MA Design
The MA Design Programme provides an opportunity for eligible postgraduate diploma students to develop their advanced studies in practice and to enhance their applied research skills. The programme is a springboard for new enterprise and research which underpins the role of the professional practitioner in sustainable economic regeneration. This is based upon innovation, production and the creation or exploitation of market demands and provides fertile areas of research related to the specialist subjects represented at West Dean.
This new postgraduate programme is headed by Robert Pulley, West Dean’s principal. The course, a combination of Postgraduate Diploma and MA components for those in Visual Arts or Conservation, will enable students to develop their advanced studies in practice and to enhance their research skills.
Programme Content
The MA Design is a combination of Postgraduate Diploma and MA components. A framework of additional units and blocks of study are provided through which students registered on any of the eight existing Postgraduate Diplomas can obtain the MA Design degree through a total of one calendar year of full-time study.The programme provides an opportunity for eligible postgraduate diploma students to develop their advanced studies in practice and to enhance their applied research skills. The programme is a springboard for new enterprise and research which underpins the role of the professional practitioner in sustainable economic regeneration. This is based upon innovation, production and provides fertile areas of research related sustainable development.
Programme Tutor – Robert Pulley
Visiting Tutors: Barnaby Barford, Adrian Stokes, Pat Taylor, Paul Brennan and Sue Timney Plus support by the programme leader in your chosen ‘material’ area.
How to enrol
Depending on your first degree and/or work experience you will be enrolled initially on the most appropriate of our graduate or postgraduate University of Sussex diploma programmes.If you are unsure which of these to select please apply for the Graduate Diploma in Visual Arts. This is discussed in more detail at interview
How is the MA structured?
As with our existing MAs, these develop out of your Postgraduate diploma. As part of the interview process your tutors will discuss in detail your ambitions for the MA Design and work with you to devise a specific programme of study most suitable for you. This would incorporate elements from the following:Engagement with an existing graduate/postgraduate programme Lectures within MA Conservation Studies, MA Visual Arts, MA Creative Writing and a series of Research talks.A sequence of Short Courses with leading practitioners Guided tutorials Visits from design/arts/crafts/business specialists Independent study A week long intensive workshop in each of the three terms
What work will you have to produce?
MA Design comprises three related elements:
Design Development Project (ie the physical project)
Research Dissertation (approx 6,000 words)
Professional Research Plan (approx 2,000 words)
Scholarships and Bursaries
Three EJF bursaries are available for the MA Design, each worth £3,855.
For student profiles please click here
Further Information
West Dean has a long established portfolio of full-time, practice-led advanced graduate and postgraduate programmes of study specialising in Conservation and Fine Art disciplines. These programmes, along with a College validated programme specialising in making historic musical instruments, have unique profiles and enjoy international reputations.
It is widely understood that in all of these programmes, including Conservation ones, skills in designing and making are an integral part of what our practitioners actually do. Recently, students from all disciplines have accomplished highly skilled levels as designers and makers of objects.
The College crosses borders in art/craft/design and heritage and is committed to helping new enterprise and applied research incorporating critical debate and contemporary contextual issues. Such fertile territory may generate new business ideas, including applied research, based on serious engagement with materials, processes and artefacts born out of design which embraces ecological, technical, historical, social and economic factors.
Like existing MA programmes in Conservation Studies and Visual Arts, the MA Design is a combination of Postgraduate Diploma and MA components. A framework of additional units and blocks of study are provided through which students registered on any of the following eight existing Postgraduate Diplomas can obtain the MA Design degree through a total of one calendar year of full-time study.
Each of the postgraduate subject areas consists of one academic year of full-time study specialising in a particular area of conservation or visual arts. Registered postgraduate diploma students may decide to continue on to one of the MA programmes.
During their specialist Postgraduate Diploma studies, MA Design students will attend an induction and study additional units to be taught as a single interdisciplinary group. On successful completion of the second semester, which includes blocks 3 and 4 of the Postgraduate Diploma together with block 1 of the MA component, students start block 2 of the MA. This involves a major project undertaken during a ten-week period of full-time study with a final assessment toward the end of September.
The MA Design Programme provides an opportunity for eligible postgraduate diploma students to develop their advanced studies in practice and to enhance their applied research skills. The programme is a springboard for new enterprise and research which underpins the role of the professional practitioner in sustainable economic regeneration. This is based upon innovation, production and the creation or exploitation of market demands and provides fertile areas of research related to the specialist subjects represented at West Dean.
There are three related elements of work required: 1) Design Development Project 2) Research Dissertation 3) Professional Research Plan
The Design Development Project provides the core of the MA. This project is initiated through a Research Proposal, developed during the Induction Programme, and progressed in Block 1 of the MA and sustained through Block 2 through the Research Dissertation.
Research Dissertation, the next component, brings together practice, history and theory. Relevant theory and contextual information is used to inform practical outcomes, the latter reviewed to inform and promote theory to add to the body of knowledge. A typical dissertation takes into account the related historical context and may look sideways at current economic, environmental and social issues. Students are encouraged to include ideas for future research and development in the conclusion of their dissertation. This open-minded MA Design research will be used towards the Professional Research Plan.
The Professional Research Plan is the third element of work. Students will produce a clearly articulated proposal that demonstrates the application of their learning to meaningful post-programme outcomes. The Plan demonstrates a student’s work within the professional, commercial or research environments and in some cases all three.
The undertaken range of projects is wide and potentially inter-disciplinary. A student may, for example, work on a design brief with an external client such as a museum, an architect, a manufacturer or other relevant professionals or exploit the use of local materials on the West Dean Estate in an enterprising way by developing a new start-up business.
A student may wish to develop innovative products for niche markets such as a limited edition book, a range of clocks, a series of chairs or a set of musical instruments. Alternatively, how great things of the past were innovated and apply the imagination and intellect to unpick problems and apply findings to resolve important questions. A student may also undertake technical matter research aimed at extending knowledge related to a specific subject alongside an external partner.
Students are supervised by a West Dean College tutor and, if appropriate, an external supervisor who may offer advice and access to specialist resources, knowledge and skills.
The MA units and blocks of study provide students with a structured experience that is designed to develop a confident approach to practice through the production of artefacts, ideas and insights which consolidate and extend previous experience and learning at the postgraduate diploma level. All students at West Dean have access to our short course programme which includes more than 300 tutors who are practicing artists, designers and writers. This is an extraordinarily unusual learning resource.
