Course units
We are committed to ensuring that your skills are set within an ethical framework, and we have worked to embed UAL’s Principles for Climate, Racial and Social Justice Principles into the curriculum and in everything we do.
As part of this initiative, we’ve shaped our courses around social and environmental sustainability principles that ensure learning outcomes reflect the urgent need to equip you with the understanding, skills, and values to foster a more sustainable planet. Our aim is to change the way our students think, and to empower you to work towards a sustainable future.
Unit 1: The Practice of Responsible AI
This core unit establishes critical foundations for responsible AI practice. You'll explore AI systems as cultural and political artefacts, examining bias, labour conditions, environmental impact, and governance frameworks. Through hands-on workshops, you'll interrogate commercial platforms (image synthesis, LLMs, audio tools) while building technical fluency. Ethics, provenance, and explainability are embedded in practical exercises, ensuring you can critically evaluate AI tools within your creative discipline. The unit culminates in a reflective portfolio demonstrating your ability to apply responsible AI principles to real-world creative challenges.
Unit 2: Elective Unit
Choose from a curated selection of specialist MAs across LCC's Design, Screen and Media schools. This flexibility allows you to deepen your disciplinary expertise while applying responsible AI methods to your specific practice area—whether graphic design, animation, filmmaking, interaction design, or photography. Each elective unit offers discipline-specific seminars and tutorials, enabling you to contextualise AI within established creative frameworks. This unit ensures your AI practice remains grounded in disciplinary depth.
Unit 3: Collaborative Brief
Working in interdisciplinary teams, you'll tackle a live industry or community challenge involving AI and creative practice. This unit mirrors professional workflows, requiring you to negotiate technical, ethical, and creative decisions across disciplinary boundaries. Past briefs have included developing responsible AI strategies for cultural institutions, creating transparent generative design systems, and prototyping AI tools with provenance tracking. You'll present your work to external stakeholders, receiving feedback from both industry partners and academic reviewers. The unit develops collaboration, project management, and communication skills essential for leadership roles in AI-enabled creative industries.
Unit 4: Final Major Project
Your FMP is a self-directed practice-based project that demonstrates your ability to lead responsible AI innovation in your chosen field. You'll produce a substantial artefact, performance, or publication alongside a critical commentary exploring the ethical, technical, and creative decisions underpinning your work. Previous projects have included AI-assisted documentary filmmaking with consent frameworks, generative design systems for inclusive public spaces, and critical prototypes exposing bias in image synthesis tools. You'll present your work at a public exhibition, engaging with industry, academic, and public audiences. This unit prepares you for professional practice as a responsible AI leader.
