Curriculum Information

Document Version

QAA Benchmarks

Educational Aim

Learning Outcomes

Course Structure

Level 4 Modules

Level 5 Modules

Level 6 Modules

Teaching and Assessment

Learning and Teaching Methods

Employer Engagement

Visiting Speakers

Masterclass Days are a highlight of the academic year. Each year a variety of Production Designers, Art Directors are brought in to talk about their roles within industry. This gives students a direct insight into this specialised area of Film and Tv Art Departments.

In 2018/19 speakers included.

Oct 2018. Danny Clark.Danny graduated from the course in 2010 and has since worked on Feature Film Art departments including Anna Karenina, Wonder Woman, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Star Wars franchise.

Nov 2018. Penny Harvey. Production Designer. Casualty

Dec 2018. Arwel Wyn Jones. Production Designer Dr. Who. Sherlock.

Dec 2018. Masterclass event at Bad Wolf Studios in Cardiff with three graduates of the course who are currently working on His Dark Materials at Bad Wolf.

January 2019 Joel Collins. Production Designer. His Dark Materials, Black Mirror.

Feb 2019. Peter Bingemann. Light Entertainment Production Designer..

A range of speakers will be invited from related disciplines as well as cognate areas such as technology, animation, business and special effects.

The course is contained in the Design and Digital group within Faculty of Creative Industries. The Faculty regularly invites inspirational speakers from the worlds of TV, film, music, theatre, games and beyond, and all students are encouraged to attend these. In addition, other faculties within USW often host speakers from a range of specialist areas which students may attend.

All students are encouraged to keep any eye on announcements from the University, and to connect with the internal USWVAS network and develop their own professional networks.

Volunteering

Students are actively encouraged to engage with the USW careers service which includes volunteering opportunities, workshops and events.

Fieldwork

This gives students an opportunity to engage with external organisations within fieldwork based exercises. This will be a key opportunity to engage with non-University personnel and build a broader network for future research.

Fieldtrips

The course promotes a range of fieldtrips and discounted entry for industry events.

In addition, there are opportunities throughout the course to participate in international trips which are part of Faculty wide excursions.

There is an additional fee for international trips, and they depend on uptake from students to proceed. In all cases, trips for which fees are required are not compulsory.

Work Placements

Students are encourages to explore opportunities for work placements, which can take a variety of forms, from vacation-based work to in-term activities which must be planned carefully to ensure they are able to fulfil the requirements of modules.

The Professional Project module has been designed to provide live briefs and support work-placement where available, this will contribute towards learning on the course.

The Grad Edge scheme also provides addition support and recognition for students that undertake work-based activities.

Work-based Learning

\\Students engage in live-brief project which allows for students to work within a simulated setting or work-placement (where available)

Sandwich Years

The course does not offer a formal sandwich year at the time of writing but this will be kept under review.

Employer Forums

The course team maintain a regular dialogue with a range of local and national employers and associations, including those from beyond the traditional design industry. The Faculty of Creative Industries has a formal employer forum which contributes to course and extra-curricular developments.

Means of Assessment

Portfolio

Oral Assessment

Written Assignment

Creative Designs / Art

Learning Support

Induction

Students will be given a full induction to the course in their first week to help them plan their studies and understand how the university works. The first module forms an ‘immersive learning’ experience which aims to develop core skills for the rest of the course, and includes activities that help students become familiar with the course, university and city and the world of TV & Film Set Design and Production

Personal tutor

Students will be allocated a Personal Academic Coach (PAC) who follows their academic progress throughout the course, and gives pastoral guidance where appropriate.

Personal tutors may change to reflect changes in staffing, or to ensure the best support within the Personal Academic Coaching system.

Office hours

The course team will inform students when they are available for drop-in sessions to discuss course work or other issues. The course team is available throughout the week during standard office hours, typically within the TV & Film Set Design studios.

Tutorials

A tutorial is a one-to-one or several-to-one discussion with a tutor to discuss progress on a module. Each module may be delivered in different ways depending on the content. The nature of the creative process means that contact needs to be flexible, so tutorials may, for example take the form of informal trouble-shooting sessions within the games studios. Tutorials for the Dissertation modules are normally provided by an allocated supervisor, usually someone who has expertise in the particular area of study.

Seminars

A seminar is normally a many-to-one discussion with a tutor in which a small group of students can discuss their progress together. This is often more beneficial as students get an opportunity to see what other students are doing, and will build their confidence in providing constructive support to others. This format of learning is particularly well suited to the theoretically based modules within the course.

