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Furniture Design at Buckinghamshire New University - UCAS

Course summary

Why study furniture design at BNU? Our history and our future Situated in High Wycombe, our town’s rich history in furniture design and making influences our tradition design methods and contemporary teaching. You’ll be able to learn new skills and develop your unique style whilst studying in a renowned furniture town. This interdisciplinary approach, and our university Chancellor being the renowned Furniture Designer and Restorer, Jay Blades MBE, makes this course strictly unique. Taught by the industry Delivered by our experienced teaching team who boast a wealth of experience within the furniture design and making, product design, modelmaking and design visualisation industry. As industry-professionals, you’ll benefit from their industry insight and connections, gaining direct access to guest lectures, live project briefs, master classes, and plenty of networking opportunities. Industry-standard facilities Access to high standard of facilities is key to the growth and development of your practice, that’s why we have invested ample time in making your key course areas ones of excellence. We continue to develop these areas, the equipment and software you use to match current industry desires, meaning upon graduating from the course, your skillset matches what’s needed. You’ll put learnt design principles and both traditional and modern furniture design and making processes into practice in our professional-standard workshops, studio facilities and CAD suites. Here you’ll have access to state-of-art equipment and software. Here you’ll develop as a thinking-practitioner, mastering your profession and taking ownership on inventive briefs. You’ll produce 3D models, fully working prototypes, computer models and finished pieces, whilst experimenting with a range of different materials including wood, metal and mixed media. A degree for you Throughout this degree you’ll get hands-on with a range of furniture, learning the skills, techniques and methods that you’ll need to create high-standard finished pieces. Overtime you’ll develop your own unique style and speciality. In your final year you will present practical work in a range of formats to different audiences, whilst demonstrating an ethical and professional standard of practice in your design-related work. You’ll have the opportunity to exhibit your design and finished products to industry-professionals from a range of design and art focused sectors. Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers. What will I study? This Furniture Design course embeds furniture design and devising innovating approaches and practices to reflect the exciting developments that define the contemporary furniture industry today. At the core of this degree is skills and understanding of techniques, materials, historical and cultural contexts, sustainable design and developing a professional profile. By working through sequences of contemporary and interdisciplinary projects, you will acquire a wide range of creative and technical skills which enable you to complete design projects from concept to final presentation, and help you become a ground-breaking practitioner of furniture design. You’ll also develop your understanding of the impact of technology and the wider social, and political and environmental issues impacting the design and production industries today. As well as this you’ll learn about the requirements needed to operate as a sole trader.

Modules

Year one Core Modules Craft Skills Materials and Processes Design Communication Sustainable Practice Critical and Historical Thinking Year two Core Modules Testing, Jig construction and Prototyping Advanced Materials and Technology Design Visualisation Professional Studies for Furniture Design Sustainable Design Year three Core Modules Furniture Design and Manufacture Professional Practice Creative and Professional Development Contextual Report on Practice Final Major Project

Assessment method

In your cohort you will work with other students from related 3D Design programmes where there is benefit from sharing common modules. This will enhance your learning experience and enable participation in a wide set of opportunities to strengthen your knowledge and skills, producing a versatile and responsive graduate suitable to adapting to changing future facing demands. As a BA (Hons) Furniture Design student you’ll have to complete a series of contextual modules and projects. These are designed to present new challenges to you, helping you become a problem-solver and specialist within furniture design as you progress through the course. They involve working with varied briefs, clients, and requirements. By the end of your time with BNU, you’ll benefit from a full portfolio of work to go to employers with. You’ll also benefit from lectures, 1:1 or small group tutorials, seminars that enable open discussions, guided research and reading, group critiques and self-directed study. We also aim to provide industry brief opportunities for you to apply your knowledge, skills and understanding into real-world contexts. The theoretical underpinning of practice encourages the development of critical perspectives in relation to the history and language of design.


How to apply

Application codes

Course code:
FU02
Institution code:
B94
Campus name:
Buckinghamshire New University
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

International applicants

For information about applying to Buckinghamshire New University as an International applicant, please visit https://www.bucks.ac.uk/study/international

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements


Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
80%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
85%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £9250 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 Year 1
Scotland £9250 Year 1
Wales £9250 Year 1
Channel Islands £9250 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9250 Year 1
EU £15150* Year 1
International £15150* Year 1

*This is a provisional fee and subject to change.

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Most courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. You could benefit from financial support through a bursary or scholarship during your time as a student. For more details visit our financial support, bursaries and scholarships section.

Sponsorship information

Buckinghamshire New University offers a range of bursaries and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.bucks.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/financial-support-bursaries-and-scholarships

Furniture Design at Buckinghamshire New University - UCAS