Master of Arts in Integrated Design Innovation

at University of Plymouth United Kingdom

Conserve our environment for future generations – work within the sector on an eight-week placement to reduce human impacts and provide solutions to today's environmental challenges across the globe. This MSc programme helps launch your career, giving you the skills and knowledge required for a job in the environment sector. Maximise your career prospects by learning the latest desk, laboratory and field techniques used in the management and assessment of environmental impact.

This MSc equips graduates of engineering or science degrees with the knowledge and skills needed to work within the coastal engineering industry. You'll study core topics in coastal and port engineering, be introduced to numerical modelling techniques, obtain hands-on experience of using state-of-the-art software tools and carry out physical modelling of coastal structures within the COAST laboratory.

Study the theory of waves, tides, surges and modern techniques in coastal data collection and analysis, including GIS and remote sensing. You also study core topics in coastal and port engineering, gain research skills, are introduced to numerical modelling techniques and obtain hands-on experience of using state-of-the-art software tools.

Key Features

• Equips engineering and science graduates with knowledge and understanding of engineering and coastal processes enabling them to work in this strategically important sector.
• Learn how to quantify the loading effects of waves, tides, surges and manage the influences of climate change: sea level rise and greater storminess.
• Discover how coastal structures - breakwaters, groynes, sea walls - are designed to protect against flooding and coastal erosion.
• Understand how modern ports are designed for the needs of international trade.
• Work in our acclaimed COAST laboratory to develop skills in physical modelling and interact with our COAST researchers or collect data in Plymouth Sound.
• Obtain hands on experience in numerical modelling using modern industry software.
• The program is accredited as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) for candidates with an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng (Hons) or an Accredited IEng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree.

Make, use and analyse images, engaging directly with the world around you while exploring the medium’s endless potential. Develop a clear understanding of photography in its wider historical, cultural and professional context and be equipped with the skills to achieve and sustain your career ambitions in the creative industry. Our diverse teaching team, purpose-built environment and advanced facilities enable you to establish your unique style and personal visual language.

Key Features

• Experiment - a key feature of our course is the space to experiment. During the three years there is a great deal of focus on the way you develop your photography, both in practice, and in ideas.
• Document - a growing aspect of the course, in response to contemporary practice, is the importance of the photographic document. This includes opportunities to develop as a contemporary documentary practitioner.
• Collaborate - a valuable skill for any creative practitioner, collaboration is sewn throughout our course including short studio projects, group presentations, a collaborative practice module, and our unique Set Construction Project that allows you to work collaboratively and develop the skills to build, style and photograph your own studio sets.
• Think differently - an important aspect of our course is the development of you as a critically aware contemporary photographer. This means that you can move between ways of working that span the commercial and artistic worlds. The life of a contemporary practitioner is a varied and multi-faceted affair, and the skills taught on this course help you to navigate this exciting world.
• Plymouth - take advantage of our stunning location in the South West. This natural resource will inspire your creative practice with its rural and city landscapes, brooding moors and dramatic coastline.
• Explore - broaden your understanding of photographic practice in other cultures - our international opportunities include a residential field trip to Europe in year 1 and rich opportunities for studying abroad in countries like Germany, Romania, Sweden, Cyprus, Slovenia, France, Slovakia, Norway, New Zealand and the USA in year 2.
• Facilities - achieve your creative goals with our excellent facilities and resources, including a custom-built analogue and digital resource and an extensive Artist Book Collection. Be free to work when the inspiration takes you with our resources open from 8am to midnight, seven days a week and throughout the holidays.
• Visitors - deepen your understanding of the subject with our lively visiting speaker series, featuring well-known practitioners and former students talking about their work and career paths. Past speakers have included: Brett Rogers, Director of the Photographers Gallery; celebrated documentary photographer Ed Clark; image makers Anna Fox, Simon Roberts, Charlotte Dumas, Ori Gersht, Martin Parr, Mark Power, David Goldblatt, Laura Pannack and more.
• We also work with Specialist Professional Practice visitors who create clear links between the creative practice of the course, and professional outlets in the future.
• The future - follow in the footsteps of our impressive, prizewinning photography students, including graduate David Hedges, a press photographer who recently won two major awards for his images and video work; Anna Jay, prize winning art director for The Debrief; or Louis Little assistant to Martin Parr.
• Unistats - 87% of students agreed staff were good at explaining things and 90% of students agreed the course provided opportunities to explore ideas or concepts in depth (National Student Survey 2019).*

Our MA Education programme focuses on educational practice using methods of practice-related inquiry. Building on our recognised excellence in postgraduate teaching and research, this programme offers a structured pathway for professional development and scholarship in general education, including option module choices, as well as subject specialist pathways. Option modules include: Early Childhood Studies, modules on sustainability matters, SEN and Inclusion.

Please note that specialist routes and option modules on offer may change, so contact Admissions teams to check availability for your year of application.

