Studio Practice (Product Design) (top-up) at UCA

Our Studio Practice top-up course in Product Design at UCA Canterbury will give you all the skills you need to progress to postgraduate study in the UK.

Designed for international students, the course is aligned with final year undergraduate students' studies, so you can progress to a Master's degree in a streamlined way.

You'll get right into the action from the start, undertaking research and practical projects, working on collaborative activities and building your skills, knowledge and confidence.

Please note, the title of this course has been updated for 2025 entry and the course has previously been titled BA (Hons) Studio Practice (Product & Furniture Design).

 

Key information

Campus
UCA Canterbury
Start date(s)
September 2025
Duration
1 year full-time
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Entry requirements
Tuition fees
Course details

Course
details

The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

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.

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.

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Fees & funding

Fees & financial support

Tuition fees - 2025/26

  • BA (top-up) course: £9,535

Tuition fees - 2025/26

  • BA (top-up) course: £9,535 (see fee discount information)

Tuition fees - 2025/26

  • BA (top-up) course: £17,500

Please note: The fees listed on this webpage are correct for the stated academic year only, for details of previous years please see the full fee schedules.

UCA scholarships and fee discounts

At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Financial support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.

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 the Course Information Document for more details of the costs you may incur.

Facilities

There are open plan studio spaces for each year of the course, which are used for group tutorials and personal working. Facilities for the course include: laser cutters, 3D printers, a virtual reality lab, 3D workshop with machines for working in wood, metals, plastics and ceramics, and fully-equipped computer studios with Macs and PCs running software for design and animation.

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Studios, UCA Canterbury

Materials 3D workshops, UCA Canterbury

Fabrication Lab, UCA Canterbury

Materials 3D wokshops, UCA Canterbury

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Entry & portfolio requirements

Entry & portfolio
requirements

BA (Hons) course (top-up)

The standard entry requirements* for this course are:

  • 240 credits from a relevant degree (120 credits at level 4 and 120 credits at level 5), with a minimum of 55% overall
  • Foundation Degree in a relevant subject
  • Higher National Diploma in a relevant subject

And/or Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)

In recognition that you may already have a relevant professional qualification, or appropriate working experience in the relevant industries, APEL may be accepted for entry on to the course. This will be based on the partnership articulations and will be assessed on a case by case basis.

Other relevant and equivalent UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.

Portfolio requirements

For this course, 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. Further information will be provided once you have applied. View more portfolio advice

 


*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.

BA (Hons) course (top-up)

The entry requirements for these courses will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

You will be required to submit an online portfolio for review. Further information on specific portfolio requirements and how to submit your portfolio will be sent to you after we have reviewed your application. View more portfolio advice

 


English language requirements

To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. And so, to make sure you meet the requirements of your course, we ask for evidence of your English language ability, please check the level of English language required:

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