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Product Design

Entry requirements


Access to HE Diploma

M:18

An Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2. At least 18 level 3 credits must be at merit grade or above, in a media-related programme from a QAA-recognised Access to HE course, or an equivalent Access to HE certificate.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

English Language or Literature at grade C or 4.

UCAS Tariff

112-120

This must include at least 64 points from two A levels, or equivalent BTEC National qualifications (to include a relevant subject such as Art, Design or Graphics). For example: BBC-BBB at A Level, DDM in BTEC Extended Diploma, Merit overall from a T level Qualification, or a combination of qualifications (which may include AS levels, EPQ and general studies).

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About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Sandwich | 2024

Subject

Product design

**Please check the Sheffield Hallam University website for the latest information.**

**Course Summary**

- Learn the creative, practical and digital skills needed to become a professional product or service designer

- Put learning into practice with leading product design brands and the opportunity to take a placement year

- Collaborate with practising designers with a diverse range of experience and professional networks

- Challenge convention as you learn how to contribute to a more sustainable future

This course prepares you for an exciting career as a globally minded product or service designer. Through real-world projects and exploration of new materials and processes and systems, you’ll be equipped to identify and respond empathetically, sustainably, and collaboratively to creative opportunities and challenges.

This course also allows you to specialise in and receive a different named award – Product Design (Service Innovation) – through focused project work in your final year.

**Creative UK membership**

We are members of Creative UK, which means our art and design students are also members until they graduate. With 10,000 members in its network, Creative UK represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries, advocating on the issues that matter the most to creative communities.

**How you learn**

All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.

Based in our bespoke studios, workshops, and digital spaces, you’ll become part of a dynamic and collaborative learning community. Together, you’ll undertake creative adventures, explore possibilities, and challenge conventions.

You’ll engage with live creative design projects supported by external clients and industry professionals – and you’ll have opportunities to enter national and international design competitions.

**Key themes**

This course focuses on insight-driven design for future-facing products, services and experiences. We recognise the responsibility we have as creators and agents for environmental sustainability. You’ll learn to be globally-minded designers, seeking out future challenges, challenging convention and embracing creative risks.

In our studio-based collaborative learning community, you’ll explore both the feasible and the conceptual, the highly technical to the hand-made – from individual products to product-service systems. You’ll gain the skills to identify and respond to future needs and opportunities using industry-standard design strategies and digital technologies. Through engaging design projects, you’ll gain key skills, techniques and principles – such as design for sustainable manufacture, new and emerging digital technologies, creative research methods, and principles of colour, material and finish.

As the course progresses, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the ecological, social and economic factors that all designers must consider when designing for diverse audiences and contexts.

In the final year you’ll develop your own insight-driven, individual creative design project/s closely aligned to your own interests, skills and personal career aspirations.

**Course support**

Throughout your learning journey, you’ll experience a range of dedicated personal, academic and career development support, such as:

- Access to our Skills Centre with one-to-ones and online resources to help with planning and structuring your assignments

- Access to office and studio space, expert workshops, freelancing opportunities and a vast business network to tap into

- Industry-specific employability activities and careers support for up to five years after you graduate

Modules

Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.

You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.

**Year 1**

**Compulsory modules**

- Design Essentials: Skills, Techniques And Principles
- Design Interactions: Products, Services And Experiences

**Year 2**

**Compulsory modules**

- Future Now: Collaboration In Action
- Professional Design Practice: Client Engagement
- Sustainable Design Practice: Responsible Design

**Year 3**

**Optional modules**

- Placement Year

**Final year**

**Compulsory modules**

- Graduating Designer: Launching Your Career
- Strategic Innovation: Developing Your Specialism

Assessment methods

Coursework

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
£16,655
per year
International
£16,655
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Scholarships, discounts and bursaries may be available to students who study this course.

The Uni


Course location:

Sheffield Hallam University

Department:

College of Social Sciences and Arts

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.

86%
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

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
86%
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

83%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
77%
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?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
70%
Male students
30%
Female students
77%
2:1 or above
14%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
D
C

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.

£19,000
med
Average annual salary
92%
med
Employed or in further education
45%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

47%
Design occupations
11%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
6%
Other elementary services 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

£19k

£19k

£23k

£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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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