Formative Assessment

Some modules will provide the opportunity to submit work for feedback (e.g. a first draft of a piece of written work). The nature of the studio environment means that students will regularly receive formative feedback on their work in a less formal way – during seminars and workshops, for example. More formal examples of formative assessment and feed-forward are provided during project

Progress meetings

Team projects depend heavily upon regular group milestone meetings, these are facilitated by the module’s teaching team and cover aspects such as planning, progress, critique and the monitoring of individual contributions to the project.

Research Supervision

For some modules, e.g. Dissertations and final projects, where students are expected to be working largely independently, they will be allocated a supervisor who will guide them throughout their research. Students and staff will keep in touch using a variety of methods including email, studio practice and meetings. Some may operate ‘office hours’ for drop-in discussions while others may schedule meetings with students.

Online Resources

As well as the course VLE (virtual learning environment) where learning materials and module handbooks are disseminated, the course team uses a variety of methods to provide and links to online resources including: vendor-specific learning materials, course blogs, Twitter feed, and the USW Games YouTube channel. Students are encouraged to develop their own online presence and to share useful resources with others. Professional collaboration tools such as: Basecamp, Trello, Google Docs and Discord are used to support team working and project management.

Advice Centres

The Student Advice Zone is in the Library on the ground floor of the Cardiff campus. Students can have most queries answered here, or make an appointment to see a specialist advisor on matters relating to finance, health and wellbeing, as well as support with study skills.

DDS Service

The Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDS) provides a confidential and professional service where students can discuss individual requirements.

USW is committed to providing a quality support service.

IT/Library

IT and media resources are a common thread behind many of the activities which help to enhance students’ learning experience, such as their online student account (giving access to email, printing and payments and more), UniLearn (the online learning environment), open access to computers on each campus, printing services, and media equipment.

USW has a strong commitment to providing technology-based learning environments to support students. Whether studying on campus, at home or elsewhere, students have web access to their course materials anytime and anywhere.

The recently refurbished Library is where students can get the help of librarians who can offer advice on finding resources for their course. The library contains a wide range of books including copies of every set or recommended text for each of their modules. USW also provides access to journals related to the discipline so students can keep up to date with the latest thinking and developments.

There is also a periodicals collection with newspapers and magazines. Many of these resources are also available digitally.

Course Exit Points

Progression Route

Graduates will be fully prepared to enter Art Departments within the Film and TV Industry. They will enter at Art Department Assistant level and then through experience progress to Assistant Art Director, Art Director and then ultimately to Production Designer, after many years within the industry.

Students may wish to study further and undertake Post Graduate study. There is currently only one Post Graduate Course in the UK in Film and TV Production Design at the National Film and TV School in Beaconsfield.

Entry Requirements

Admission to the course is typically through the following qualifications:

The entry criteria below shows the qualification range within which the University will make offers. The admissions process takes all aspects of an application into consideration and applicants receive a personalised offer. Combinations of qualifications are acceptable and other qualifications not listed here may also be acceptable.

Typical A-Level Offer

BCC - CDD to include a relevant art and design subject (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points).

Typical Welsh BACC Offer

Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C/D in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BC - CD at A Level with a relevant art and design subject (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points).

Typical BTEC Offer

BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit - Merit Merit Pass in a relevant subject (this is equivalent to 112-80 UCAS tariff points).

Typical IB Offer

Pass the International Baccalaureate Diploma with higher grades of between 655-445 to include a relevant higher subject (this is equivalent to 112-80 UCAS tariff points)

Typical Access to HE Offer

Pass the Access to HE Diploma with 60 credits overall – the credits should equate to between 106-80 UCAS tariff points (examples below)

45 Level 3 credits equating to 15 Distinctions, 24 Merits and 6 Passes in a relevant subject (106 UCAS Tariff Points)

45 Level 3 credits equating to 12 Distinctions, 6 Merits and 27 Passes in a relevant subject (80 UCAS Tariff Points)

Additional Requirements

GCSEs: The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics and English at Grade C or above, or their equivalent but consideration is given to individual circumstances

International Entry Requirements

The University welcomes international applications with equivalent qualifications. Please visit the country specific pages on the international website for exact details.

English Requirements

In general, international applicants will need to have achieved an overall IELTS grade of 6.0 with a minimum score of 5.5 in each component.

Inclusive Curriculum Statement

The University of South Wales operates a policy of inclusive learning, teaching and assessment to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to fulfil their educational potential. Course teams will have considered ways of designing out any potentially disadvantageous element of courses during the course design process. However some specific needs may remain, details about how to apply to have your needs assessed can be found at: http://unilife.southwales.ac.uk/pages/3040-disability-and-dyslexia-service/

Addendum for Delivery at a Partner Institution

N/A