External summary

Design for Change is an exciting postgraduate programme fostering a new breed of designer for the 21st century. As the world undergoes massive and accelerated change, communities, cultures and societies face various complex circumstances and systems, including disruptive technologies, aging populations, economic instability, conflict and displacement, and environmental degradation. Design for Change seeks to address the complex, real world challenges these communities face through design-led interventions driven by tactical, critical, strategic and creative approaches. But how do we start to address these “wicked problems”, adapt to them, manage them, and ultimately shape our future systems and practices, helping to lead these communities towards new, potential, yet indeterminate, futures? Design for Change places an expanded notion of design at the heart of the enterprise of social, technical and environmental change and nurtures an inter-disciplinary approach to these complex circumstances. Our approach to the expanded field of design starts with understanding “designers as researchers” who weave the interstices of traditional design practices with a sense of curiosity regarding uncertainty and instability, seeking to understand the diversity of socio-cultural perspectives and practices employed by the fragile networks embedded within these significant global challenges, helping them to build new futures by iterating through ambiguity, using the practice of design to lead towards positive change.

The programme is ideal for students who are looking to broaden their existing specialist approaches from a range of disciplines with new and appropriate 21st century design skills which can be applied across a variety of intellectual and creative contexts, including sociology, engineering, business, anthropology, geography, and especially design itself.

Educational aims of programme

The programme aims to introduce students to contemporary debates and practices within the expanding field of design relevant to change in global contexts. It is a taught degree combining studio-based teaching, alongside lectures and seminars on specific topics relevant to contemporary global challenges, and pertinent to shifting notions of capitalist societies.  Taught components support and encourage students to engage with individual research directions, leading to object-oriented dissertation projects under appropriate supervision.

In this programme, students will be exposed to many of the main issues and themes of design for change. In the process they will enhance their creative, critical, and analytical skills of research, leading to contributions towards understanding design practices supporting global change . The degree is designed to provide the necessary preparation for further postgraduate research towards a doctoral degree, or a cutting edge creative and intellectual backdrop for a professional career outside academia, including consultancy, working with NGOs and external development agencies operating on the global stage.

Aims:

• To provide specialist knowledge within the fields of design practice relevant to constructing images, objects, services and systems.
• To develop an understanding of the role of design practices in fostering global change
• To integrate relevant knowledge in the fields of design, anthropology, sociology, development studies, geography and engineering
• To provide a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles of research in designing for change in a global context
• To establish a foundation for advanced creative and critical practices within contemporary design
• To develop the students' skills in analysis; synthesis and reflective evaluation in a highly interdisciplinary context.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• key theories, practices, contexts and debates in relation to design for change
• a range of appropriate creative methods, techniques and approaches in response to design-led project briefs.
• Wider debates underpinning a deep understanding of the role design plays in interdisciplinary contexts of social, technical and environmental change
• appropriate methodologies and strategies for the professional presentation, distribution and documentation of work
• the use of a range of appropriate materials, methodologies and strategies in relation to collaborative design practice across a range of disciplines
• issues-based approaches to creative and intellectual endeavour
• the appropriate use of materials and processes and their development through transparent iterative methodologies
• the role of the evaluation of original creative concepts in response to research findings through critical assessment

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in research and enquiry

Throughout the course of the programme, students acquire key abilities, including understanding:

• a range of appropriate research methods.
• the value of a variety of practical and theoretical approaches to demonstrate an investigation of set and personally initiated research themes
• of critical enquiry that leads to the visual, verbal and written communication of ideas in an analytical manner.
• issues arising from research and its role in challenging established precepts and assumptions

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal and intellectual autonomy

Throughout the course of the programme, students will develop skills in personal and intellectual autonomy, demonstrated through:

• analytical thinking skills - the ability to analysis “wicked problems” from a variety of perspectives, and to deconstruct challenging global contexts in order to reconstruct arguments and views, to assimilate and explain difficult ideas
• critical thinking skills - the ability to draw conclusions from positions or bodies of data, to question arguments and (wherever appropriate) to show their flaws, to generate alternative ideas and new solutions to problems
• independent thinking skills - the ability to approach a problem with an open mind and to address problems with an original creative approach
• synthetic skills, appropriate to a designerly led approach to assimilating data and findings from multiple sources towards speculative, critical and evidence-driven future propositions and potential solutions
• the ability to distinguish between validity and soundness, and to assess arguments for both
• distinguish relevant from irrelevant considerations in argument

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Graduates of the programme will be able to demonstrate:

• written communication skills - students should be able to construct a lengthy, coherent piece of prose that constitutes a well-structured argument or investigation
• oral communication skills - students should be able to explain their ideas to others in a discussion
• the ability to take part in a debate, keeping to the goal of the discussion, maintaining the thread of argument, to be able to argue their point forcefully and to disagree with others while showing respect for their opinions and without causing or taking offence.
• The ability to confidently construct, present and demonstrate ideas, both formally and informally, in visual and artefactual forms, in a variety of contexts at the threshold of transdisciplinary professional practice

