This is a stand-alone, credit-bearing, one-year pre-masters course to prepare you for further study on one of our practice-based masters courses. It is ideal if you already have a BA degree in a related discipline and are intending to apply for one of our MA courses, but would like first to consolidate your practical skills and immediately benefit from the design education offered at Kingston University.
Mode | Duration | Attendance | Start date |
---|---|---|---|
Full time | 1 year | 2 days per week and self-directed study | September 2021 |
Location | Kingston School of Art, Knights Park |
If you are planning to join this course in the academic year 2020/21 (i.e. between August 2020 and July 2021), please view the information about changes to courses for 2020/21 due to Covid-19.
Students who are continuing their studies with Kingston University in 2020/21 should refer to their Course Handbook for information about specific changes that have been, or may be, made to their course or modules being delivered in 2020/21. Course Handbooks are located within the Canvas Course page.
This course offers five pathways to choose from. Each will prepare you for further study in the relevant discipline.
The learning experience of this course will be tailored to your subject area (which you should indicate when you apply) by the relevant postgraduate course teams. You can choose pathways from Fashion, Graphic Design, Illustration Animation and 3D Design.
You will work within your subject-specific course peer group and alongside other postgraduate students, building up a strong portfolio of relevant project work that clearly demonstrates your creative strengths. Projects are designed to help you develop creative and flexible thinking, sound technical skills, and an understanding of the need for a variety of approaches to any given subject or brief.
You'll be expected to complete two 60 credit modules, totalling 120 credits altogether. These two modules run sequentially in teaching blocks 1 and 2 and are underpinned by a learning agreement specific to your course subject area.
This course provides the opportunity to develop your creative practice within the supportive context of a peer group and throughout your studies, you'll develop your own reflective practice and confident creativity. Once you've completed the year, you'll be qualified to progress to your chosen practice-based MA (via an application).
60 credits
This module is delivered in teaching block 1 and offers a bespoke and immersive learning experience for you in Kingston School of Art. Whilst working toward a generic set of aims and learning outcomes, the content of this module will be partly determined by your subject discipline, and defined in a Learning Agreement. Through academic guidance and tutoring, you will experience a range of teaching and learning activities appropriate to the development of your creative experience, practice and skills.
This module seeks to identify, develop and enhance relevant intellectual, creative and practical skills, and aims to offer a supported learning environment for the development of individual and collective creative practice and project-based work.
Formative assessment takes place throughout the module and you are provided with ongoing feedback on your work. The module is then summatively assessed through a portfolio of work comprising all the work undertaken throughout the module. This may include practical visual and material work, pieces of reflective writing, presentations, and visual and material studies
60 credits
This module is delivered in teaching block 2 and follows Creative Practice 1 in building upon your creative experience, practice and skills. Whilst again working toward a generic set of aims and learning outcomes, the content of this module will be to a large extent determined by your own interests and ambitions, and in response to the learning and work undertaken in teaching block 1.
Through academic guidance and tutoring, you will join in a range of teaching and learning activities best suited to your own creative experience, practice and skills, but will be expected to establish your own individual mode of creative practice.
The module seeks to develop and hone your specific areas of intellectual, creative and practical skills in explicit preparation for further specialist study at masters level (Level 7). Once again, formative assessment takes place throughout the module and you are provided with ongoing feedback on your work.
The module is again summatively assessed through a portfolio of work undertaken throughout the module, and it is through this body of work that you will be required to critically reflect upon your own practice and to situate this within disciplinary and/or subject specialist approaches. This module therefore supports a more synthetic approach to developing your own creative practice, when compared to Creative Practice 1, and constitutes a 'capstone' outcome of your work on the course.
The information above reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. Updates may be made on an annual basis and revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year. The regulations governing this course are available on our website. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this may not be offered.
You'll work on practical creative projects, individual presentations, a research project folder, written assignments or reports, project outcomes and visual summaries.
You'll be taught by a team of expert designers, creatives and artists, many of whom are active practitioners. Postgraduate students may also contribute to the teaching of seminars under the supervision of the module leader.
Knights Park campus is situated on the Hogsmill River, with a restaurant and bar opening on to the waterside. The relatively small campus has a friendly, creative feel and includes a reception area with a gallery, art shop and the light and airy open-plan library.
After completing this course, graduates have gone on to work in design offices, publishing houses, interactive media, film and television companies, fashion houses and advertising agencies worldwide.
Kingston School of Art has excellent industrial links, both in the UK, and abroad and graduates are employed across the whole spectrum of the creative industries.
Each year, most of our students progress directly to study their chosen MA programmes at Kingston, or at other respected national and international institutions. The majority of those who progress to courses at Kingston successfully complete their degrees and go on to work in design offices, publishing houses, interactive media, film and television companies, fashion houses and advertising agencies worldwide.
Many of our students have established their own successful companies. Kingston School of Art has a strong presence in the global design community, and our students have an enviable record of employment.