Product Design BSc

About the Course

This BSc degree course shares all its first and second year modules with BSc Product Design Engineering, and both contain a balanced blend of creative and technical subjects where mechanics and electronics are taught at a theoretical level.

The Product Design programme combines the concepts of commercial awareness with creative thinking and sound technological reasoning. The course has a technical emphasis, meaning students can develop products that both look good and work well.

The degree also emphasises aesthetic awareness and understanding of market trends. All modules on the course have creative and project based working including graphic design, human factors and environmentally sensitive design.

Our focus is on integrating commercial awareness, technical ability and innovation.

The course suits pragmatic problem solvers who combine their numeracy with the creative motivation to underpin exciting, commercially viable projects with a deep functional and manufacturing understanding.

See what our students say about this course.

About Design at Brunel

Brunel’s Design degrees are some of the most renowned and respected in Europe and our students and graduates have won many national and international design awards. All our Honours and Master’s programmes build on a broad base of knowledge, skills and industrial experience. We view the realisation of every aspect of a concept as vital to successful design.

To enable this, we have an extensive cross-disciplinary lecturing team, including mechanical and electrical engineers, computer and materials scientists, mathematicians, psychologists, and practising designers and graphic communication experts. It is this cross-disciplinary nature that gives our students the knowledge and expertise they require, and distinguishes us from virtually every other Design and Engineering department in the UK.

All our lecturing staff are research or professionally active – sometimes both – which ensures that the content of our programmes is constantly up-to-date and evolving with the commercial worlds of both design and engineering.

Aims

The Product Design Engineering programme aims to develop versatile designers with a sound knowledge and broad understanding of the technological, manufacturing and creative aspects of design, principally focused on industrially-manufactured products.

Graduates will have significant engineering understanding and will be able to take on key roles encompassing all aspects of the design process, as well as being prepared for further research-based studies.

We believe that good design is the combination of commercial awareness with creative and inspirational thought validated by sound technological reasoning, defined through the design process. We produce communicators who are at ease working with members of engineering, design and marketing teams and appreciating their individual needs, and capable of contributing to the total design process.

Design at Brunel University has evolved to meet the needs of industry worldwide, by teaching highly motivated students, through in-depth professional studies, to become imaginative yet practical professional designers.

Enquiries

Admissions Tutor
Stephen Green

School of Engineering and Design
Brunel University
Uxbridge
Middlesex UB8 3PH

Tel: +44 (0)1895 265814
Email: design.information@brunel.ac.uk

Programme Director: Mr Paul Turnock

Special Features

• We have very close links with industry. This has many advantages for our students in terms of learning opportunities and contacts for your future career.
• Students frequently work on collaborative projects with industrial partners, including British Airways, Bentley Motors, Marks & Spencer and Samsung.
• Many students take advantage of exchange programmes that can take them to Europe, the USA and Australia.
• Design students have won many prestigious awards and gained widespread media attention for their innovative work further contributing to impressive CVs

Accreditation

All our design courses are accredited by the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED) to ensure that the courses maintain their academic and commercial relevance.  Student membership of the IED is free and encourages continuous professional development through journals and conferences.  On graduation, students are eligible for full membership, with further career and training options which can lead to Chartered Engineer status.

Facts and Figures

Engineering and Design is one of the largest Schools in the University with over 60 members of staff involved in teaching and research, an undergraduate population of over 800 and a postgraduate population of over 200.

Course Content

The first year of core modules ensures a sound understanding of the technological, creative and practical skills necessary.  At Level 3, there is a distinctive change in emphasis towards ergonomics and design for manufacture.  Final year projects often pursue consumer durable themes complemented by subjects of a more semantic nature.

Typical Modules

Level 1

• Design Process 1
• Graphic Communication
• Workshops and Materials
• Mechanics for Design
• Electronics and Mathematics

Level 2

• Design Process 2
• Design for Manufacture and Communication
• Electronics, Programming and Interfacing
• Dynamics, Mechanisms and Stress Analysis
• Level 2 Placement Year
• Professional Practice

Level 3

• Major Project (core)
• Innovation Management (core)
• Human Factors (core)
• Environmentally Sensitive Design
• Graphics
• Contextual Design
• Embedded Systems for Design

Teaching and Learning

Expert teaching
You will be taught by experts in their fields. Many of your lecturers will be internationally and nationally recognised for their innovative work.

Practical design projects
We emphasise the application of technology throughout the course, with integrated project work all levels. In the earlier part of the course, design focuses on closely defined and monitored tasks which lead to more open-ended projects in the final year. As the course progresses, students have more opportunity to develop their own individual strengths and portfolios towards the design career of their choice.

