MA Graphic Design

PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION 2012/13

Programme Specification
Awarding Body Teaching Institution Final Award Relevant QAA Benchmark Statement Date of Production / Revision University of the Arts London London College of Communication MA Graphic Design Art and Design August 2012

Introduction The Master of Arts Graphic Design is a one-year full time (45 weeks) or two-year part time (90 weeks) course. The structure is designed to help you progress and develop your independent learning, encouraging you to construct and explore projects concerned with areas of particular personal interest within the broad field of graphic design practice and theory. The overarching course philosophy, based upon an emphasis on research, the application of a rigorous methodology and strategies for design thinking, allows individual and personal interests to be explored through focused study in one particular area of graphic design. Students on the MA Graphic Design course are expected to be conceptually motivated concerned with research into visual language and its impact on the operations, functions and consequences of design in relation to both the design industry and wider society as the drivers and users of design. You are also expected to be passionate about the subject of graphic design and its wider relationship to visual communication, and to endeavour to challenge accepted design orthodoxies and preconceptions. As part of the Postgraduate Graphic Design Programme, the MA Graphic Design course also offers you the opportunity to engage, to experiment and to explore beyond the structure of the course itself, within an exciting and proactive wider postgraduate learning environment. Independent and Peer Group study time is built into the teaching and learning curriculum, allowing you to access resources and to shape the course to your own interests and requirements. This is a key aspect of study at postgraduate level you will be expected to be motivated in relation to your own programme of learning, and the course team will work with you and alongside you in order to help you achieve your aims. Graduates from the Postgraduate Graphic Design Programme often return to employment within the wider graphic design profession, though their understanding of their own practice and position in relation to that profession will have been shaped and matured through their engagement on the programme at LCC. Some graduates move on to further study at Doctoral level, having identified research questions that they feel better placed to address through their learning on the course. In either case, graduates will have been empowered and able to place themselves and their work within a wider professional and academic context.

Programme Aims The aims of the course identify the rationale underlying the students educational experience and own personal achievement from studying on the course and its effect upon the students long term achievement and career.

Provide a framework for academic discussion and personal development which enhances your abilities in critical reflection, allowing you to speculate on new and effective approaches to the subject and to engage with problems and insights at the forefront of the discipline Enable you to acquire a critical, analytical, systematic and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the historical, theoretical, ethical and professional contexts in which your practice is situated and to develop your approach to research and resolution for professional application in graphic design practice Equip you with the knowledge, abilities and methods creative, conceptual, theoretical, analytical, technical and organisational that enable you to propose, research, develop and complete a self-directed project that reflects originality, critical analysis and evaluation, and academic rigour.

Programme Outcomes The programme enables the student to demonstrate the following subject knowledge and understanding, intellectual and academic skills, practical subject skills, key attributes and transferable skills. The outcomes that the student will have demonstrated upon completion of the programme, with their associated learning and assessment strategy are: Develop and create research proposals to a professional standard and speculate on new and effective approaches to the subject (Experimentation/ Research) Critically apply theoretical knowledge of Graphic Design and evaluate contemporary discourse on the subject of visual communication (Subject Knowledge / Analysis) Apply design research methodologies in formulating concepts and ideas (Subject Knowledge / Technical Competence) Utilise a broad range of research and analytical strategies to practical and theoretical work in a range of media and formats ( Subject Knowledge / Technical Competence ) Originate or propose design solutions through the application of design research principles, methodologies and consideration and appropriate application of materials and technology (Experimentation/ Subject Knowledge)

Engage in the critical reflection of your own work and in peer review, employing skills of evaluation and communication. (Personal and Professional Development) Present a portfolio of research and a self-directed major practical project or thesis which has been rigorously planned, is academically informed, and offers outcomes and applications that meet professional standards (Subject knowledge/ Technical Competence/ Communication and Presentation)

Learning and Teaching Methods The above programme outcomes are taught using the following learning and teaching methods: Seminar Lectures Tutorials Studio Based Workshops Study Visits

Assessment Methods The above programme outcomes are assessed using the following assessment methods: Notebooks Projects Papers Reflective journal Research Action Plan Portfolios Visual Research Summary Critical report Thesis (MA only)

Reference Points The following reference points were used in designing the programme: The learning and Teaching policies of the University of the Arts London The College policies and initiatives Level descriptors Benchmark statements

Programme Summary

The course is divided into three Phases. The Postgraduate Diploma at the end of Phase Two provides both an exceptional exit point from the course together with a progression point towards the MA Graphic Design. Each phase of the course lasts approximately 15 weeks (full time) or 30 weeks (part time). At the assessment point for Phases One and Two, your work will be summatively assessed and you will receive project marks together with written feedback and guidance. The overall duration of the course is 45 weeks (full time) or 90 weeks (part time): this means that the course extends beyond the traditional three term academic year, and you will be expected to commit to your project work over an extended period of both taught, peer group and self-directed study time. The credit framework of 180 credits for the achievement of an MA award indicates a notional learning hours commitment from you of 1800 hours over the duration of the course, which is equivalent to approximately 40 hours per week on the full time course and 20 hours per week in part time mode. The three phases of the course are designed to reflect a clear developmental process in your design thinking and creative practice. Phase One involves a process of reflection on the design process itself, through a practical project exploring the fundamental principles of design literacy and visual grammar alongside a series of lectures and seminars reflecting upon research methodologies in theory and practice and the wider contextual framework for contemporary graphic design. In addition to this, you will undertake a scoping and profiling project in order to establish a working rationale and focus for your Major Project Proposal, which you will continue to develop and refine during the rest of the academic year, through a Major Project Definition in Phase Two and toward a final Major Project Resolution in Phase Three. You will develop an appreciation of current debates that are shaping the future of the subject and gain an informed view of your own practice. The skills and knowledge developed during this phase will provide you with a firm foundation from which to undertake design research and are a platform for your personal graphic design practice. Phase Two of the course moves your Major Project Proposal forward through a series of practical and contextual stages toward a clearly defined and evaluated research question for the final Major Project in Phase Three. At this stage, you will also be able to undertake a Workshop Options project, providing the opportunity for you to pursue studies that complement your specialist interests and to acquire skills and knowledge that will inform your personal direction. Postgraduate Graphic Design options are common across the PGGD Programme, and are based around a number of practice-based workshops that are intended to provide new dimensions to your specialist focus of study, and can be opportunities to test and develop practical aspects and themes for your Major Project. The MA Major Project undertaken during Phase Three builds on the knowledge and skills acquired during the earlier phases, together with the defined and tested rationale developed in the Major Project Proposal and Definition stages of the course, and applies these in the creation of an original design research project. This involves the completion of an independent major project on the basis of extensive research and a firm methodological approach. You will develop a programme of

