Product & Furniture Design BA (Hons)
Canterbury
Course overview
If you're passionate about turning the everyday into the extraordinary, then our BA (Hons) Product & Furniture Design degree at UCA Canterbury School of Architecture and Design is the perfect course for you.
You'll explore the fundamentals of thinking, analysing, drawing, making, and testing through a mix of digital and analogue methods. Along the way, you’ll discover the importance of the relationship between products, furniture items and the spaces they occupy, working alongside students on Architecture, Interior, and Industrial design courses.
As part of the course, you'll benefit from interaction with industry through live project opportunities, masterclasses, and optionally - professional work experience placement, if you choose the Professional Practice Year pathway – building industry-relevant skills to ensure that you graduate ready for the workplace.
By the time you graduate, you’ll be an intelligent problem solver with a curious outlook and a bold approach to exploring how product and furniture design can serve society, both today and in the future.
Please note: this course has moved location from UCA Farnham to UCA Canterbury from September 2021 entry.
Our standard three year undergraduate degree for those who meet the entry requirements for higher education.
UCAS Code for 3 year/standard: W243
A four year degree programme, including a foundation year to help develop your creativity before you embark on year one of a degree.
UCAS Code for course with Integrated Foundation Year: W24A
A four year course, specifically designed to provide international students with the English language and creative skills before they embark on year one of a degree.
UCAS Code for course with Integrated International Foundation Year: W24C
A four year programme, which sees you spend an entire year gaining valuable industry experience prior to your final year of study.
UCAS Code for course with Professional Practice: W244
A five year course, including a foundation year to help develop your creativity before you embark on year one of a degree, and a year on a professional placement gaining valuable industry experience prior to your final year of study.
UCAS Code for course with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year: W24B
A five year course, including an international foundation year concentrating on English language and core creative skills before you embark on year one of a degree, and a year on a professional placement gaining valuable industry experience prior to your final year of study.
UCAS Code for course with Integrated International Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year: W24D
Course Details
The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.
UCA’s Integrated Foundation Year is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and more.
You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.
For our students coming from a non-UK educational background, UCA has launched an Integrated International Foundation Year, based at UCA Farnham to bring students from around the world to one hub of creativity.
This year of preparatory study is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and the English speaking and writing skills you’ll need to succeed.
You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.
Launch
Launch Week is the first week of your academic journey in the Canterbury School of Architecture and Design where you get to know your course staff, peer group and the School community in greater depth.
Design 01 – Sketch and Build
You will be introduced to a range of core skills in concept development and representation, through sketching, model making, diagramming, and time-based media. You’ll do this through a series of design projects. We want you to experiment and develop skills that are personal to you alongside skills that embrace the integrated nature of design production.
Design for Equity 01
In this unit, you will be introduced to the technological principles, civil regulations, and societal challenges that inform contemporary design and manufacture. There are two key areas of consideration – social justice and equitable design, and the climate crisis. We want you to think critically about how the detailed design of spaces and objects (including the measures, standards and tools of our industry) impacts upon gender, race, sexual and bodily equality.
Briefs and Positions 01
You’ll prepare a basic set of briefing materials that will inform and guide your development of a small-scale design proposal in the subsequent design unit Design 02 – Iterate and Adapt. To achieve this we want you to engage in creative studio-based speculation, professional site or scenario analysis and culturally critical research.
Opportunity
As you start Term 2, Opportunity Week is an intensive week of activity conceived and undertaken in collaboration with an external partners, with the aim of broadening knowledge and skills.
Iterate and Adapt 01
Explore the fundamental processes of design practice through spatial or product analysis, deconstruction, documentation and augmentation. In this unit you’ll enhance your skills in sketching and drawing, assembly/disassembly, accurate survey and measurement in 3D space, material analysis and documentation of both the physical space or product and their intended programme or market.
Critical Analysis 01
We want you to understand that the role of the designer is not always in isolation. This means seeing that objects, spaces, and systems can be designed and built by ‘constellations’ of different actors, in which the designer is situated. We’ll show you this through critical engagement with histories and theories of spatial and object design practice.
Material and Digital Practices
This unit introduces you to basic ideas around representation as a critical practice, and core theories of the design and production of small-scale objects in 2D print and 3D physical form. Working between the physical and virtual worlds, you’ll build the foundation on which you begin to develop your visual communication skills and technological competence.
