Course overview
- Dynamic practice: embrace future-facing creative practice with inventive and challenging solutions.
- Reflective practice: develop a deep understanding of design methodologies through critical inquiry and commercial practice.
- Hands-on exploration: experiment with materials and processes in specialised workshop spaces and studio practice.
- Creative thinking: nurture innovation and create impactful solutions for industry and society.
- Professional foundation: gain insights into the creative economy and prepare for diverse professional contexts.
- Embedded research: integrate applied research into every module, developing your understanding of current debates and shaping your ethical stance.
Picture yourself as a graphic designer, visual designer, user experience (UX) designer, or user interface (UI) designer, or an interaction / experience designer or motion graphics designer. How about a content creator, social media designer or web designer? Consider being a creative or art director, or an exhibition designer or design consultant or freelancer or entrepreneur, or corporate communications specialist.
Top reasons to study this course at Teesside University:Get creative: our course and campus are powered by Adobe and Apple. We’re Europe’s first Adobe Creative Campus and the only Apple-accredited University, equipping you with the digital tools and resources to hone your creative skills.
Creative UK
Take advantage of our Creative UK membership and help futureproof your career, with networking events, a resource hub to support professional development, and bespoke workshops in partnership with industry leaders and mentors. Sign up for free student membership to get opportunities, events and newsletters sent directly to your inbox.Association of Illustrators
We’re a member of the Association of Illustrators, giving you access to interactive talks, guidance on contracts and licensing, and your own discounted membership. This gives you the tools you need to forge a successful career in industry or as a freelancer. Course details
The programme begins with group research projects, sharing information and references from diverse sources. Collecting and analysing information from a theme of common interest helps to develop your awareness of the subject from multiple perspectives. Stage 1 involves developing your professional skills, ideas, research, project work and provides you with the opportunity for co-working, partnerships and collaborations. Your interests are evaluated for their enterprise potential and innovative outputs are proposed.
Stage 2 culminates in a feasibility study for a negotiated research project. Stage 3 enhances your learning through practice with the potential to spend one semester working full-time in industry, on a major research project, or studying or working abroad.
Stage 4 enables you to direct and display your major project work, supported by regular tutorial contact and studio interaction. You show future ambitions and plans for the project including how it may be distributed or realised beyond the University.
Course structure
Core modules
Critical and Speculative Contexts
Build on your existing skills to investigate alternative design values and address social, political, and environmental issues. Produce visually informed, strategic solutions to complex societal challenges through a blend of theory and practice. Combine contemporary visual communication theory with practical application, tackling unique provocations and challenges. Follow a personalised learning plan to develop and direct design concepts and outputs, contributing to broader research using visual communication. Engage in briefings, workshops, and studio sessions with ongoing feedback from tutors and peers.
Dive into advanced visual and sensory communication, embracing experimental ideas and studio practice. Develop innovative design directions for projects, combining digital and physical experiences with strong visual and creative direction. Explore various methods, including visual, perceptual, and cultural aspects, and conduct personal investigations to refine your visual language. Work independently on projects or competition briefs based on a negotiated learning plan, contributing to directed research.
Build your confidence in integrating diverse approaches and evaluating abilities within entrepreneurial, value-oriented design activities. Focus on empathetic methods and authentic teamwork through a group-defined project. Work through key design stages to build collaborative dynamics and specify opportunities that engage diverse perspectives. Pitch your ideas to an expert panel, presenting pathways to realisation for products, services, or systems with prototypes and visualisations.
Unleash your vision as you dive into a major, in-depth, individual study tailored to your discipline and career aspirations. Whether you're interested in commercial, industrial, creative, or research fields, this project is your canvas.
Take full ownership of your project, from idea to execution. Create artefacts, exhibitions, publications, campaigns, and digital works either from scratch or significantly developing your own previous work.
Integrate all your learning into a substantial body of work that showcases your vision as a creative practitioner. This is your chance to shine your brightest.
Strengthen your skills through analysis, experimentation, and self-evaluation, adapting to the evolving visual communication landscape. Focus on emerging technologies and future-proof skills for continuous professional growth. Work on design and creative direction through a personalised learning plan, developing projects and contributing to research activities. Advance your processes and methods with practical workshops, briefings, and ongoing feedback from tutors and peers.
Advanced practice (2 year full-time MA only)
Advanced Practice in Science, Engineering and Design
Advanced Practice options
Research Internship: Develop your research and academic skills by undertaking a research internship within the University. Experience working as part of a research team in an academic setting – ideal if you are interested in a career in research or academia.
Vocational Internship: Spend one semester working full-time in industry. We have close links with a variety of local companies who can offer you the chance to develop your knowledge and professional skills in the workplace through an internship. Although we can’t guarantee you an internship, we will provide you with practical support and advice on how to find and secure your own internship position. A vocational internship is a great way to gain work experience and give your CV a competitive edge.
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
At MA level it is vital that you take an active role in structuring your own learning, and engage with the relevant methods and underpinning theories of your discipline.
Tutorials, seminars and workshops enable you to apply key learning principles to your day-to-day interactions. Individual support, provided by a personal tutor, is an integral feature of the learning and teaching strategy.
Research is also an intrinsic part of your study. You need to find and make sense of a wide variety of information from books, newspapers, journals, magazines, websites, archives and many other sources, then analyse and discuss your findings to inform the creative process. Lectures and briefings introduce topics and impart key aspects of disciplinary knowledge, usually to larger groups.
You develop your practical and professional skills with hands-on experience, informed by subject knowledge and critical understanding. Practical workshops introduce specific skills, followed by independent learning, project work, tutorials and critiques.
Critical reflection is key to all successful problem solving and is essential to the design process. You are expected to test and assess your solutions against design criteria which you develop in the light of your research.
How you are assessed
Your assessments are primarily in-course assessments – you submit work during the module rather than sit timed exams at the end.
Design modules are generally project based and primarily assessed through appraising your portfolio of work, often accompanied by a verbal presentation. Design work is largely developmental and you are assessed on your problem-solving process as well as the result, so it is essential you provide clear evidence of your development work.
Entry requirements
Applicants are normally expected to have at least a 2.2 UK honours degree, or equivalent qualification. A range of degree subjects are acceptable including subjects related to arts, design or other creative discipline. We also consider relevant experience or equivalent qualifications. Applicants may be asked to present a portfolio of work.
Students with a degree awarded outside the UK must also meet the University's minimum English language requirements.
Non-EU international students who need a student visa to study in the UK should check our web pages on UKVI-compliant English language requirements. The University also provides pre-sessional English language courses if you do not meet the minimum English language requirement.
For general information please see our overview of entry requirements
International applicants can find out what qualifications they need by visiting Your Country
Employability
Work placement
There may be short-term placement opportunities for some students, particularly during the project phase of the course.
Career opportunities
When you graduate you have the opportunity to go on to a range of design-related employment, develop new enterprise propositions or receive project funding to take your ideas to market.
You can work across a range of professions within design and the creative industries such as a freelance designer, creative entrepreneur, designer maker or creative director. Further study at doctoral level is also an option.
Information for international applicants
Qualifications
International applicants - find out what qualifications you need by selecting your country below.
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Useful information
Visit our international pages for useful information for non-UK students and applicants.
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