investigation and analysis that supports you in the further development of your personal research project. As you move towards the submission of your final major project, you will be required to qualify and evidence your design development; exploring the context of your project as well as identifying key issues in the work such as appropriate discourses, forms, materials or media through which you can effectively communicate your ideas. Distinctive Features of the programme The course addresses the discipline of graphic design by reinforcing the importance of research in the identification of visual communication problems. The course acknowledges previous experience and emphasises that students will have a personal approach to design practice, enabling students to prepare for future employment or to engage in the extension of study to Doctoral level. The course forms a central part of the highly successful Postgraduate Graphic Design programme at LCC. Students have the opportunity to study alongside students on other specialist courses including MA Graphic Branding & Identity, MA Graphic Moving Image and MA Contemporary Typographic Media, incorporating common core Research Methods, skills workshops and Workshop Options. The key focus on the MA Graphic Design course is on the development of transferable theoretical and practical methods that are graphic design-specific, through which to approach a wide range of design-related problems and hypotheses. Curriculum development, learning and teaching within this single subject Postgraduate Programme area is informed by established staff research, professional practice and strong industry links. Students are able to participate in the Postgraduate Graphic Design Lecture Programme alongside students from other graduate courses within the Faculty programme area. The Course offers students the opportunity to focus their study in a specialist area of their choice, based on their own self-initiated project proposal. Students enter the course and participate in a diagnostic stage, whereby specialist areas are explored and the potential direction and focus of the self-initiated project is refined.

Recruitment and Admissions

Selection Criteria Applicants are expected to demonstrate sufficient prior knowledge of and/or potential in graphic design to be able to successfully complete the programme of study and have an academic or professional background in a relevant subject. Candidates also need to demonstrate knowledge of the world of Graphic design and be able to engage in critical discussion Minimum UAL Entry Requirements 0.1 An applicant will be considered for admission who has already achieved an educational level equivalent to an Honours Degree in a relevant subject. This educational level may be demonstrated by: a) b) c) Possession of the qualifications named in 1.1 above; Possession of equivalent qualifications; Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required, or; A combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

0.2

d)

English Language Ability 0.3 Applicants whose first language is not English must demonstrate their competence in English to a minimum IELTS Level 6.5 for entry on to an MA course by the production of an IELTS Certificate or evidence of an equivalent level of achievement.

Admission with Academic Credit 0.4 An applicant may be considered for admission at a point in the course later than the start of the planned programme of study, provided that the applicant has fulfilled, in a way judged to be equivalent, the requirements of the intended programme of study prior to the proposed point of entry.

0.5

In order for an applicant to be admitted under 1.4 above, the University must be satisfied that by successfully completing the remaining part of the course, the applicant would have fulfilled the objectives of the course and have the opportunity to attain the standard required for the award.

To see the Universitys Regulations on Admissions, please go to the following link: http://www.arts.ac.uk/course-regulations/admissions/ Admission Procedures The selection procedures for the course adhere to the Equal Opportunities policy of the University of the Arts London.

1.

Application forms are available on request with supporting information about the course. Completed applications to be accompanied by appropriate certificates and evidence of all professional activity paid or unpaid. All potential candidates are interviewed. Candidates are expected to present a portfolio of work or relevant visual, written or published work. The LCC AP(E)L policy is applied.

2.

3. 4.

5.

Course Diagram

Weeks

Units

Credits

Notional Learning Hours 200 200 200 600 200 200 200 600 1200

Postgraduate Diploma Phase is 30 Weeks full-time and 60 weeks parttime

Phase 1 Unit 1.1 Design Literacy Unit 1.2 Research Methods (Visual Research) Unit 1.3 Major Project Proposal Total Phase 2 Unit 2.1 Workshop Options Project Unit 2.2 Design + Rhetoric Unit 2.3 Research Methods: Major Project Definition Total Postgraduate Diploma (Exit Award) Phase 3 Unit 3.1 Major Project Resolution: Practical and Report or Unit 3.2 Major Project Resolution: Thesis Total
Master of Arts

20 20 20 60 20 20 20 60 120

Postgraduate Diploma

The MA phase is 15 weeks full-time and 30 weeks part-time

60 180

600 1800

MA

You will be issued with an assessment diagram at the beginning of the year (during induction) which will show you when the units are taught and assessed.

In the day-to-day context, whilst every endeavour will be made to provide the courses and services described in this handbook, the University of the Arts London HEC reserves the right to make such changes as may be appropriate for reasons of operational efficiency or due to circumstances including industrial action beyond its control.

2012 University of the Arts London