BA (Hons) Studio Practice (Product Design)

Design 05 – Pitch and Prototype: 30 credits
This unit challenges you to engage with exciting new technologies and to produce compelling digital and physical prototypes through the rapid acquisition and integration of new skills within your workflows. You will go on developing your individual and group working skills and start to experience the pace of work in practice as you move toward employment.

Critical Analysis 03: 15 credits
You’ll produce a piece of self-directed research on a subject that is related to the historical, theoretical and critical concerns of your subject discipline. The subject matter will be informed by the specific interests that you have developed on your course to date.

Briefs and Positions 03: 15 credits
This unit is about preparing an advanced set of briefing materials to inform and guide your development of a medium-scale design proposal for the Final Major Project. You will consider a context at the scale of an expanded spatial or material network, through creative studio-based speculation, professional site or situation analysis and culturally critical research.

Major Project: 60 credits
After defining your own brief during the preceding Briefs and Positions 03 unit, with the support of your tutor, you will develop and complete an expansive project that uses all your skills in design, making, research and project development. The finished work should reflect your deep understanding of contemporary practice.

Year one (equivalent in level to year three of a standard BA degree)

• Independent study: 66.7%
• Scheduled teaching: 33.3%
• Maximum percentage of scheduled delivered online: 0%

Please note: these details are for 2026 entry and could be subject to change for other years of entry.

BA (Hons) course (top-up)

The standard entry requirements* for this course are:

• 240 credits from a relevant degree (120 credits at level 4 and 120 credits at level 5), with a minimum of 55% overall
• Foundation Degree in a relevant subject
• Higher National Diploma in a relevant subject

And/or Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)

In recognition that you may already have a relevant professional qualification, or appropriate working experience in the relevant industries, APEL may be accepted for entry on to the course. This will be based on the partnership articulations and will be assessed on a case by case basis.

Other relevant and equivalent UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.

Portfolio requirements

For this course, we’ll need to see your portfolio for review. We’ll invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person, meet the course team and learn more about your course. Further information will be provided once you have applied. View more portfolio requirements

*We occasionally make offers which are lower than the standard entry criteria, to students who have faced difficulties that have affected their performance and who were expected to achieve higher results. We consider the strength of our applicants’ portfolios, as well as their grades -  in these cases, a strong portfolio is especially important.

BA (Hons) course (top-up)

The entry requirements for these courses will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:

• Non-UK equivalent qualifications

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

You will be required to submit an online portfolio for review. For further information and specific portfolio requirements please see:

• View more portfolio requirements

English language requirements

To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. And so, to make sure you meet the requirements of your course, we ask for evidence of your English language ability, please check the level of English language required:

• English language requirements

VISA & Immigration

You may need to apply for a student VISA so please check for further information before you apply, for more details please see our VISA and immigration pages.

Please note that as your course length is between 6 and 12 months the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will grant you an additional 2 months ‘Wrap-up’ period after your course end date. If you successfully complete your course (in line with qualifying criteria) without re-sitting any modules you will be able to apply for the Graduate Route visa. However, if you are required to re-sit modules you would not be able to receive these results until after your visa expired and would therefore be ineligible for the Graduate Route.