This course is now closed to international applications for September 2018 entry.

Before you apply, we recommend you take some time to read the Entry Requirements section further down this page to learn about the application process which includes detailed guidance on the extra information we will ask you to provide later in the process.

Before you apply, we recommend you take some time to read the following details about the application process, including guidance on the extra information we will ask you to provide.

When to apply

We recommend you apply by the end of May to avoid disappointment. Your application will only be considered after you have successfully completed an online application, submitted required documents and a digital portfolio.

We reserve the right to close applications earlier than the deadline above subject to spaces available.

Required information for all postgraduate courses

Before you apply, please take time to read the guidance below. You will be asked to provide the following items and upload documents when completing the online application form:

General Information

• Personal details (including legal full name, date of birth, nationality, addresses);
• Current English language level;
• Current and/or previous education and qualification details;
• Employment history;

Personal Statement

Your personal statement should give us information about yourself and why you want to join the course. (Write between 300 and 500 words)

• What are you doing at the moment educationally, professionally, personally?
• Why do you wish to study on MA Design; Ceramics, Furniture or Jewellery?
• What makes you a suitable candidate for acceptance?
• What do you think you would contribute to your peer group on the course?

Project proposal

We expect a project proposal to be 500 to 800 words long in total. The sections ‘Resources’, ‘Bibliography’ and ‘Appendix’ are in addition to this word count.

Your Background

• Using bullet points, state professional qualifications, skills, experiences, abilities and prior practice that are relevant to your proposal.

Outline Proposal

• Describe your precise area of interest and research/study you wish to undertake demonstrating your contextual knowledge;
• Describe the core of your project in three to four sentences;
• Outline the context in which your project operates answering questions such as: Why is your project relevant? Who might be its audience(s)?

Development

• Refer to specific areas, critical ideas and precedents, which underpin and frame your proposal;
• This section invites you to extend the description of your project focusing on specific areas. Particularly important is your evaluation of precedents and how you position your project in relationship to these.

Research

• Outline the sequence of practical, of theoretical and of visual research that you intend to follow;
• This section requires you to be specific about how you plan to conduct your project and where particular challenges might lie.

Evaluation

• Evaluate your work to date. Which conclusions are you are able to draw?
• Where do you think the strengths of your work lie and where are areas you might improve?

Resources

• Document resources that you have drawn on as part of your research towards your proposal including professional contacts, libraries, museums, galleries, special archives or collections;
• Document any professional contacts that might support the delivery of your project. These might be drawn from the list above and / or extend to your access to research or production facilities, potential collaborators etc.

Bibliography

• Please give clear references of any relevant documentary material including books, images, videos, objects, artworks, online sources etc.

Appendix (optional)

• This section is optional. You can insert any additional material that you consider relevant but not a core part of your project proposal;

This could be other projects, notebooks, drawings, company analyses, or additional research material.

If you do not complete all the required information or upload the necessary documents, we will not be able to proceed with your application and portfolio review.

Start your application now

The application form can be saved as you fill it out, so you do not need to complete it all at once. You will also have the chance to review all the information and make any necessary amendments before you submit the application form.

Alternatively, international applicants can apply through an overseas representative in your country.

After you have successfully submitted your application online, you will receive an email confirming your application and providing your login details for the UAL Applicant Portal.  Please do log into your applicant portal as this is where we will send you important updates and requests, as well as allowing you to contact us with any questions you may have about your application.

Immigration History Check (for International Applications only)

Whether you are applying through a UAL representative or direct application you will need to complete an Immigration History check. If you do not complete the Immigration History Check we will not be able to proceed with your application and portfolio review.

What happens next

Portfolio Review

If you meet the entry requirements you will be invited to submit a digital portfolio (up to 45 pages) through UAL’s online portfolio review system.

Your digital portfolio should demonstrate:

• The full range and level of your design, technical and practical skills;
• Your thinking and decision making in the design process;
• Your personal vision and approach to design.

Your portfolio should contain at least one fully documented design process showing:

• A project brief and your research into or interrogation of the brief (This could be a client or college brief or a brief you might have set yourself);
• Inspirations and initial ideas (where do these come from?);
• Visual and conceptual development of these ideas (sketching and/or alternative methods);
• Drawing/design of objects based on these visual/conceptual developments;
• (Iterative) model making, production and refinement of objects;
• Final product(s), object(s) and/or presentations such as exhibitions etc.

Following a review of your application and portfolio, you will either be invited for an interview or your application will be rejected via the UAL Applicant Portal.

Interview

• If you currently live in the UK, you will be invited to attend an interview at college.
• If you currently live outside the UK or unable to attend the interview in person, we can arrange a skype interview for you.

Applicants are selected for interview following submission of the application form, project proposal and supporting work.  The interview is used to evaluate the extent to which a candidate demonstrates:

• The suitability, appropriateness and deliverability of the Project Proposal in relation to the professional expertise of the staff team;
• Analytical and critical skills and the ability of the applicant to apply these to the Project Proposal;
• The quality of the design work submitted in support of the application and the 'match' between this and the Project Proposal;
• The applicant's awareness of the historical, cultural and social implications of their project;
• The resource implications of the Project Proposal and the ability of the course and the applicant to support the practical realisation of the project. All applications are reviewed by at least two of the course team.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

You will receive the outcome of your application through the UAL Applicant Portal.

Deferred entry

Please note that CSM does not accept application for deferred entry.