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in personal effectiveness

Graduates of the programme will be able to demonstrate:

• the confidence to rely on one’s own intellectual capacities
• the ability to motivate oneself, to plan one’s own work, and to set one’s own goals and deadlines
  ability to apply design-led skills and techniques to issues arising outwith design
• the ability to work autonomously
• time and priority management skills
• construct clearly organized arguments
• understand and appreciate the significance of new ideas
• plan, undertake, and (in a scholarly and literate fashion) report on a piece of self-initiated research

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

A wide range of technical and practical skills may be acquired in the programme, both analogue and digital. Students will have considerable choice in how they build their technical and practical skill set which is developed over their period of study. Graduates of the programme will be able to demonstrate:

• visual presentation of ideas and propositions
• artefactual synthesis, collating ideas, insights and perspectives from a variety of sources including theory, practice and engagement with others
• written dissemination of ideas, insights and developments derived from practice, theory, and policy interrogation
• exhibition and presentation in appropriate formats, outlining an ability to communicate impact to a wide-reaching audience

Programme structure and features

Programme Structure:

In accordance with the University’s Curriculum Framework, the programme is of 12 months duration. It consists of 180 SQCF credit points, of which 120 constitutes the taught portion of the programme with the remaining 60 devoted to the dissertation component of the degree.

Degree Programme Table and Modes of Study:

Further information around course collections can be found at:

http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/18-19/dpt/ptmartdech1f.htm

Assessment:

The programme uses the University’s Postgraduate Common Marking Scheme CMS4. The programme outcomes are articulated as a series of learning outcomes for each course hosted by the programme. These are then tested through a series of assignments that have a series of assessment criteria that reflect the learning outcomes for each course. Each assignment is given a percentage mark, the aggregate of all the assignment marks for a course forming the final mark for the course. The quantitative weighting for each assignment in relation to course as a whole is set out in the course handbook.

To facilitate our approach to student centred learning, an important vehicle is the ‘project brief/assignment’ and/or ‘study plan’. Through this vehicle the aim, theme, expectation and outcomes of a period of study are formally communicated to you. The brief will set the parameters and expectations around the project and, importantly, indicate what the expected learning is and to which learning outcomes the project contributes. This information is provided online and expanded upon in briefing or introductory sessions.

The relationship between the project brief/assignment and the learning outcomes has been formally aligned in order to ensure an explicit relationship between the project/assignment aims and the assessed learning outcomes as defined in each of the course descriptors. This approach gives the maximum opportunity for flexibility in your approach while ensuring consistency in the assessment of learning outcomes for both studio and written submissions.

Progression and Awards:

The programme conforms to the University’s taught Assessment Regulations.

Progression Requirements:

Students must pass the assessment requirements of the taught stage at an appropriate level at the first attempt before progression to the dissertation.

For MA programmes, progression to final project will be considered following completion of the first two semesters of the programme. In order to progress students must:

a) Pass at least 80 credits with a mark of at least 50% in each of the courses which make up these credits; and;

b) Attain a weighted average of at least 50% for the 120 credits of study examined at the point ofdecision for progression.

If not permitted to continue to final project they will be considered for a postgraduate diploma.

Award: Design for Change (MA) (pass)

Students must average at least 50% over their course marks for the first 120 credits of the programme. In addition they must secure a mark of 50% or higher in the final project.

Award: Design for Change (MA) with Distinction

The student must be awarded at least 70% on the University’s Postgraduate Common Marking Scheme for the dissertation/final project and must pass all other courses with an average of at least 70%.

When a student does not qualify for a distinction as of right, they may be considered for the award of distinction if (a) their final research project mark and (b) their credit-weighted average mark across all the taught courses are both 68.00% or higher. The decision whether or not to award the distinction in such cases is at the discretion of the Board of examiners. In exercising its discretion, the Board will take into account the following factors: (a) the student’s credit-weighted average across the degree as a whole; (b) the number of courses (including the dissertation/final project) in which the student received a mark of 70% or above, and the credit weighting of those courses; (c) any special circumstances, such as illness or other adverse personal circumstances, which have been brought to the Board’s attention.

Exit Award: Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) in Design for Change

Students who have not fulfilled the criteria to be presented for the award of an MA degree can be awarded a Diploma in Design for Change. In order to be awarded the Diploma, students must pass at least 80 credits at SCQF level 11; and attain an average of at least 40% for the 120 credits of study examined for the Diploma in semester 1 and 2.

Students who have fulfilled the criteria to proceed to dissertation/final project but do not wish to progress are eligible for the award of the Diploma in Design for Change.

Students who achieve a mark below 50% in their dissertation/final project may be awarded a Diploma in Design for Change for attainment in the taught component only.

Exit award: Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) in Design for Change

In order to be awarded a Certificate in Design for Change, students must pass at least 40 credits at SCQF level 11; and attain an average of at least 40% for the 60 credits of study examined for the Certificate during semesters 1 and 2.