Key Features

Realise your artistic potential. Guided by practising artists, you’ll develop creative approaches to making artwork, through opportunities to explore different techniques and technologies in dedicated fine art studios and specialist workshops. You will expand your art practice through a vibrant mix of studio work, and creative and critical thinking, which will deepen your understanding and refine your skills, to enable you to contribute to the expanding field of contemporary fine art.

Key Features

• Hone your existing talents and discover new ones with your own, dedicated studio space – as well as specialist shared spaces and facilities for textiles, metal and woodworking, plasterwork and ceramics workshops and life drawing classes.
• Connect and collaborate with others from around the world, thanks to our excellent links with overseas art and design institutions and international exchange opportunities in your second year.
• Explore the best way to express yourself – try drawing, video and sound, painting, printmaking, photography, performance and sculpture – to find the medium that’s right for you.
• Discover the possibilities of technology with fully equipped print and photo facilities, computers, audio-visual equipment, sound studio resources and expert technicians to support and guide you in your exploration.
• Enhance your understanding of art and the cultural context of your work with visiting lecturers and field trips to museums and galleries throughout the UK and Europe.
• Seize opportunities to enter local, national and international competitions and awards. Our students have been recognised in the Jerwood Drawing prize, travelled to Amsterdam for the Hans Brinker Trophy and won a contest to design the trophy for the prestigious Abercrombie Award.
• Develop your professional practice and engage with different audiences, through multiple opportunities to test your work, such as internal and external pop-up shows and exhibitions, open studios, and test spaces.
• Get gallery-ready and showcase your final project in a real exhibition space alongside students from our 12 art and design degrees. The Art and Design Degree Show is your chance to introduce friends, family, prospective employers and the general public to your work.

Deepen your knowledge of the business environment and your understanding how organisations operate. Discover how and why businesses innovate and why enterprise is critical in the marketplace. Prepare for a career in the world of business and improve your professional and business communication skills.

Designed as a one or two year top-up programme, BA (Hons) Business provides an opportunity for students some prior higher education or relevant work experience to be employable, enterprising and well equipped for lifelong learning and the professional world through a combination of academic analysis and the development of a broad range of key personal, cognitive/intellectual, transferable, practical and employment skills.

Key features

• Study this course over two years (Level 5 and 6) or one year (Level 6 only). Providing a route for students from a range of business foundation degrees (and equivalent) to top up to Honours. The two year programme offers students the opportunity to undertake a placement between their first and second year.   
• Our innovative one or two year course embraces a broad spectrum of industry relevant modules and is especially attractive to students who wish to build a career in business. We aim to provide students with the ability to exercise personal responsibility and decision-making in the competitive world of business.
• Develop an appreciation of the dynamic marketplace in which businesses operate and the implications of this for business decisions and organisational culture.
• All undergraduate modules within Plymouth Business School have integrated within them a CV building activity, for example, through micro-credentialing; real world problem-based learning; or embedded direct employer activity.
• Benefit from academic staff with strong relevant industrial and academic experience and tutors who not only provide excellent teaching but also great pastoral care.

90% of world trade is carried by sea, with a navigation and maritime science degree you can become a professional in this exciting and vital industry. Our graduates go on to careers in the shore-based maritime sector and, for those who follow the accredited route, to become a Ships Officer. Our degrees are accredited by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and the Merchant Navy Training Board. You will study an exciting programme that develops the skills sought by employers across the sector.

You can increase your employability with an optional one-year industrial placement in a relevant maritime business or, if sponsored, work at sea towards the professional qualification of Officer of the Watch. We embed our full mission bridge simulator and sailing vessel in the teaching of this challenging applied degree. By studying with us, you will develop the skills required to join the next generation of leaders in the maritime sector.

Key Features

• Lay strong foundations for your successful career in the maritime sector. Our students go on to work in a diverse range of maritime industries. Whether you aspire to be a professional navigator, a marine manager or yacht racer, the world’s oceans could literally unfold before your eyes. 
• Distinguish yourself with a degree that’s accredited by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, as well as the Merchant Navy Training Board*.
• Immerse yourself in the latest technology; we've equipped our Marine Navigation Centre with an advanced full mission ship simulator and the latest in electronic charts.
• Develop your 'sea-sense' with hands-on experience on our dedicated 13 metre sail and navigation training vessel 'Take The Helm' on Plymouth Sound. If qualified and approved, you'll be able to skipper the vessel yourself.
• Ensure you have the practical, communication and problem-solving skills employers are looking for. With a mixture of lectures, tutorials, and practicals featuring group and individual problem-based learning.
• Many of our students gain sponsorship from shipping companies or training providers. In many cases sponsorship becomes available to students already on our programme.  
• Students may also receive funding towards tuition fees and living expenses from the sponsoring company, greatly reducing costs. They go to sea as trainee officers to gain practical experience from a seagoing placement year.

