Unit 1 - Exploring and understanding research led practice
This unit is an introduction to your course, the college and the university.
- Inductions to learning resources and workshops.
- To make a presentation of your previous portfolio and share and exchange the ideas and techniques used with your new peers.
- The Unit 1 brief defines a sequence of short activities and exercises to support the clarification and on-going definition of your own research interests. The direction of your research will emerge from an idea of what aspect of spatial practice you are particularly interested in exploring across the year.
- We will suggest a route through a part of the city for students to undertake an observational and spatial investigation as a basis for contextualising and testing ideas.
- We will discuss options and approaches to start and progress a structured method of research. This will allow students to develop a research led proposal supported by theory and practice.
- To regularly engage in smaller group and year cohort discussions, presentations and tutorials. These will look in depth at how progress is being made and open new avenues of exploration.
- To develop and produce a portfolio of work and a written submission at the conclusion of the unit. This is a collection of all activities across the unit.
- We aim to run several live projects with partners and students will be invited to take part as an option. We also have more regular collaborations that students can choose to join. These will vary year to year.
- Students in Unit 1 will undertake peer to peer activities with the finishing cohort on their Unit 3.
Unit 2 - Contextualising research led practice
This unit is about situating your work relative to other practitioners and the world we find ourselves in. It asks students to position themselves and their proposals within the broader social and professional context
- To refine and focus your research led proposal through tests and experiments. These may be in the field, conceptual, digital or physical as appropriate.
- To define a clear direction and parameters for your practice and writing. It is important to recognise that the timescales available mean that a suitable depth of work will only arise from a focused area of study within a broad topic.
- To produce studio practice based developmental work and submit a portfolio and a second extended written paper covering all work across unit 2 with a summary of unit 1 to allow a full understanding of how the proposals evolved.
- A collaborative activity with other MA design courses in order to share and discuss techniques and approaches with other design disciplines.
- Smaller group and year cohort seminars, presentations and tutorials.
Unit 3 - Realisation of research led practice
This final unit of the course is about taking the final steps toward resolving and presenting your research and proposal developments through your on-going practice. The aim is to fully communicate the body of work you have undertaken in a manner that is appropriate to the nature of your project.
- To demonstrate how you have developed and evolved your practice as a model for exploring and reflecting on contextual and theoretical perspectives.
- The final 5000 word written submission is timed to allow students to receive feedback on the theoretical positioning and explanation of expected practical outcomes prior to their final production of work and its submission.
- The conclusion of the unit is a submission of portfolios or books covering the scope of the project across the year. This is undertaken as part of the final presentation of work, whether online or physical, that provides a method to share and disseminate the explorations and findings to a wider audience.
- The nature of individual projects will have a significant impact on the appropriate final output. Past projects have included online or physical final exhibitions with drawings, models, installations, video work or performance.
- All submissions need to demonstrate a clear and developed connection between the theoretical position of the written research with the precedents and testing and design outcomes of your practice.
Note: 120 Credits must be passed before the final unit is undertaken.