ATOM Activities
ATOM activities are tiny pieces of individual learning that facilitate interdisciplinary exposure across the university. Collectively they form a small fraction of your curriculum that is determined through your own personal choice and interest.
Launch
Launch Week for the second year will be spent gearing up for your study objectives and re-orientating after your first summer break.
Design 03 – Fabricate and Form
In this unit you’ll further refine your skills in sketching, model making and visualisation, with specific focus on digital representation methodologies, and material and manufacturing constrains and opportunities. We’ll also ask you to develop research practices, examining the relationship between place/product and user, brand value, user or spatial experience, and form – and respond to this research through your design proposals.
Design for Equity 02
In this unit, you will expand your knowledge of the technological principles, civil regulations, and societal challenges that inform contemporary design and manufacture. You’ll focus on how non-western perspectives, culturally diverse contexts and vernacular practices can inform low-carbon approaches to spatial and product design
Briefs and Positions 02
In this unit, you’ll prepare a developed set of briefing materials that will inform and guide your development of a medium-scale design proposal in the subsequent design unit Design 04 – Fabricate and Form. You’ll do this through three processes - creative studio-based speculation, professional site or scenario analysis and culturally critical research.
Opportunity
The second term begins with Opportunity Week, an intensive week of activity conceived and undertaken in collaboration with external partners.
Context and Constraint
You’ll expand your conceptual approach to constraint-based design by undertaking a detailed design project which brings together your technical, conceptual ideation, iterative testing, and narrative production skills in a confident and holistic way. During the process, you will explore ideas of transformation, surprise, and unknown futures through a range of possible design challenges.
Pathways and Mentors
In this unit, we’ll challenge you to reflect on the design skills, knowledge and techniques you are acquiring and identify potential alternative career paths that you might not yet have considered. In the course of this unit, all students will have the opportunity to engage with a design professional in a structured series of engagement and mentoring sessions.
Critical Analysis 02
The unit, a progression from your first year of study, is primarily concerned with theory and represents a step-up in challenging you to interrogate ideas, designs and actions. Specifically, it asks you to use theory to develop understandings of the ways in which ideas are both contextual and connected to wider logics and world views.
ATOM Activities
ATOM activities are tiny pieces of individual learning that facilitate interdisciplinary exposure across the university. Collectively they form a small fraction of your curriculum that is determined through your own personal choice and interest.
You may enrol to undertake an additional ‘Professional Practice Year’ as an integral part of this course.
This will take place in year three. You will undertake a work placement with a subject appropriate employer to further develop your skills and CV.
Please note: If you are an international applicant, you will need to enrol onto the course ‘with Professional Practice Year’. It will not be possible to transfer onto the Professional Practice Year after enrolment
On this course, you'll have the opportunity to add a year of study at an overseas institution (either a higher education establishment or a workplace).
This optional year is designed to broaden your educational experience and deepen your understanding of cultural diversity, allowing you to study within a different cultural context and gain fresh perspectives.
Studying abroad can be a life-changing experience. Living in another country, you'll experience new places, people, cultures and possibilities. You'll develop sought-after employability skills such as independence, motivation and – depending on where you go – a working knowledge of another language. You will return to complete your degree with all the benefits of the international year experience.
To find out more about studying abroad as part of your course please see the Study Abroad section: Study abroad information
The International Year is not available to students enrolled onto the Professional Practice Year route.
Launch
For your final Launch Week, you’ll spend the week getting ready for your final year of study, and re-orientating after your first summer break.
Design 05 – Pitch and Prototype
This unit challenges you to engage with exciting new technologies and to produce compelling digital and physical prototypes through the rapid acquisition and integration of new skills within your workflows. You will go on developing your individual and group working skills and start to experience the pace of work in practice as you move toward employment.
Critical Analysis 03
You’ll produce a piece of self-directed research on a subject that is related to the historical, theoretical and critical concerns of your subject discipline. The subject matter will be informed by the specific interests that you have developed on your course to date.
Briefs and Positions 03
This unit is about preparing an advanced set of briefing materials to inform and guide your development of a medium-scale design proposal for the Final Major Project. You will consider a context at the scale of an expanded spatial or material network, through creative studio-based speculation, professional site or situation analysis and culturally critical research.
