3D Digital Design MA

School
School of Art, Design and Architecture

Course Length
1 year full-time (starting in January 2009)

Number of Places
10

Contact
Graduate Administrator
Tel: 01484 472720
Email: adagrad@hud.ac.uk

Entry Requirements
Candidates must be able to satisfy the general admissions requirements of the University of Huddersfield and the specific requirements of the course in the following ways.

The normal entry requirements are:

• Prospective applicants should be (or about to become) graduates of a British university or equivalent overseas institutes of Higher Education.
  Preference will be given to good Honours graduates (2:2 and above), although exceptional applicants from a non-academic background will also be considered.
• Competence in written and spoken English is essential. Overseas applicants are expected to have a suitable language qualification.
• Exceptional candidates from non-academic backgrounds with a proven track record in industry and commerce will also be considered.
  Those with non-traditional backgrounds but with evidence of skill and/or a portfolio of work which meets the admission standards of the course will also be considered.
• Articulation arrangements for those exceptionally entering the course directly at PgDip or MA phases are that candidates must satisfy the criteria for either the PgCert or PgDip Level Descriptors as APL criteria, as normal postgraduate admissions for the University of Huddersfield.
• All suitably qualified applicants are normally interviewed or considered for admittance under alternative arrangements.
  Interview will be by portfolio of practice based and/or theoretical work and a proposal of research on application.

Introduction

The MA 3D Digital Design course proposes that the future of the three-dimensional design process lies firmly in the digital domain of computer aided design, 3D computer modelling, computer-generated animation, 3D interactivity, 3D laser scanning, stereo projection technologies, motion capture for characters and direct digital manufacture.

The course is unique in providing an arena in which highly advanced, practical three-dimensional digital modelling and animation techniques are developed within a project-based environment, while being supported by a wider, contextual exploration of digital technologies themselves and the impact these have had on design practice, manufacturing production and the consumption of design.

The ethos of the course is to enable professional 3D designers to enter into practice at the forefront of technology having an understanding of how a range of 3D software packages can be combined and manipulated to serve different purposes. In this way, it is expected that the conventional resource boundaries potentially limiting 3D designers will be tested and reformed to allow more innovative and creative design processes to be employed.

Course Structure

• Research and Enquiry (common module)
• Creativity in Context (common module)
• Exploration and Practice (3D Digital Design)
• Applied Research and Enquiry (common module)
• Critical Practice (3D Digital Design)
• Master's Final Project/Thesis

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching strategies include: lectures, tutorials, workshops and model making. Modules are assessed on a combination of the production and critique of ‘3D related work’ and presentations, culminating in an exposition of work in the form of theoretical and/or practice based work.

Career Opportunities

Areas of emerging technologies such as digital art offer opportunities for individual expression.

Within the traditional areas of manufacturing and consultancy, design, product and marketing management. Creativity, innovation and the ability to think laterally inform professionals at the cutting edge.

The education sector or further doctoral study are also options.

Funding

For details of course fees please call the Student Finance Office on 01484 473904.

Special Features

The MA course is designed on a principle of both individual and collaborative thinking and an inter-disciplinary MA community.
The MA 3D Digital Design supports individuals who wish to take on complex and ambitious challenges of Digital Design whilst encouraging them to gain a strong theoretical understanding of their practice in order to develop this.

The MA requires the designer to gain a broad understanding of theoretical and contextual issues while simultaneously addressing the current and emerging technological and methodological possibilities available. Theory and practice inform each other as much in this technological domain as in any other, and this dialogue characterises committed study at Master's level. The course develops practitioners to engage with emerging digital technologies at a level beyond that of conventional design techniques.

Master's students are expected to reassess, question and extend their own creative practice via individual and group discussions, lectures, subject-specific seminars, visiting speakers and visits, but primarily through the ongoing involvement in and development of their work.

It is expected that most, if not all, students enrolling onto this course will have had some exposure to CAD packages associated with their particular discipline, and that some of these will be highly proficient users. However, within this course, you are exposed to a number of different software packages, including those employed by adjacent areas of design practice. This exposure, coupled with a highly stimulating, creative, cross-disciplinary learning environment will enable you to explore different approaches to problem-solving, leading to a more individual design methodology. This is then followed by the opportunity to develop skills in your preferred combination of packages to a level commensurate with a Master's award, where the boundaries of practice and knowledge are tested and pushed.

Other Information

Starts January 2009.

Prospectus

You can also request a printed prospectus by filling in our web form, and have it delivered to your address.

24 Hour Prospectus Enquiry Telephone Line:
+44(0)870 901 5555