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Architectural Design and Technology with Art & Design Foundation Year

Entry requirements


A level

D,D

From a minimum of two A levels

AQA Level 3 (Foundation) Technical Level (360 glh)

D

AQA Level 3 Technical Level (1080 glh)

PPP

AQA Level 3 Technical Level (540 glh)

MM

AQA Level 3 Technical Level (720 glh)

MP

In combination with other qualifications

In combination with other qualifications.

In combination with other qualifications.

OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma

MP

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate

D

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

PPP

OCR Cambridge Technical Foundation Diploma

MM

OCR Cambridge Technical Introductory Diploma

D

OCR Cambridge Technical Subsidiary Diploma

MM

Pearson BTEC 90-Credit Diploma (QCF)

MM

In combination with other qualifications

Pearson BTEC Diploma (QCF)

MP

Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)

PPP

In combination with other qualifications.

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

MP

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

D

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

PPP

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

M

Pearson BTEC Subsidiary Diploma (QCF)

D

T Level

P

Pass grade (D or E)

UCAS Tariff

48

From A-levels, a?BTEC Extended Diploma at PPP or BTEC Diploma at MP or?equivalent. We welcome applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds. Applicants who are not in possession of the minimum entry requirements but are able to demonstrate aptitude, enthusiasm and motivation will be considered on an individual basis and may be admitted subject to satisfactory interview and/or portfolio. Please contact us for further details.

Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)

A

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Design

Got a passion for creative design? Not quite ready to undertake a full honours degree? Solent University’s Design Foundation Programme is perfectly suited to students who may not be from an art- design- or fashion-related background or whose qualifications do not meet the admissions requirements of their chosen course. 

To help get you up to speed, this one-year foundation course provides all the creative, technical and study skills needed for entry onto a degree-level art, design or fashion course. Upon completion, you will be able to progress onto a range of art-, design- and fashion- related courses here at Solent.

The course begins with a five-week group project. This enables students to mix with like-minded peers and helps them to settle in quickly. This project also helps students to decide which area they might like to follow at a later stage.

The following ten weeks are spent introducing students to the world of art, design and fashion. This includes design history, vocabulary, methods and academic foundation. This ten-week block will also give students the opportunity to learn and apply two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualisation techniques, giving them the tools required to conduct their final project.

This final project takes place in the last fifteen weeks of the course and is based around the specific discipline that the student will go on to study. The project will be supported by tuition in visual presentation techniques, enabling students to communicate their concepts, development processes and final proposals. Students will also receive instruction in verbal communication and presentation techniques, increasing their confidence in pitching design ideas.

Students can develop an understanding of the ethos and expectations associated with degree-level study, enabling them to more easily make the transition to higher education.

**What does this course lead to?**
You will go on to study the BA (Hons) Architectural Design and Technology degree.

**Who is this course for?**
Our design foundation programme is ideal for students who aren’t quite ready to undertake a full undergraduate degree, either because they aren’t from an art- design- or fashion-related background, or they don’t quite meet the entry requirements.

Modules

FOUNDATION MODULES:
Group Design Project
Industry Awareness
Design Visualisation 
Industry Skills
Personal Development Planning
Degree-related Project

Successful completion of the foundation year means you will automatically progress onto the 3 year BA (Hons) Architectural Design and Technology course where you will study the following modules:

"YEAR 1 - CORE MODULES
Architectural Design Development
Construction Technology
Architectural Communication
Architectural Design Realisation
Building Law Management
Science of Materials

YEAR 2 - CORE MODULES
Architectural Design
Technical Design
Sustainable Refurbishment
Advanced Construction Technology
Building Information Modelling
Procurement and Project Management

YEAR 3 - CORE MODULES
Sustainable Architectural Design
Sustainable Technical Design
Contracts Administration and Specifications
Professional Practice

YEAR 3 - OPTIONS (Please note that not all options are guaranteed to run each year)
Final Major Project
Research Dissertation"

Assessment methods

To accommodate individual differences in both learning styles and communication skills, the foundation course will apply a programme of summative assessment methods. This programme will include portfolios, reports, verbal presentations and reflective statements. Each module will employ a mix of methods appropriate for that module. For example, the module ‘Personal Development Planning’ will be assessed by reflective statement and an accompanying portfolio.

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
£14,000
per year
International
£14,000
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

Solent University offers a number of bursaries, grants and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.solent.ac.uk/finance/grants-bursaries-scholarships/bursaries

The Uni


Course location:

Solent University (Southampton)

Department:

Department of Science and Engineering

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.

72%
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
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
84%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
81%
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

88%
Library resources
88%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
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?

80%
UK students
20%
International students
46%
Male students
54%
Female students
67%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
B

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
94%
med
Employed or in further education
75%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

27%
Design occupations
10%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
8%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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

£20k

£20k

£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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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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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?

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