Master of Arts in Education

at University of Hertfordshire - De Havilland Campus United Kingdom

• Allocated specialist support.
• Time to reflect and develop as a designer.
• Flexibility of core module delivery.
• Supported studio & workshop space.
• Collaborations with other Creative Arts disciplines.
• Take a look at our MA Design Leaflet.

Why choose this course?

MA Product Design is a Masters award within the MA Art and Design programme at the School of Creative Arts. Within the programme there is strong emphasis on professional practice and the real-world applications of art and design. You will develop key research skills and gain a good understanding of the work of other practitioners in your field.

The aim of the postgraduate programme is to equip you with the skills, knowledge and understanding required to practice at an advanced level, to foster your creativity and enhance your employment opportunities. You will work alongside artists and designers who are involved with a wide variety of media and forms. Induction, seminars and social events for students and staff mean that you will be part of a friendly and supportive postgraduate community, which also includes film makers, musicians and professionals working in new media. Senior research staff and internationally renowned artists work with postgraduate students, helping you to develop original and challenging work.

The MA Product Design degree aims to provide you with an understanding of the cutting-edge of design practice and to develop your creative and technical abilities as a designer. It will be of interest to product and industrial designers and design professionals working in related fields.

You will develop the entrepreneurial and industrial skills you need to develop your career to its full potential and gain a detailed understanding of the commercial and industrial contexts of contemporary design, alongside some of the theoretical and cultural ideas that shape contemporary design practices.

You will also consider design from the perspective of the society and people who use it. The course looks at practical approaches and the research methods involved in product design. Attention is focused on human users from ergonomic, ecological, social and psychological perspectives and the development of products in a post-industrial age where technology and production may respond to customer demands with speed.

Our staff are experienced in research and professional practice, and you will also benefit from contributions from visiting designers, makers and design professionals, as well as from involvement with our international exhibitions programme and close links with industry partners.

The MSc Medical Microbiology with Advanced Research equips you with the expert skills and knowledge you’ll need to make an impact in your career. You’ll learn extensive theory and develop practical laboratory skills, building on the research expertise of the programme team. You’ll learn techniques in antimicrobial susceptibility testing, antibiotic resistance-gene analysis, microbial identification (16SrRNA sequencing and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry), parasite identification, next-generation sequencing analysis, bacteriophage isolation and purification, antibiotic discovery and characterisation, and mammalian cell culture.

You’ll be taught by expert speakers from the biopharmaceutical industry, academic experts from other universities and the University of Hertfordshire staff. With our modern facilities, emphasis on laboratory work, and teaching underpinned by the latest research, you’ll be qualified to launch a career in research and development for biopharmaceutical companies. You could also work in a wide range of non-laboratory job roles across a range of sectors, including academia and microbiology.

This degree involves a practical workshop programme, establishing and refining your understanding of the tactile qualities and properties of materials and how they can be manipulated to express your ideas. In the First Year you’ll learn contemporary approaches to designing and making across a range of 2D and 3D media. Then, in the Second Year, you’ll focus your interests in order to reach the high level of refinement necessary for the professional marketplace. Our students produce a richly diverse range of artefacts, such as tableware, experimental objects, sculptures, architectural pieces, tiles and conceptual pieces for exhibition or commission.

• Contemporary Design Crafts Ceramics and Glass degree encourages fresh ideas, inventive use of materials and techniques, and awareness of contemporary markets.
• You establish and refine your interests in the field of ceramics and glass to reach the high level of skills demanded by the professional marketplace.
• Placements develop a versatile understanding of the workplace, establishing our graduates as contemporaries in a competitive professional market.

All three of our model design courses share the same First Year, giving you an excellent introduction to model making, prop making, sculpture and special effects. Building on this foundation, you’ll focus on developing your artistic and technical skills to produce models, animatronics and other effects. You’ll also gain hands on experience of the specialist equipment used to produce rain, fire, smoke, wind and snow, and learn about the safe use of pyrotechnics.

In Second Year, you will acquire an understanding of special effects design and receive a thorough grounding in the practical aspects of this. You will be able to combine your artistic and technical skills to produce animatronics, action props, models and special effects.

In your Final Year, you’ll work on major projects and create a professional portfolio to impress employers. Throughout your studies you’ll use a mix of traditional techniques and modern technology. This course is accredited by Creative Skillset, reflecting the highest standard of teaching and facilities.

• Combine your artistic and technical skills to produce animatronics, action props, models and special effects.
• Gain ‘hands on’ experience of special effects equipment used to produce, rain, fire, smoke, wind and snow etc. and learn about the safe use of pyrotechnics.
• Use of traditional workshop machinery and cutting-edge technologies, plus access to specialist industry standard facilities for animatronics, model making and prop making.
• Close contacts with industry, which provide outstanding work experience opportunities and collaborative projects.
• High graduate employment rates for Special Effects students. 
• The only Creative Skillset Tick accredited Model and Special Effects course in the UK.

Indicative course structure
Available as a full honours degree or as top up programme. See below for details about entry requirements for both programmes.

