Glasgow School of Art
UCAS Code: PW33 | Bachelor of Design (with Honours) - BDes (Hon)
Entry requirements
A level
A Levels ABB
HNC (BTEC)
Level 4 Diploma with Merit or above
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
International Baccalaureate Diploma award with a minimum of 30 points (18 points at Higher Level);
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Completion of Irish Leaving Certificate with Four Highers at H2 or above
Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Foundation Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Scottish HNC
SQA Higher National Certificate
Scottish HND
SQA Higher National Diploma
Scottish Higher
SQA Highers with grades ABBB and above
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About this course
The programme consists of two years at the Glasgow School of Art (Year 3 and Year 4 of a BDes (Hons) degree), after two years in a Further Education college or international equivalent. The programme recruits directly into Stage 3 with articulation from HND programmes or from mature students with relevant experience. The programme will encourage students to make highly creative, concept-driven audiovisual work, using innovative recording, production and post-production technologies.
In addition to making original practical works in Studio courses, students will gradually build critical reading, analysis, academic writing and presentation skills in Critical Studies courses in Year 3, which prepare students for a large-scale, self -directed Research Project in Year 4 (comprised of a substantial piece of academic writing and a practical project). The critical studies and research courses encourage solid contextualisation and reflection within the studio projects too, which will equip graduates to succeed as industry professionals whilst also making their practice selfsustaining and continually encouraging those graduates re-invent the industrial systems to become more inclusive, accessible and for themselves to be responsible as creative citizens to address societal, cultural and sustainability issues in our future. Students will learn to make sound/audiovisual work that is meaningful and accessible to our society and work that diversifies representation both behind and in-front of the camera.
The programme structure fosters interdisciplinarity and collaboration across the School of Innovation, with an elective course in Year 3 where the student can share a classroom with like- minded students from BDes Product Design and BSc Immersive Systems who chose the same thematic study option. From Year 3 to Year 4 there is a progression from scaffolded studio projects with tutor specified mediums and deliverables, to self-directed and tutor supported projects where the student chooses their medium (e.g. sound alone, film or interactive platform/experience). This interdisciplinarity and choice within the programme allows students to tailor their learning experience and build a creative portfolio for their chosen industry.
This undergraduate course has been written in response to the increased recognition of the importance of sound and moving image as part of the Scottish creative, cultural and commercial landscapes.
The programme will also tap into the worldwide increase in media production for an increasingly diverse and divergent audience through multiple digital distribution platforms. Students will develop detailed theoretical, practical and technical knowledge in sound production for visual media, where they can execute industry standard workflows, and incorporate meticulous ethical processes. Throughout the programme, project briefs are set to support students in creating:
• original soundscapes
• documentaries
• original short films
• spatial and immersive audio (including audio for games);
• voice for audiobooks, advertisement, radio jingles
• music for animation
• and an extended self-directed research project
The programme prepares students for a career in the field of sound production and postproduction for the moving image. The programme will also provide a grounding in the professional practice of sound production for visual environments, such as film, animation, television, online, interactive media and games, theatre and art installations. Graduates have found employment as audio professionals and practitioners in key creative industries and progressed to a range of careers in audio-visual arts, game development and film and television.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Garnethill Campus
School of Innovation and Technology
What students say
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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.
Audio technology
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Cinematics and photography
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Music
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
Cinematics and photography
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Music
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.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
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Cinematics and photography
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£15k
£18k
£23k
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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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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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:
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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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