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Modelmaking

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,C-B,B,B

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

Scottish Higher

C,C,C,C,C,D

Scottish Highers – five passes at Grade C or above

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

112-120

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About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Product design

With an international reputation, it is a leading course in its field, enabling students to progress into the diverse world of professional makers. The course is suited to creative makers, designers and problem solvers. Modelmaking is a highly rewarding experience for those interested in making or design, with our graduates working in an exciting range of careers at award-wining companies such as Dyson, Foster + Partners, Merlin Entertainment, Aardman, Dorset Orthopaedic; in theatre, film, and TV productions such as Star Wars, Jurassic World, House of the Dragon; and for clients such as the Natural History Museum, Apple and The National Space Centre.
What you will learn
We deliver an agile curriculum that looks ahead and responds rapidly to new developments in technology and techniques. The course enables students and graduates to explore a rich variety of disciplines. It equips them with a broad skill set which can be applied to areas of making especially those combining aesthetic and technical skills.
Our aim to teach the art of making in all forms, from clay to pixels, has a proven track record both in student satisfaction and graduate employment. Experiencing an extensive array of making techniques rewards our graduates with unique and diverse skill sets. We pride ourselves on our ability to support students in creating their own ‘pathways’ to successful careers. The course embraces new and emerging technologies and techniques, maintaining currency and diversity through well-established communications with industry.
Students are encouraged to explore different types of modelmaking and develop versatile portfolios which expand employment opportunities. At the same time, the development of individual special interests is supported and encouraged. Visiting industry specialists present their work and highlight opportunities to students through lectures, workshops and tutorials. Specialist subjects can be developed through work experience, live and learning agreement-led briefs.

Approximately 70% of the program are contact hours, including scheduled teaching sessions, and supervised time in the workshop or studio; The remainder will be independent study. 100% of assessment for this course is coursework based.
By the end of the course you will be able to...
• Exploit skills of craftsmanship and scholarship to identify and achieve creative and professional aspirations.
• Present professional quality outcomes demonstrating safe, confident and appropriate use of technology, tools and materials.
• Demonstrate an ability to manage a project through effective independent study and embed a sound-working ethos.
• Appreciate the relationship between theory and practice and be able to relate your work to the social, cultural and historical concepts of related disciplines.
• Demonstrate a working knowledge of ethical and sustainable concepts within making practice.
• Demonstrate a refined approach to research and development by applying intellectual skills and effective critical evaluation.
• Apply knowledge of the professional practice of commercial making to continuously develop a broad set of transferable skills.
• Demonstrate critical self-awareness and effective communication by presenting yourself and your work to others.
• Appreciate the possibilities and restrictions offered by combinations of established, emerging and future technologies.
Studios and resources Students have own workstation in the studio, where you will find a strong community spirit and an active studio culture. In addition to the university’s fully equipped workshop and digital manufacturing centre we have several duplicate facilities within our building for ease of access and for demonstration purposes; these include extracted rooms for spraying, moulding, foam latex, life casting and plaster work. An open access CAD suite and Cam suite with 3D printers, CNC and Laser cutters are also housed within our studio building.

Modules

Year 1:
• Principles of Making (an introduction to professional making processes)
• Thinking and Making (understanding different functions and purpose of models)
• Meaning in Making (exploring narrative and the communicative nature of models)
Year 2:
• Creative Representation (exploring technical and aesthetic creativity)
• Communication (using models to communicate complex messages)
• Informed Making (making models informed by, or to challange current professional practice)
Year 3:
• Making an Argument (a 5000 word academic essay of a negotiated topic)
• External Brief (a live client led brief)
• Launch Pad (graduate and professional skills development)
• Final Major Project (an in-depth negotiated project of your choosing)

Assessment methods

Coursework and practical work

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£19,950
per year
International
£19,950
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Main Site - Arts University Bournemouth

Department:

Art, Design and Architecture

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

73%
Product design

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Design studies

Teaching and learning

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
84%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
82%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

82%
Library resources
91%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
62%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
47%
Male students
53%
Female students
61%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
A*

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Design studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,564
med
Average annual salary
98%
high
Employed or in further education
47%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

63%
Design occupations
7%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
4%
Artistic, literary and media occupations

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Design studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£16k

£16k

£22k

£22k

£24k

£24k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

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Course location and department:

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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