Workshops
Students are guided through a comprehensive workshop practice course as an integral part of their Level 1 studies. This gives you a grounding in production processes and a feel for materials and their potential. Most importantly, you learn the craft skills needed to construct models and prototypes later in your course. Our workshops are a pride to us and our technicians are second to none.

Lectures
These provide a broad overview of key concepts and ideas relating to your course and give you a framework from which to carry out in-depth study.

Tutorials
You will have tutorials for all project work, typically in small groups in the early part of the course, through to one-to-one tutorials in the final year. If you go on a placement you will also be allocated an industrial tutor who will help you to set objectives, monitor your progress, and provide further support if you need it. You will also have a personal tutor who is available to discuss both academic and personal problems.

Assessment

Level 1 does not count towards your final degree mark. Level 2 is worth a third, and Level 3 is worth the rest. The final year project is worth a third of Level 3 marks.

Knowledge and understanding are tested by means of a range of assessment tasks, including:

• written and multiple-choice examinations
• laboratory reports
• written coursework
• individual and group design projects
• problem-solving exercises
• oral presentation
• visual media projects
• computer programming exercises

The range of assessment methods listed above will form the basis for assessment throughout the programme. You will be expected to discuss or demonstrate the approaches and methods you used to solve design problems as well as their final solutions. In written-based activities you will be expected to have researched and critically analysed the material gathered, appropriate to the level.

Where practical skills are taught on the programme these will be assessed by coursework requiring the application of the skill in question, eg workshop skills are tested by the production of various artefacts in wood, metal and plastic, and computing skills are assessed by the generation of suitable programs or models depending on the software used.

Reports and oral presentations in various modules assess written and oral communication skills. Self-organised learning is encouraged at all levels of the programme and increases as you progress, but is mainly demonstrated through the undertaking and completion of the final year Major Project.
Group projects are used in various modules, which will show the ability of students to work in teams. Managing time and resources is demonstrated by professional standards for submitting work by specified deadlines, and late work is penalised in the mark awarded.

Employability

We have an established reputation for producing high quality graduates. Our graduates enjoy superb employment prospects and enter careers in a wide spectrum of environments, including the manufacturing, service and engineering industries, design management and consultancy companies. Many go on to set up their own businesses.

Careers

Our graduates are highly sought-after in a wide range of business sectors. As well as the prestigious companies who offer work placements to our students, employers of our graduates include:

• Accenture
• Apple Computers
• BAE
• British Telecom
• Dyson
• Eurostar
• Fitch
• Habitat
• IBM
• Land Rover
• Lego
• Microsoft
• Morgan Stanley
• Nokia
• Orange
• RNIB
• The Technology Partnership
• Virgin Atlantic

Placements

Along with the knowledge and skills built during the courses, work placements offer students direct industrial experience of working on ‘live’ design projects with some of the best companies in the world. A high percentage of students choose to take advantage of this year long work placement and this contributes to the excellent graduate employment record of our students.

Our exchange programme allows students to study in an equivalent course abroad in locations such as the USA, Milan, Hanover and Antwerp.

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £9,000 full-time

International students: £15,000 full-time

We are introducing over 700 scholarships for 2013, meaning that one in five applicants who join Brunel next year will receive financial support from the University. See our fees and funding page for full details

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements for 2013 Entry

• GCE A-level ABB, including at least Grade B in Design and Technology, Product Design, Art or Art and Design and at least Grade B Maths or Physics (General Studies and Critical Thinking not accepted).
• Irish Leaving Certificate AABBB, including Grade B in Design and Technology, Product Design, Art or Design and Grade B in Maths or Physics.
• Scottish Advanced Highers ABB, including Grade B in Design and Technology, Product Design, Art or Design and Grade B in Maths or Physics.
• Advanced Diploma Progression Diploma Grade A in Creative and Media, Engineering or Manufacturing and Product Design, plus Maths or Physics A-level at Grade C for Additional and Specialist Learning.
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma D*DD in a related subject including Maths or Physics modules.
• IBDP 33 points, including 5 in Higher level Design and Technology, Product Design, Art or Art and Design and 5 in Higher Level Maths or 5 in Higher Level Physics.
• Access Complete and pass Access to Engineering or Art and Design course with 45 credits at Level 3, of which 30 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. All Maths units must be Distinctions at level 3.

For all of the above, 5 GCSEs or equivalent at Grade C or above are also required, to include English and Maths (please note that these must have been gained by the time you submit your UCAS application).

All applicants are required to attend an interview including a portfolio review as part of the selection process before a formal offer is made.

English Language Requirements

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.