for 2021 entry.Further information
Find out more about our course fees and any financial support you may be entitled to:These fees are correct for the stated academic year only. Costs may increase each year during a student’s period of continued registration on course in line with inflation (subject to any maximum regulated tuition fee limit). Any adjustment for continuing students will be at or below the RPI-X forecast rate.
We’ve established a range of strong industry connections, and companies that often employ our students work for household name clients, including:
- Aston Martin
- Jaguar
- Mercedes-Benz
- BBC
- Virgin
- AT&T
- The V&A
- Science Museum
- Imperial War Museum
- Karen Millen
- All Saints
- H&M
- Selfridges
- Harvey Nichols
- Hotel Chocolat
- Ritz-Carlton
- Four Seasons
- JW Marriot.
Recent guest lecturers have included:
- Sarah Page – founder, Sarah Page Studio
- Steve James-Royle – Founder, The Yard Creative
- Julie Glass, designer
- Lillie Cannings – designer, Modus
- William Warren – lecturer and founder of a furniture and product design consultancy
- Adrian Caddy – founder, Greenspace.
- Siu-Lan Choi – creative director, Household
- Nina Eklund – design manager, Marks & Spencer
- Carl Turner – founding director, Carl Turner Architects
- Peter Higgins – creative director, Land Design Studio
- Jason Bruges – founder and creative director, Jason Bruges Studio
- Matthew Cripps – architectural and interior designer, Stedman Blower Architects.