About Surface Pattern Design, MA - at University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Course Overview

The Contemporary Dialogues portfolio offers an exciting and innovative re-thinking of Postgraduate provision that reflects the strategic thinking of Swansea College of Art. The portfolio facilitates migration between diverse thematic disciplines, exploring new ideas and conceptual approaches to allow young artists and designers to confront the issues that face society today and into the future.

The portfolio's ethos of collaborative dialogues through material practices provides an innovative model of design, fine and applied arts education. This development allows students from all pathways to experience and share creative practices and innovative mind-sets through inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary dialogues. This ethos is enhanced within each programme to stimulate 'collaborative' practices and experimentation across a broader spectrum of specialist fields, developing graduates with the contextual awareness, creative thinking and technical skills to operate at the forefront of their discipline.

During the course of your studies you will be supported by specialist staff, leading professionals and practicing artists through lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. We have exceptional traditional and digital facilities, housed in spacious purpose-build workshops. Through these, we encourage creative freedom within all of our students and support you in challenging conventional thinking and established practices and facilitate new technological advances across a broad range of disciplines. We have found that through collaborative experimentation and innovative design thinking our students are able to produce work that meets the challenges and respond to the demands of the 21st century.

Facilities include:

• Firing kilns for glass and ceramics
• Printmaking, Screen Printing and Digital Textile Technologies
• Traditional and Digital Stitch
• Wood, Metal, Clay
• Cutting Etching and Engraving Technologies - Waterjet, Laser, Plotter
• 3D Printing and CNC
• Chemical and Digital Darkrooms
• Specialist computer facilities with commercial standard software

Key Features

MA Surface Pattern Design will provide a design-focused and student-led experience with its main aims to enhance creativity, innovation, design, making skills, advance contextual understanding and employability.

The multi-disciplinary programme will appeal to recent graduates of our own undergraduate programme and graduates of similar courses; to those wishing to change careers within the creative industries or to those wishing to revisit academia and the subject area.

Students will have a designated studio space and access to the existing Surface Pattern workshops and specialist facilities.

Students will benefit from a strong practice based grounding in the key areas of traditional and digital surface pattern design before exploring the wider possibilities that the MA portfolio will offer to advance their practice.

Modules

Core Modules

• Collaborative Dialogues (20 credits) ?
• Co-Existent Perspectives (20 credits) ?
• The Thought Experiment (20 credits) ?
• Explorative Research Praxis ?(60 credits) ?
• Confirmative Praxis (60 credits) ?

International

Erasmus

During your time with us you will have the opportunity to study abroad with the Erasmus exchange programmes currently running with Universities in Norway, Barcelona and Sweden.

Study Abroad

Students can also take up the opportunity to study a semester in the USA and Canada.

For more information please click here.

Course Tutor(s)

• Angela Maddock
• Georgia McKie

Assessment

The main modes of assessment used on this programme are; studio projects, written assignments and seminar presentations.

Assessment at postgraduate level is reflected by your ability to reformulate and use relevant methodologies and approaches to address problematic situations that involve many interacting factors. It includes taking responsibility for planning and developing courses of action that initiate or underpin substantial change or development, as well as exercising broad autonomy and judgement. It should also reflect an understanding of the relevant theoretical and methodological perspectives and how they affect your area of study or work.

Career Opportunities

We strive to ensure a sustainable future in Surface Pattern for our graduates through a rigorous programme underpinned by skills in employability, creative enterprise and professional studies.

There are opportunities to undertake work placements and address live briefs. Most recently our students have completed briefs with M&S, Tigerprint, Hallmark and Freshwest design companies.

Students are encouraged to establish links with industry and engage in collaborative projects. There is also the option to study abroad with the Erasmus programmes currently running with Universities in Barcelona, Norway and Sweden.

The programme has an excellent track record in design competitions, awards and industry events such as Indigo (Paris) and New Designers.

Graduates from the Surface Pattern programmes have been extremely successful and continue to be recruited in a highly competitive market. Employment roles for graduates from the programme are varied and wide reaching and include:

Freelance working for textiles for fashion studio, fashion brands, designers, retail, interiors studios, on bespoke commissions for clients, producing own name products, large-scale design retail operation. Also formal employment as textiles designer, designer within design brand or retail operation, Stylist, Trend forecasting, Buyer for design related operations, Visual Merchandising. Also employment within arts organisation, museum, gallery, Curator, Self-employed designer maker supplying galleries, retail outlets, selling through high-end craft events, or own website.

The range of placement and employment destinations is extensive and diverse, as can be seen from the selected examples below:

Studio Placements and Freelance

Bay and Brown - London

Kath-Kath Studio - London

Whiston and Wright - London

Tom Cody - new York and London

Amanda Kelly - London

Design for brands, design houses

John Lewis

Paperchase

M&S

Tigerprint

Monsoon

Graham and Brown

Sanderson

Hallmark

Joules

Art House

V&A

Trend forecasting companies

Write on Trend

WGSN

Trend Bible

Further Information

'PTES (Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey) 2015 - 100% Satisfaction?

Related Courses

• BA (Hons) Surface Pattern Design (Maker)
• MDes Surface Pattern Design (Maker)
• MA Textiles

Additional Costs

Our students have access to a diverse range of equipment and resources, which in most cases are sufficient to complete their programme of study. We provide the basic materials necessary for students to develop their practical work within our extensive workshop and studio facilities. However, it is likely that art and design students will incur some additional costs to extend their investigation of their personal practice. For example, purchasing their own specialised materials and equipment, joining in optional study trips, and printing.

---

Entry requirements for this course

Contact University of Wales Trinity Saint David to find course entry requirements.

---

View all courses at University of Wales Trinity Saint David

---

Related information

Other universities in Swansea Studying in United Kingdom