This course is ideal if you want a degree that can lead to a wide range of business careers. It offers a creative mix of academic study, skills development and practical training, giving you the best possible platform for your career. You’ll learn principles of accounting, economics and marketing, and choose from a variety of other subject options. Strong partnerships with industry ensure our curriculum is up to date and meets business needs. Add a language and take the opportunity to study abroad. This course is aligned to several professional bodies for students to work towards achieving professional recognition.

You can also study a language with this course. You can be awarded the degree ‘with language’ in the title if you choose to study a foreign language in all years of study.

• Gain a broad base of business knowledge and explore a variety of career paths.
• Study key areas like accounting, finance, economics, HR, marketing and operations.
• Explore global perspectives, ethics, strategy, employment law, problem solving and much more.
• Create a stand-out CV by spending a year studying abroad.
• Add one of five languages to your business studies, gaining a sought-after new skill.

• Each student on the programme has their own studio space within the shared PG Art studio area. You will be able to work alongside fellow students in Photography, Fine Art, Contemporary Textiles and Contemporary Crafts, as well as students across the School.
• The School has excellent facilities accessible to all students – darkrooms, print and textiles studio, 3d workshops (including glass, ceramics, jewellery, 3d printing), equipment loan store, and computer suites.
• All the teaching staff are creative practitioners/artists who have national or international standing and expertise. Invited speakers, artists/creatives, curators and theorists, also add to the creative mix. The teaching staff are passionate about the work we make and the work you make!

MA Contemporary Crafts is an award that sits within the PG Art Programme at the School of Creative Arts. Within this masters programme there is strong emphasis on professional practice and the real-world applications of art and design. You will develop key research skills and gain a good understanding of the work of other practitioners in your field.

The aim of the programme is to equip you with the skills, knowledge and understanding required to practice at an advanced level, to foster your creativity and enhance your employment opportunities. You will work alongside artists and designers who are involved with a wide variety of media and forms. Induction, seminars and social events for students and staff mean that you will be part of a friendly and supportive postgraduate community, which also includes film makers, musicians and professionals working in new media. Senior research staff and internationally renowned artists work with postgraduate students, helping you to develop original and challenging work.

Contemporary Crafts is an area of creative practice that has a growing reputation through the recent heightened public exposure via the media. On this course, you will explore and challenge the boundaries of your practice and, through discussion and debate with other students, explore some of the key ideas and concepts that inform contemporary applied arts practice.

We focus on helping you develop the entrepreneurial skills you need to further your career and explore funding opportunities and employment in the creative and cultural spheres. You may develop and exploit your talent across a wide range of activities and develop a practice as a maker of individual objects, a designer of batch-produced products, an artist working to commission or establish a mixed portfolio career.

You are encouraged to challenge the materials you use through practical research and sampling and refine your professional practice through the application of process, development of technical skill, material understanding and conceptual underpinning. You have the opportunity to specialize in one area or work across a wide range of disciplines and materials - jewellery, textiles, ceramics, glass, printmaking - and be actively involved in sharing ideas and taking part in critical debate.

Through working alongside artists and designers on other postgraduate courses you will explore the possibilities for the applied artist today, questioning conventions and refining your practice and design capabilities by working with and understanding materials. Our staff are experienced in research and professional practice, and you will also benefit from contributions from visiting artists, designers, makers and other arts and design professionals, as well as from involvement with our international exhibitions programme and gallery environment.

Biochemistry is the study of the fundamental processes of life. Biochemists seek to answer questions about life, health, disease, the natural environment, and materials and compounds, using scientific techniques developed in chemistry and biology. After an initial grounding in chemistry, genetics, cell biology, microbiology and human physiology, you’ll learn the complex biochemical processes that underpin the very latest discoveries. Explore how biochemistry affects the quality of people’s lives, from the discovery of new drugs and the design of medical treatments to the industrialisation of laboratory processes. Our strong links with industry offer you fantastic opportunities to gain valuable experience during your placement year. This degree is accredited by the Royal Society of Biology.

• Biochemistry is the scientific study of the chemistry of living cells, tissues, organs and organisms.
• On this degree programme you will study how biochemistry affects our lives, from the discovery of new drugs and the design of new medical treatments , to the industrialisation of laboratory processes.
• Our links with industry provide you with fantastic opportunities to gain valuable experience in the biosciences industry during the placement year.

Learn the fundamental skills and knowledge of a modern engineer. This course offers a comprehensive introduction to engineering, giving you the flexibility to work in a broad range of industries. Among the general topics, you’ll study engineering mathematics, materials and electrical science, mechanical science, manufacturing technology, computer-aided engineering and thermodynamics. During your MEng year, you’ll deepen your understanding of engineering through a selection of advanced modules. As with the BEng, you’ll get the chance to work on some impressive team projects, including designing a hovercraft, a Formula Student racing car and an unmanned aircraft. This course is the first step towards chartered engineer status.