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

The student journey in the School of Design is characterised by sequential, experiential and iterative learning and pedagogically follows a constructivist model, subscribing to the view that: knowledge and understanding are not acquired passively but in an active manner through personal experience and experiential activities; and that learning is based on problem solving and/or an exploration of a particular line of enquiry and active engagement with ideas. The teaching is driven through a blended combination of studio based experiential activities, supported by oral and written activities in lectures and seminars. The primary mode of teaching delivery is inverted and student-led.

Facilities

Evolution House contains the T-Room where you will spend most of your time with fellow students. The T-Room is equipped with a dedicated lecture space, ideas wall (white boards), visualisation and projection technologies (2D and 3D), moveable LCD screens, soldering bays with extraction, fabrication space, A4/A3 colour printer and LED display and table tennis table. Evolution house also contains the eca Learning Zone, based around the eca Library. The library’s collections of books, journals, DVDs and videocassettes, slides and other media cover all aspects of architecture and landscape architecture, art, design, film, photography, and related disciplines. The library also provides web access to a comprehensive range of online resources in these subject areas. A Computing Services helpdesk is located within the library, and you may borrow laptops for use anywhere on the Lauriston Place campus.

Festival of Creative Learning

The University of Edinburgh ‘Festival of Creative Learning’ is scheduled in Week 6 of semester two. During this week ‘normal’ teaching is suspended which provides space outwith the curriculum for staff and students to explore new learning activities. Typically, this takes the form of a field trip to visit a high profile event and nearby design studios. Past trips have included Madrid, Berlin and London.

Assessment methods and strategies

For the majority of their studies students will not encounter prescriptive assessment where the absolute answers are known in advance of setting the assessed task. Assessment however is rigorous and robust and depends upon significant involvement of whole programme teams to ensure objectivity, accuracy, consistency and fairness to the students concerned.

Students receive regular formative feedback on their progress which is related directly to the published learning outcomes in their Course Descriptors and in their coursework material, such as project briefs and individual study plans;

The grading of student work is undertaken with close reference to the published learning outcomes and assessment criteria, for the Course Descriptor and for the particular piece(s) of work being assessed;

The method of assessment used is appropriate to the learning outcome(s) being assessed and the student’s performance for each individual learning outcome can be effectively examined and graded where a single method of assessment is used to examine more than one learning outcome;
Students are made fully aware of how they are being assessed and what is being assessed, against the published criteria.

Mode of study

Full-time (12 months)

How the programme maps onto the University’s strategic plan

The School of Design is dedicated to student-centred pedagogy with a focus on variety, flexibility, innovation and excellence in teaching and feedback. A range of elective choices are available within the curriculum, offering students the opportunity to study widely within the wider University; (subject to availability and core course timetabling). We are dedicated to the student voice through a range of communication channels; including the School level student representative scheme and course enhancement questionnaires where students provide feedback on their experience. The Personal Tutor system ensures coherent and effective communication with students to manage changes to their learning, supporting them in their development and providing key additional support when needed. The School has a strong research culture that recognises the need to invest in our staff’s development as established research leaders. We have a range of research groups and centres which are led by staff within the School, generating an active range of events, workshops and seminars.

The School participates in a wide range of local, national and international external engagement and outreach; which includes collaborations, live projects and partnerships with industry. These links create research opportunities for staff and learning opportunities for students, building on local and national initiatives. The School actively strives to innovate their teaching practices and research, through external engagement. Our programmes within Design are national and international beacons in relation to the pedagogic and research approaches they take to their respective subject areas. The school actively contributes to ECA’s excellent international profile and visibility as a whole. Support and provision for all our students in terms of careers advice and business skills, ensures students have a smooth transition to graduate working in the creative industries.

Career opportunities

Design graduates typically join a design consultancy, a design development team within an interdisciplinary company, or set up their own practice as a designer or designer/maker. Design for Change adds to these established industry opportunities by introducing students to design-based engagements within policy-driven arenas, NGOs and third sector organisations. As such, graduates of Design for Change will have skill sets applicable to consultancy work with NGOs, as well as opportunities as independent researchers working with third sector organisations, and academic institutions. The transferable skills developed on the programme will also enable graduates to enter careers in design management, policy implementation, and general third sector consultancy. To facilitate this Design for Change has extensive links with academic research projects, NGOs, third sector organisations, and industry. Students have the opportunity to participate in live projects, competitions, and research project-derived collaborations. As a research focussed programme graduates of Design for Change will also have highly developed skills applicable to doctoral studies and future careers as academics.

Other items

• Each student will be assigned a supervisor and a Personal Tutor; the supervisor monitors the overall academic progress and directs the final research project.
• Students will have at their disposal a range of relevant university computer services, with network access.
• Students will be entitled to use excellent library facilities including the University Library, the copyright and the National Library of Scotland.
• Edinburgh has a strong research community in the arts and humanities and students will be encouraged to participate in research activities that are relevant to their studies, such as seminars, colloquia and conferences.