Design (Study Abroad) Lancaster University

BA Design is for creative thinkers who want more than a traditional design course – it’s for people who want to challenge the present and design better futures. You’ll explore big questions about society, business, technology and the planet, tackling real-world problems and deciding on which design approaches work best rather than being limited to one type of design.

Alongside developing core design skills such as in graphics and user experience (UX) design, you'll learn how to question current ways of doing things, imagine alternatives, and propose new ways of living and interacting. You’ll learn how to design for sustainable futures, work with real clients and lead creative projects.

Taught by experts from ImaginationLancaster, our internationally recognised design-led research lab, you'll graduate with a bold portfolio, creative confidence, and skills that employers are seeking. You will be ready to begin your career in a range of settings such as in design agencies and design consultancies, tech companies, healthcare, public services and beyond.

Why Lancaster?

• Develop a future-focused, adaptable, and agile skill set that enables you to use design to address complex challenges

• Become a socially and environmentally responsible designer

• Learn from expert designer researchers and practitioners who push the boundaries of design

• Gain valuable industry experience through working on live briefs and with real-world clients

Visualise. Experiment. Create.

At Lancaster, you will work on projects that help you put this view into practice. We nurture creative experimentation, intellectual inquiry, adaptability, critical thinking and ethical awareness as well as emphasising the importance of developing design solutions that are rooted in solid design research. You will learn how to explore and frame problems, generate ideas and translate insights into exciting design outcomes, visualised to industry standards.

Explore what interests you

You will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of relevant topics at Lancaster, including (but not limited to) sustainable futures, healthier lifestyles, cultural innovation, climate action, and the impact of emerging technologies. In your final year, you’ll lead a major project of your own design, exploring your own interests and developing a solution that helps you stand out from the crowd when you graduate. From social innovation to digital futures, previous final-year projects highlight the variety of bold and innovative solutions our students design to address real-world challenges, including:

• Designing to support people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

• Creating digital and physical tools to enhance children’s language learning

• Developing a ‘wardrobe for life’ to promote sustainability

• Building an interactive device to address loneliness in older adults

• Conceptualising inclusive prison spaces for neurodivergent people

• Reimagining smart home technologies to support positive family communication

Discover your design identity

Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to explore and develop your own design identity and values. By doing this, you will graduate with a strong sense of where you want to take your design career, and you will develop your portfolio to reflect this.

To support you in planning your future career, we will help you gain professional contacts by inviting design professionals, many of whom are our alumni, to share their experiences of working in the design industry. You will also work on live briefs as well as with real clients, giving you valuable experience you can take forward into your career. In your final year, our Design Consultancy module enables you to work with a real client.

Study abroad

The study abroad option is an exciting opportunity for anyone who is thinking of working abroad during their career or who simply wants the experience of living and studying overseas as part of their degree.

Entry requirements

These are the typical grades that you will need to study this course. This section will tell you whether you need qualifications in specific subjects, what our English language requirements are, and if there are any extra requirements such as attending an interview or submitting a portfolio.

A levels

BBB

Access to HE Diploma

24 Level 3 credits at Distinction plus 21 Level 3 credits at Merit

Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales

We accept the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales in place of one A level, or equivalent qualification, as long as any subject requirements are met.

BTEC Extended Diploma

DDM

BTEC in combination with A levels

A level at grade B plus BTEC(s) at DM, or A level at grade C plus BTEC(s) at DD, or A levels at grade BC plus BTEC at D

International Baccalaureate

30 overall with 15 points from the best 3 HL subjects

Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers

We are happy to admit applicants on the basis of five Highers, but where we require a specific subject at A level, we will typically require an Advanced Higher in that subject. If you do not meet the grade requirement through Highers alone, we will consider a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers in separate subjects. Please contact the Admissions team for more information.

T levels

Merit overall

GCSE requirements

English Language grade 4/C.

We will also look at your overall GCSE profile when considering your application as a whole.

We do have flexibility when considering GCSE requirements. Go to our GCSE information for more details.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, we require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component for this programme. English language qualifications for undergraduate study.