• The MEng in Mechanical Engineering is a broad subject and there have been thousands of successful UH graduates of this discipline working in all fields of engineering
• You can apply your knowledge to typical mechanical projects such as the design of a hovercraft
• You may join the automotive students and help design, build and race single-seater race car in the UK Formula Student Competition
• You may join aerospace students on projects involving Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), rocketry and space tourism
• You will learn how to apply computer-aided engineering and industrial-standard software, recommended by the Automotive Industry Advisory Panel
• Students from the School of Engineering and Technology have previously completed work placement years at companies including: Rolls Royce plc, BAE Systems, and RP Aero Systems
• Recent Mechanical Engineering graduates have gone on to work at organisations including: Ocado, Ford and General Electric

More about the Course
Our School of Engineering and Technology is well known for project-orientated learning, and mechanical engineers have the opportunity to take part in exciting team projects such as the UH Hovercraft, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ESCO-UAS) competition or the Formula Student competition. For more information see racing.herts.ac.uk

Our students can take the work placement option, spending their Third Year in industry. Some students take the opportunity to study part of their degree abroad through student exchange programmes with other universities in the EU, USA or Canada.

A mechanical engineering degree will provide you with the flexibility to be employed in any industrial company irrespective of their product range. Mechanical engineers are involved in producing innovative designs, using the latest materials and Computer Aided Engineering systems to meet ever-increasing expectations in 21st century living.  With our excellent teaching standards and facilities, the University has a strong track record of providing industry with these highly skilled professionals.

In your first year you will study the fundamental skills and knowledge required by a modern engineer including principles of flight and an introduction to aircraft systems. In particular you will be introduced to computer packages commonly used in the aerospace industry.

In your second year the core themes from year 1 are further developed so that they can be applied to solve engineering problems encountered in industrial and commercial environments. You will learn about the design process, through both group design and detail design work, and will have the opportunity to work on the Class 200 Formula Student car.

In your third year you have the chance to work for an engineering company on placement.

In your fourth year you have the option of covering either manufacturing or the rapidly growing field of micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS). Project work, both in teams on design and individually on a topic of special interest, encourages you to develop valuable practical, interpersonal and communication skills. You also have the opportunity to work on the University's entry to the Formula Student competition.

In your final year you will study at Masters level, deepening your knowledge and understanding of engineering as well as developing your business and management skills. The Team Project is multidisciplinary and involves applying your skills to solve an unusual and challenging problem.

Like the BEng, this course includes many of the modules featured on our general aerospace engineering course, as well as special modules on the design of space vehicles, rocket propulsion, space flight control and satellite communication systems. However, in your MEng year you’ll deepen your skills and knowledge, taking extra modules in aerospace embedded systems, computational fluid dynamics and human resource management. As with the BEng, you’ll have the chance to join with other aerospace students to design a complete aircraft. You’ll also work with astrophysicists to design a space vehicle in conjunction with a major space industry employer.

• This MEng degree course in aerospace engineering with space technology is part of a suite of aerospace degrees run by the University, which has an excellent, long-established reputation with the aerospace industry
• The University of Hertfordshire has produced aerospace engineers with practical experience of design and development for future aerospace systems; You will have access to the best equipment: flight simulator, wind tunnels, specialist laboratories and CAE software
• You will be offered the opportunity to take a short air-experience flight in the second year of the course, flying either a light aircraft or a microlight aircraft. Please note, this is subsidised by the University but still incurs an added cost
• Our aerospace staff have a wealth of industrial experience which gives an applied approach to their teaching and their contacts prove invaluable to graduates seeking employment
• Aerospace students from the University of Hertfordshire have previously completed work placement years at companies including: Airbus, MBDA, and Marshall Aerospace
• Recent Aerospace Engineering graduates have gone on to work at organisations including The Royal Air Force, Jaguar Land Rover, and BAE Systems

Motorsport’s not just exciting entertainment, but also an important part of automotive development. It challenges engineers to be innovative in using the latest technologies to design high-performance vehicles. You’ll find most modules on this course are common with those on our general automotive engineering degree. However, you’ll also learn about aerodynamics of high- speed vehicles and high-performance engine design, testing and mapping. One of the big highlights is to get involved in designing, building and racing a Student Formula car. This course is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and is the first step towards chartered engineer status.

• This BEng Honours in Automotive Engineering with Motorsport will give you the opportunity for hands-on motorsport from your first year onwards, if you wish by getting involved in the design, build and racing of a single-seater race car in the UK Formula Student Competition;
• Your studies will reflect the latest thinking in the industry as the School is supported by a Motor Industry Advisory Panel which includes representatives from many well-known automotive companies;
• Our MEng Automotive Engineering with Motorsport students have previously completed work placement years at companies including: McLaren Automotive, Mercedes-Benz Grand Priz Limited and Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains;
• Your MEng studies involve an extra year and will provide you with a broader and deeper understanding of the subject
• Recent Automotive Engineering graduates have gone on to work at organisations including: Williams Grand Prix Engineering, McLaren Racing Limited, and Renault Sport.