Product Design BA (Hons)

Course overview

You can still apply to BU (including through UCAS Extra). Please apply through UCAS as soon as possible; your application can only be assessed once we have received it from UCAS.

This course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering Designers

This well established course will give you all the skills you will need to design and develop successful commercial products.

Your design skills will be developed with the support of dedicated, highly qualified and experienced academics, technicians and demonstrators. The course is equipped with excellent facilities including a specialist CAD laboratory and our Manufacturing Design Centre.

During the course you will learn how to manufacture physical models and prototypes, as well as produce industry standard computer models. Throughout the course you will learn to develop your creativity and innovation to solve design problems, and learn how to address the functional, social and economic needs of your design.

You will spend Year 3 on a work placement, gaining at least 40 weeks experience in a relevant industry. Students are supported throughout the placement experience, and are assisted in finding a placement, as well as given advice and techniques on how to perform well at interviews. Recent placements have taken place both in the UK and abroad, and have included companies such as:

• Rank Xerox
• BT Labs
• Ford of France
• Dyson
• Johnson & Johnson
• Aston Martin
• Xlite
• Fraser-Nash
• Zoe Design
• Nortel Networks
• SRDC.

Following the placement year you will be able to choose between gaining your Product Design degree as either a BA (Hons) or a BSc (Hons). The BSc (Hons) option focuses on the technological aspect of design, whereas the BA (Hons) option focuses on the aesthetic and contextual issues relating to Product Design.

Experience gained during the placement combined with the academic knowledge and practical skills gained during the course will open a wide range of opportunities for you to pursue after graduation. The course's accreditation by the Institution of Engineering Designers means that you can undertake further study to gain a full professional qualification. Recent graduates have entered successful careers in manufacturing industries and design consultancies, and others have started up their own commercial enterprises. At BU we can also help you to commercially develop your final year project and help turn your design dreams into a commercial reality.

Final year students exhibit at the Festival of Design & Innovation.