Digital Design
Our Digital Design course will equip you to shape the world we all live in. If (and this is all of us) you’ve used a website, phone app, social media or other digital interface, you’ve benefited from the work of a Digital Designer. If you have an interest in digital products or Graphic Design and want to be the next innovator in a fast changing world, this course is for you.
| Award Name | Degree - Ordinary Bachelor at UK Level 6 |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | |
| Awarding Body | Ulster University |
| NFQ Level |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Ordinary Bachelor at UK Level 6 | Ulster University |
Duration
Attendance
This is a full-time three year course with an additional, optional placement year.
Attendance to all sessions is mandatory. The course is made up of workshops, lectures, seminars, tutorials, peer review/feedback, supervised studio sessions and independent study.
It is expected that you will not only engage with the taught elements but also with independent learning in the studio. Here your individual learning can be expanded through informal conversations with your fellow students and feedback from staff.
Entry Requirements
Irish Leaving Certificate
96 UCAS tariff points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at higher level) to include English at H6 if studied at Higher level or O4 if studied at Ordinary Level.
Careers / Further progression
Graduate employers
Graduates from this course are now working for:
• BBC
• IDEO
• Big Motive
• Reddit
• Rapid7
• Synechron
• Deloitte Digital
Job roles
With this degree you could become:
• UX Designer
• UI Designer
• App Designer
• Interaction Designer
• Digital Product Designer
• Web Designer
• Front End Designer
Career options
Graduates with skills in interaction design have many well-paid career opportunities available to them, these include: interaction design, web design, app design, user interface design (UI) user experience design (UX), user experience research, graphic design and digital publishing.
Design studios in Northern Ireland, the UK and beyond are staffed or run by graduates taught by the course team. Recent graduates have found employment throughout Europe, the Middle East, the USA and Australia while others have established their own successful interaction design businesses.
Those wishing to research and develop their own work to a higher level go on to pursue a Masters qualification either at the Ulster University or at other institutions in the UK and further afield. There is also the potential for entry onto a PhD.
There are also opportunities for those wishing to teach after the completion of a postgraduate teaching qualification (PgCE).
Further information
Start date: September 2024
Deadlines for on-time applications
2024 entry application deadlines
For courses starting in 2024 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If your completed application – including all your personal details and your academic reference – is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered.
16 October 2023 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry. You can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total.
31 January 2024 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – for the majority of courses.
Some course providers require additional admissions tests to be taken alongside the UCAS application, and these may have a deadline. Find out more about these tests at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/admissions-tests
Check course information in the search tool to see which deadline applies to you at the application weblink below.
Apply as soon as possible: Student funding arrangements mean that as offers are made and places fill up, some courses may only have vacancies for students from certain locations. It’s therefore really important that you apply for your chosen courses by the appropriate deadlines mentioned above, as not all courses will have places for all students.
All applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing - find out more about Clearing at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/clearing-and-results-day/what-clearing
Summary
Our Digital Design course will equip you to shape the world we all live in. If (and this is all of us) you’ve used a website, phone app, social media or other digital interface, you’ve benefited from the work of a Digital Designer.
If you have an interest in digital products or Graphic Design and want to be the next innovator in a fast changing world, this course is for you.
Even better, our course is highly rated by industry professionals and our contacts with world-class companies like Google, Deloitte Digital, Square, Spotify and others mean that you’re well positioned to land a job at the end of your studies.
A degree in Digital Design will offer opportunities in a wide range of exciting and wellpaid careers, including app design and web design; user experience and user interface design; content design; digital marketing; virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR); and digital product design.
Our Digital Design graduates will develop technologies and services we haven’t even thought of yet. Here’s your chance to get in at the ground floor and shape the future.
Foundation Year
A foundation diploma year gives you the opportunity to explore a range of art and design approaches and disciplines to help you choose your undergraduate specialism.
About
Students work both individually and collaboratively in a dynamic studio environment designed to provide you with the skills required to work within a rapidly growing global industry.
With an emphasis on design, the first year equips you with a solid understanding of communication design fundamentals, both on-screen and off-screen. Projects include paper-based interaction design exercises; an introduction to the fundamentals of HTML and CSS as well as no-code website building software; an overview of data and imagery and their role in communication; and an exploration of identity and the psychology of branding, which enables you to develop a professional presence for yourself and your projects.
Year two focuses on content and user experience design and how people interact with, and use digital products. The second-year also focuses on prefessional practice, designed to introduce you to the realities of self-promotion, getting a job and equip you with the skills and thinking needed for working in the industry.
An optional placement year provides students with the opportunity to work with world-leading companies in the development of digital products or study at universities around the world.
In the final year of the course, the emphasis shifts towards self-directed study through the creation of a digital product from idea generation through to final prototype with a substantial portfolio of work and additional projects designed to ensure graduates are highly employable. Opportunities are available through strong industry links, to fund and further develop digital products beyond the course.
The course also engages students with a range of industry-led projects and international competitions designed to showcase their abilities on a world stage amongst their peers.
Modules
Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.
Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.
Year 1
Interaction Design Fundamentals
Design History
Exploring Identity
Visual Imaging and Interaction
Year 2
Content Design
Professional Practice
User Experience and Service Design
Playful Interactions
Year 3
International Academic Studies - Optional
Placement - Optional
Year 4
Major Project Prototyping
Research and Writing
Major Project
Design Presentation
Assessment methods vary and are defined explicitly in each module. Assessment can be a combination of examination and coursework but may also be only one of these methods. Assessment is designed to assess your achievement of the module’s stated learning outcomes. You can expect to receive timely feedback on all coursework assessments. This feedback may be issued individually and/or issued to the group and you will be encouraged to act on this feedback for your own development.
Coursework can take many forms, for example: essay, report, seminar paper, test, presentation, dissertation, design, artefacts, portfolio, journal, group work. The precise form and combination of assessment will depend on the course you apply for and the module. Details will be made available in advance through induction, the course handbook, the module specification, the assessment timetable and the assessment brief. The details are subject to change from year to year for quality or enhancement reasons. You will be consulted about any significant changes.
Normally, a module will have 4 learning outcomes, and no more than 2 items of assessment. An item of assessment can comprise more than one task. The notional workload and the equivalence across types of assessment is standardised. The module pass mark for undergraduate courses is 40%. The module pass mark for postgraduate courses is 50%.
Associate awards
Diploma in Professional Practice DPP
Diploma in International Academic Studies DIAS
Work placement / study abroad
In third year you are expected to spend a minimum of 25 weeks in industry. Here you are expected to work as part of the professional practice designed to acquaint you with alternative business cultures and protocols to enhance your personal and professional development.
Alternatively you can study in a wide range of approved institutions around the world.
Successful completion, obtaining a total mark of 40%, of the placement year leads to the award of the Diploma in Professional Practice (DPP) or (DPPI) International or a Diploma in International Academic Studies (DIAS) upon graduation. A mark of 70% and above will enable the award to be granted with commendation.
Ulster University,
2-24 York Street,
Belfast
BT15 1AP
T: 02870 123 456