Bring your creativity to the world of computer games. Learn 3D modelling, 2D art and animation, level design and gameplay coding. Games industry experts will guide you through all aspects of game design and development, building a full understanding of the game creation process and allowing you to specialise in the areas you find most engaging.

Key Features

• Learn 3D modelling with industry-standard software like Maya, Blender, ZBrush and Substance Painter.
• Hone your 2D art and animation skills, using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Animate and After Effects.
• Create epic level designs in Unity and Unreal Engine.
• Develop your coding skills with C# and Blueprints.
• Taught by industry experts, with a focus on preparing you for a career in the games industry.
• Amazing national and international field trips to gaming expos and festivals, such as meeting professionals from top games studios at EGX Rezzed in London and exploring immersive gameplay Amsterdam.
• Explore sound design, narrative and game design theory, and study the psychology of games and gamification.
• Access to the latest hardware, including high-spec gaming PCs and VR headsets.
• Get a head-start in the industry with an optional placement year (for example, one of our students has secured a placement at Criterion Games).
• Get ready for a career as a game artist, 3D modeler, game designer, level designer or gameplay coder, joining Plymouth graduates who have gone on to work at the world's top games companies including Electronic Arts, Frontier Developments and Bossa Studios.
• We annually review the skills, software and hardware we teach, to ensure the course is always up to date.
• Our dedicated lab space is open until 10pm, other amazing facilities, include our 35-seat, 360° immersive vision theatre, VR kits, graphics tablets, game controllers, 3D printers and even an extensive collection of boardgames.
• Teaching and learning are practical and project-based - sometimes working individually, and sometimes in teams.
• Your assessments are 100 per cent coursework – no exams.
• No prior knowledge requirements – we teach everything from the ground up (but if you do already have art and coding skills, we can’t wait to see how much further you can take them with our help!).

Lack of physical activity and poor diet increasingly contribute to obesity and chronic diseases. This course will give you an insight into the key disciplines that relate exercise and nutrition to health. You’ll also develop the practical skills, critical awareness and proficiencies required for professional competence. You’ll graduate ready for employment in the food or fitness industries, health promotion, lifestyle education or public health.

You will benefit from a course accredited by the Association for Nutrition which allows graduates to apply for direct entry onto the register of Associate Nutritionists. You’ll develop practical skills, critical awareness and proficiencies required for professional competence. You can enhance your career prospects by taking an optional placement year. You will also have the opportunity to earn a Level 3 Personal Training award.

Key Features

• Study with the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and benefit from strong links with Faculty of Health and Human Sciences and School of Psychology.
• Benefit from accreditation by the Association for Nutrition which allows graduates  to apply for direct entry onto the register of Associate Nutritionists.
• Boost your employability by taking the option to complete a professional work placement.
• Develop practical skills, critical awareness and proficiencies required for professional competence.
• Gain a strong foundation in the major disciplines underpinning exercise and nutritional sciences.
• Experience interdisciplinary teaching that addresses contemporary issues in lifestyle-related health.
• Gain a positive learning experience within a work setting that will support your studies and future employability – the school offers 12 work placements between Stage 2 and the final year of your programme.
• Further your learning to postgraduate level and set yourself up for careers in dietetics, physiotherapy, cardiac rehabilitation, exercise physiology and other health and sports related careers.
• Take the opportunity to earn a Level 3 Personal Training award.
• Ten research summer placements are available between the first and second year and 20 between the second and final year. These competitive placements are available for students who demonstrate excellent performance in their studies and allow students to gain valuable research experience within the Biomedical Research Group.

Experience an academic year working in emergency care and gain an intercalated degree at the same time with the BSc (Hons) in Urgent and Emergency Care. Learn skills that will enable you to work flexibly as a healthcare professional across traditional boundaries to meet the needs of the healthcare community, whilst developing as a competent and adaptive practitioner, with specialist and transferable skills.

You will explore opportunities to set up placements within your locality helping you with the cost of living and development of important relationships in settings where you may like to work in the future. You’ll experience working in genuinely challenging clinical environments. You will also get prepared to lead teams in the future with a specific module on management and leadership, and practice skills that will be essential as you progress to becoming a consultant.

Key Features

• Study with the only university to offer an intercalated degree in emergency care in the UK
• Explore opportunities to set up placements within your locality helping you with the cost of living and development of important relationships in settings where you may like to work in the future
• Experience working in genuinely challenging clinical environments; real-life experiences mean meaningful education
• Get to grips with working and studying with a multi-professional team and all the insight that brings
• Prepare to lead teams in the future with a specific module on management and leadership
• Practice skills that will be essential as you progress to becoming a consultant
• Deepen your research and audit knowledge, helping you to decide (with your emergency department mentor) what area of emergency care you will develop an audit in
• Choose from a range of optional modules including paediatrics and mental health.