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Design (Placement Year)

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

In a relevant subject

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32

with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects

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

DDM

UCAS Tariff

128

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time with year in industry | 2024

Subject

Design

**Why Lancaster?**
- Develop a broad range of physical and digital creative design skills and learn how to apply these skills to a diverse range of important, contemporary issues

- Learn how to visualise your ideas to a professional level using a range of two-dimensional and three-dimensional industry standard design software as well learn processes such as 3D printing and laser-cutting.

- Add real world experience to your portfolio and CV by working on live briefs, including a design consultancy project

- Become a graduate in demand from a top university, capable of pursuing both traditional design jobs and exciting new and emerging roles

- Be taught by staff from ImaginationLancaster, our globally renowned design research lab where your tutors push the boundaries of design via cutting-edge design research and practice.

Question what design actually is in our rapidly changing world - and what your ideas can contribute to help build a better world. Studying at Lancaster, you’ll search for ways design can solve complex social, technological, business and environmental problems.

Our distinctive degree provides you with a broad grounding in creative design practice as well as robust design research skills due to staff expertise at ImaginationLancaster. You will graduate with a keen understanding of how different types of design can be applied across varied contexts to create positive change. Moreover, the broad set of skills you acquire in design research and design practice enable you to operate with agility and flexibility in an industry increasingly characterised by fast-paced change.

We think of design as a way of seeing the world and you will develop this kind of thinking as you progress through your degree. You’ll learn about the many different ways in which design can contribute to a healthier, more prosperous and sustainable world and you will conceptualise, develop and visualise both physical and digital solutions accordingly. You’ll also learn to generate innovative ideas and be confident to communicate and iterate these ideas until you reach the best solution for the problem you are addressing. Furthermore, you’ll have the opportunity to engage with design professionals as we organise for them to come and talk about design and design careers so that you can keep up to date with where the industry is and where it is going.

You will be taught by staff from ImaginationLancaster, a globally renowned design research lab – and one of the largest in the world. Our teaching staff work on a diverse array of design projects and are at the cutting edge of advancing the theory and practice of design. You will have plenty opportunities to engage with staff from ImaginationLancaster and learn from their varied specialisms, especially as you develop your own design direction and interests – which we encourage you to do from the beginning of your degree.

**Your Placement Year**
On your Placement Year you'll spend your third year in a paid, graduate-level position, where you’ll work for between nine and twelve months in the type of role that you might be considering for after you graduate. Our Careers and Placements Team will help you to secure a suitable placement with expert advice and resources, such as creating an effective CV, and tips for applications and interviews.

The university will use all reasonable effort to support you to find a suitable placement for your studies. While a placement role may not be available in a field or organisation that is directly related to your academic studies or career aspirations, all offer valuable experience of working at a graduate level and gaining a range of professional skills.
If you are unsuccessful in securing a suitable placement for your third year, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent non-placement degree scheme and continue with your studies at Lancaster, finishing your degree after your third year.

The Uni


Course location:

Lancaster University

Department:

Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts (LICA)

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.

75%
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

78%
Staff make the subject interesting
94%
Staff are good at explaining things
91%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
84%
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

84%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
91%
Course specific equipment and facilities
81%
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?

58%
UK students
42%
International students
26%
Male students
74%
Female students
96%
2:1 or above
2%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

30%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
21%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
12%
Design 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

£22k

£22k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Lower entry requirements
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Nearby University
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Higher entry requirements
University for the Creative Arts | Farnham
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Same University
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UCAS Points: 128

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here