Opportunity
Opportunity Week is an intensive week of activity conceived and undertaken in collaboration with external partners.
Major Project
After defining your own brief during the preceding Briefs and Positions 03 unit, with the support of your tutor, you will develop and complete an expansive project that uses all your skills in design, making, research and project development. The finished work should reflect your deep understanding of contemporary practice.
Tuition fees
2022 course fees for Year 1 entry and Integrated Foundation Year:
- UK students - £9,250
- EU students - £9,250 (see fee discount information)
- International students - £16,950
If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2022 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £1,850 (UK students) and £3,390 (International students). You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.
Additional course costs
In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials. These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of your Course Information for details of the costs you may incur.
Further information
For more detailed information about our course fees and any financial support you may be entitled to please see our fees and finance pages.
The fees listed here are correct for the stated academic year only. Costs may increase each year during a student’s period of continued registration on course in line with inflation (subject to any maximum regulated tuition fee limit). Any adjustment for continuing students will be at or below the RPI-X forecast rate.
Industry placement
offer
Preparing graduates for successful careers underpins everything we do, and all students on this course will be offered an industry placement anywhere between two weeks and a year in length, depending on their individual needs. We’ll draw on our wide range of contacts within the creative industries to ensure you’re offered opportunities that align with your interests and future career aspirations.
Course specifications
Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.
Facilities
UCA Canterbury has open plan studio spaces offer a flexible learning environment, used for tutorials and independent working. Fully equipped Mac and PC computer labs with software for design and coding. Access to a purpose built FabLAB with laser cutters, 3D printers and CNC milling and injection moulding equipment, as well as virtual reality and spatial tracking technology. Campus 3D workshop with machines for working in wood, metals, plastics and ceramics.
Studios, UCA Canterbury
Materials 3D workshops, UCA Canterbury
Fabrication Lab, UCA Canterbury
Materials 3D wokshops, UCA Canterbury
Our Staff
.jpg)
Entry requirements
BA (Hons) course
BA (Hons) course with Professional Practice Year
The standard entry requirements* for these courses are one of the following:
- 112 new UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
- Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
- Distinction, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
- Merit at UAL Extended Diploma
- 112 new UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
- 27-30 total points in the International Baccalaureate Diploma with at least 15 IB points at Higher level, see more information about IB entry requirements.
And four GCSE passes at grade A*-C and/or grade 4-9 including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).
Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.
BA (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year
The standard entry requirements for these courses are one of the following:
- 64 new UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
- Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
- Merit, Pass, Pass at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
- Pass at UAL Extended Diploma
- 64 new UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
- 24 points from the International Baccalaureate, see more information about IB entry requirements.
And four GCSE passes at grade A*-C and/or grade 4-9 including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).
Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.
BA (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year
BA (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year
For these courses you need to have completed 12 years* of schooling (with good grades) and show strong evidence of your ability to successfully complete the programme and progress onto your chosen degree.
*We occasionally make offers which are lower than the standard entry criteria, to students who have faced difficulties that have affected their performance and who were expected to achieve higher results. We consider the strength of our applicants’ portfolios, as well as their grades - in these cases, a strong portfolio is especially important.
Don't meet the international entry requirements or English language requirements?
You may be able to enter the course through the following entry pathways:
BA (Hons) course
BA (Hons) course with Professional Practice Year
For these courses, we’ll need to see your portfolio for review. We’ll invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person, meet the course team and learn more about your course. If you would prefer to upload a portfolio digitally, there is also the option to submit it online via your UCA Applicant Portal. Further information will be provided once you have applied.
BA (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year
These courses don't require a portfolio. If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Applicant Day where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course.
BA (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year
BA (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year
These courses don't require a portfolio. If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Applicant Day where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course.
Apply Now
-
UCAS Institution
C93
-
UCAS Code for 3 year/standard
W243
-
UCAS Code for course with Professional Practice
W244
-
UCAS Code for course with Integrated Foundation Year
W24A
-
UCAS Code for course with Integrated International Foundation Year
W24C
-
UCAS Code for course with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year
W24B
-
UCAS Code for course with Integrated International Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year
W24D
Get in touch