Contemporary Design Crafts

About

The role of craft is continually evolving. Combining innovative processes with traditional skills and hands on making, our students develop specialist materials knowledge alongside visual language skills. You will be encouraged to challenge the traditional notions of design-craft, by investigating a wide variety of processes and exploring new ways of working with materials, objects and ideas. We support collaborative working across a range of disciplines, understanding how this can lead to exciting innovation and prepare students to forge new paths as independent makers, designers and entrepreneurs. This course blends new design principles and an innovative approach to process, together with material knowledge and craft skills developed through hands-on making. You will explore an ongoing dialogue between materials, process and ideas whilst advancing your skills within our specialist workshops. With regular sessions in wood, metal, ceramic and textiles you will develop expertise in key making practices. You will be invited to respond to a rich and varied range of subjects including cultural, ethical and environmental issues. By taking part in a series of external projects you will improve your ability to create objects within a critical framework, be self-reflective and professional. Wider Links Over your three years of study, you will be given the opportunity to develop your professional networks through a variety of collaborations, live briefs and industry experience. With access to some of the most exciting makers and thinkers working within the world of design and craft today, you will gain the knowledge to develop and apply your skills across a wide variety of different contexts. After this Course You will be fully equipped with the skills and experience to become a self- employed designer-maker and follow a portfolio career path. Our graduates also find employment within the creative sector, pursuing careers within both contemporary and traditional craft industries. Graduate destinations frequently include cultural sector employment, arts administration, curation, museum and heritage, postgraduate study and teaching. Highlights 1. This is a practice based degree with plenty of time in workshops. 2. Individual design spaces with unrivalled access to teaching staff. 3. Masterclasses with leading craft professionals. 4. Regular trips include a yearly international visit previously, Berlin, Rome, Barcelona, Paris and Venice. 5. Graduate work shown at New Designers, the UK's most important exhibition for emerging craft and design. 6. Bespoke professional practice

Requirements

Entry Requirements

UCAS Tariff - 80 points
We would normally expect applicants to have achieved 80 UCAS Tariff Points at entry but whilst qualifications are important, our offers are not solely based on academic results and we may make offers based on other evidence of talent and suitability for the course. Portfolio submission (where applicable) and successful interview or audition are required.

Other Requirements

1Interview

2Portfolio

Fee Information

In addition to the degree fees, the nature of creative arts practice means you will need to allow for some additional costs, such as for materials you choose to use in the production of work and activities, and for trips to external events and exhibitions. The courses at HCA have been designed to minimise the impact of additional costs; all course leaders have an annual budget and some trips and materials will be fully funded by the college or heavily subsidised. However, typically, a student will choose to spend an additional £250 in the first year, £375 in the second year and £400 in their final year, depending on scale of work and materials chosen or other related costs. Students spend different amounts depending on the areas in which they specialise and individual choices. We appreciate that not all students will be able to invest the same money in their work, and staff assessing it will not judge work by the cost of materials or other resources. The college shop includes many specialist materials at good value prices and much digital equipment can be borrowed from the media stores at no cost to students. HCA students are offered an optional Adobe Creative Cloud subscription for use outside of college hours. In the 2019-20 academic year this cost was £16.24 per month. Please note Adobe Creative Cloud is provided free to use for any student working within the college. Students on all courses will also have the chance to take part in optional trips that require payments towards their costs. Again, non-attendance will not incur assessment penalties, though trips are designed to help students develop their practice. There is an optional annual cross-course residential trip abroad. In the 2019 -20 academic year, the planned trip was to Copenhagen and the cost to students was £385. This fee included a shared dormitory room, UK airport transfers, overseas airport transfer and insurance. Optional single rooms were available for an additional £200. Support Available From Hereford College of Arts The HCA Cash Bursary: is designed to benefit students who are starting Higher Education for the first time; are ordinarily resident in England; the student must be liable to pay the full £9,000 tuition fee for their course & be from a low income family (£25,000 a year or less). Each cash bursary is £1,000 which students receive in their first year only. Care Leaver Bursary: Care leavers will receive the Cash Bursary of £1,000 in their first year, and will receive a Care Leaver Bursary of £1,000 in both their second and third year. The same eligibility criteria will apply as for the HCA cash bursary. Evidence of being a care leaver must be in the form of an original letter showing Care Leaver Status from your local authority. Partner Colleges: A first year bursary of £500 is available to students from our progression partner colleges* who have successfully completed their Level 3 or equivalent course within the last 2 academic years and progress on to a degree programme at Hereford College of Arts. *Partner Colleges include: Bath College, Belfast Metropolitan College, Bourneville, South & city College, Cirencester College, City of Bristol College, Coleg y Cymoedd, Dudley College, Gloucestershire College – ALL Campuses, Gower College, Grantham College, Halesowen College, Heart of Worcestershire College, Hereford College of Arts, Herefordshire & Ludlow College (HCT) (Ludlow College), Hereford Sixth Form College, Newent Sixth Form College, NWRC Derry, NPTC group, Plumpton College, Shrewsbury College, South Gloucestershire & Stroud College, Evesham College, Malvern Hills College, Stratford Upon Avon College, Swindon College & Worcester Sixth Form College Internal Progression Bursary: All students who have studied and successfully completed a Level 3 course within the last two academic years at Hereford College of Arts and progress to undergraduate study at HCA will be eligible to receive a bursary of £500 in their first year.