Design courses in general and academic design
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Written by Robert on May 26, 2008 – 1:13 am
Design courses in general and academic design courses in particular are not only extremely complex and varied, but also differ greatly from country to country.
Furthermore, the professional title of “designer” is hardly protected in any way, so that anyone is entitled, in principle, to call him- or herself a designer. The completion of a design course is therefore very important as evidence of genuine professionalism.
Design education is offered at many levels, from preuniversity courses held at high schools and evening schools, to training organizations that prepare students primarily in the field of graphic design, to Ph.D. level study at competitive universities. It is important to note that the place where a designer receives a recognized professional education is generally in the higher education of universities and colleges.
Design-degree courses typically run at technical colleges, art colleges or academies, universities of all types, and at colleges of design. (These institutions have different names in different countries; the names themselves say little about the quality of the courses.) The use of design-degree terminology is confusing and there are specific variations country-to-country and even within countries.
Course-entry requirements, structure, and duration together with the relative emphasis a programplaces on conceptual, strategic, theoretical, skill-based, managerial, and general education are the best guide to the general tendency of a program. Following is a basic and broad overview of the major degree types.
A great variety of degree names and levels exists particularly in Australia, most Asian countries, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Latin America, and the United Kingdom. In these countries, lowlevel skill-based courses have such titles as “Certificate,” “Advanced Certificate,” “Diploma,” and “Advanced Diploma.” Typically these qualifications lead to either further study or trade-level positions. In the United States there are “Associate Degrees,” often taught in technical and community colleges for four semesters, that are also generally skill-based programs. We will not discuss these degrees, as they do not meet the professional and conceptual level a designer needs to be a “full designer.”
The bachelor’s degree in most countries is the degree that offers the beginnings of a genuine, rounded education in design. It should be noted that progressively the basic configuration of a bachelor undergraduate degree and a master’s graduate degree is becoming the norm around the world. Continental European design degrees have traditionally been based on the eight- to ten-semester diplomroughly equivalent to the M.A. (Master of Arts) or something in between the B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) and M.A.)offered by art academies, universities of applied sciences, as well as by polytechnic and by general universities. Although the traditional diplom is still in evidence, the European Union is increasingly requiring the standardization of degrees to reflect the Anglo-Saxon system of bachelor and master’s degrees as a result of the Bologne agreement.
Although many different types of educational programs have entrance examinations and special aptitude tests, the nature of such tests, the number of applicants, and the applicants’ chances of success differ considerably. At an academy of art and design in southern China, for instance, some 60,000 people apply each year to study design (with about 1,000 places available). This situation demands a very formal entrance examination.
At other colleges with fewer applicants, the applicants are called upon to submit portfolios showing examples of their work (drawings, sketches of their ideas, and so on). These are supposed to show whether they possess a “talent” for studying design. Those considered to be the best are sometimes invited by a commission, usually composed of professors, to complete further tasks, such as drawing a technical object, representing it in a different manner, or undertaking collaborative work.
Some colleges no longer expect candidates to submit portfolios and give applicants home tests instead, in which they are expected to work conceptually and display a wealth of ideas. The best candidates are then invited, in a procedure resembling that adopted by companies and agencies, to a carefully planned interview. Procedures and selection processes vary from college to college and from country to country, and depend on the college’s or teacher’s conceptions of how a design course ought to be: whether it ought to have a more practical, commercial, or theoretical bias.
The number of places available will also be affected by the relevant financial and policy situation: private colleges, whose financing may be more heavily dependent on student fees, may grow more aggressively than government-funded schools which typically have a specified quota.
The master’s degree is the most common graduate design degree internationally (Europe and Australia, much of Asia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South America, and the United Kingdom). A key difference in master’s degrees is the relative weighting of research training to advanced coursework. In some countries there is a separate master’s degree for research and for coursework while in others they tend to be variously combined in the one degree.
Again the naming standards vary so it is best to look closely at the content to determine the relative weighting of the research thesis to determine the true nature of the program. Design degrees that attach more importance on specialization do so either because they believe that the demands placed on designers reflect these specializations, or because they consider it impossible to train individual students for the full complexity of design.
This approach is becoming ever more closely linked with another reality facing design colleges of this type: marketing and branding. For design colleges, as well as higher education institutions in general, it is becoming increasingly important to identify unique characteristics that they can use in the competitive international struggle to create appealing images as well as attract sponsors, research funds, and students. Hence, these colleges are continuously developing new courses and specialize in niche curricula.
Both sides have their share of successes. There is still considerable potential for development here, as the tendency for design colleges to offer ever more advanced training shows. A growing number of students from other disciplines are now taking continuation courses or “career-changing” degrees (which include master’s courses in some cases).
They will have completed courses in other subjects and now want to deepen their knowledge offer specialize indesign. This option may be attractive to people with prior degrees in economics, engineering, cultural studies, and so on. This is also reflective of an increasing awareness of the importance of “life-long learning.”
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