External summary

Our students learn to balance practice with innovation in the creation of personal and individual artefacts that share a common sensitivity to the complex relationships that humans form for objects. Studio work can be made with a wide range of materials, from precious or semi-precious metals and gemstones, to plastics, wood, paper, stone and textile. We support a reflective understanding of the subject within the contexts of contemporary society and its wider industry - to this end the programme embraces working with new technologies alongside traditional time-honoured techniques and processes.

Educational aims of programme

The main programme aims are:

• To promote a commitment to excellence as the prevailing standard for each activity within Jewellery & Silversmithing;
• To develop in students the ability to research and generate ideas relevant to the solution of Jewellery & Silversmithing problems through specialist subject provision;
• To develop in students a strong visual vocabulary in order to externalise ideas;
• To develop in students a spirit of initiative and adventure both in developing their own work and in serving their client(s)/audiences;
• To develop in students the capacity for both independent and group enquiry and research at a level expected of first degree study;
• To develop students’ ability to make informed value judgements by which to assess their work and the work of others;
• To develop in students sufficient manual skills and technical knowledge to control production processes related to Interior design;
• To develop in students the communications skills, both verbal and written, appropriate to their studio work;
• To develop students’ understanding of the cultural, historical, commercial and professional contexts of Jewellery & Silversmithing;
• To develop students’ understanding of the ethical and professional principles involved within Jewellery & Silversmithing.
• To improve the exploration, curiosity, ambition, depth and breadth of creative practice in a systematic and insightful manner;
• To encourage students to conceptualise and review their creative process and take incisive control over the direction of their practice;
• To critically evaluate and employ contemporary debates regarding practice-based research, practice-led research and cognate creative methodologies;
• To provide students with requisite knowledge and research skills to creatively contextualise their practice and imaginatively demonstrate its wider validity;
• To continually meet the rapidly changing needs, expectations, aspirations and experiences of today’s graduate students by improving their professional attributes.

Programme outcomes: Knowledge and understanding

Students will be expected to demonstrate a knowledge of:

• key theories, practices, contexts and debates in relation to Jewellery & Silversmithing design.
• a range of appropriate creative methods, techniques and approaches in response to Jewellery & Silversmithing design project briefs.
• contemporary creative practice and user/audience needs.
• 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 individual Jewellery & Silversmithing design practice.

Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of:

• issues-based approaches to creative and intellectual endeavour
• the appropriate use of materials and processes and their development through  transparent iterative methodologies
• how practitioners personally conceptualise briefs.
• the philosophical and professional context for the discipline
• 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

Graduates in Jewellery & Silversmithing will be expected to demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of:

• a range of appropriate research methods.
• the use of a variety of practical and theoretical approaches to demonstrate an investigation of set and personally initiated research themes
• critical enquiry that leads to the visual, verbal and written communication of ideas in an analytical manner.
• the role of critical analysis and reflective appraisal in the context of set research themes.
• 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

Graduates in Jewellery & Silversmithing will be able to:

• adopt a broad-ranging and flexible approach to study, identifying their own learning needs and pursuing activities designed to meet these needs in increasingly autonomous ways.
• with minimal guidance,  manage their own learning using a wide range of resources appropriate to subject/profession,  seeking and making effective use of feedback.

Programme outcomes: Graduate attributes - Skills and abilities in communication

Graduates in Jewellery & Silversmithing will be able to:

• communicate in a clear structured and concise way, in writing and orally, in formal academic and professional styles.
• confidently communicate, present and demonstrate ideas, both formally and informally, in a variety of contexts at the threshold of professional practise.

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

Graduates in Jewellery & Silversmithing will be able to:

• clearly demonstrate an ability to independently define and analyse self-initiated project proposals for specific design contexts.
• confidently select and apply a range of facts, concepts and elements in a cohesive, independent manner to produce new solutions to both externally set, and self-initiated proposals.
• confidently apply their own criteria and support independent judgements in a fully autonomous way.
• be increasingly independent, confident and flexible in identifying and defining complex problems and in the application of methods appropriate to their solution, at the threshold of professional practice.

Programme outcomes: Technical/practical skills

The range of technical and practical skills which may be acquired in the programme, both analogue and digital, is potentially very wide. Students have considerable choice in how they build their technical and practical skill set which is developed over their period of study.

Graduates in Jewellery & Silversmithing will be able to:

• clearly demonstrate confidence, independence and professionalism in the application of software/hardware to specific contexts.
• clearly demonstrate appropriately personalised use and application of information retrieval and networked communications within specific contexts.

Programme structure and features

Programme structure

The programme follows a well-defined structure in which, in common with other programmes in the Design sector, only the results from the final year of study are used in calculating the degree award.

1st Year

Exit Award: Certificate of Higher Education (120 credits)

2nd Year

Exit Award: Diploma of Higher Education (240 credits)

3rd Year (Semester 1)

3rd Year (Semester 2)

Exit Award: Batchelor of Arts (360 credits)

4th Year

Exit Award: Batchelor of Arts with Honours (480 credits)

Teaching and learning methods and strategies

The student journey in Jewellery and Silversmithing 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 third year is the main focus for student choice, where students are expected to propose a study plan comprising a portfolio of externally-facing activities which may typically include periods of exchange, internship, electives, live projects or competitions.

Years 1-3 have a fully equipped studio of workbenches that have shared access over the first three years before moving to a final year studio for 4th year students with a personal workbench. In addition there is access to a shared machine shop/ hammer room and other facilities that include, casting, enamelling, electro-plating, etching, anodising, enamelling as well as designated drawing/design studio that is also used for critiques and seminars.

The emphasis, which we place on an interdisciplinary approach, means that students have access to resources from a wide range of other specialisms. These include printmaking equipment, word processing suites, digital image manipulation facilities in Q Digital, wood and metal workshops, digital cameras, camcorders and lighting equipment.

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.

Career opportunities

This long established department has an outstanding international reputation and an impressive track record of employability with strong industrial links. The staff of the Department exhibit and lecture internationally and are committed to imparting their experience to assist their graduates to move rapidly into the professional world.

We work hard to prepare graduates with a realistic understanding of the wider industry and career opportunities. International exchange opportunities and live projects enable you to gain a greater understanding of the industry and craft. A balance of projects enables you to design and develop a jewellery collection for a selling exhibition and to work with new technology alongside traditional techniques and processes.

A specific project is the 3rd year LTD Edition project (est.2008) with year 3 Jewellery students digitally designing their project work for production by a world leading precious metal casting company in Birmingham. This project has been presented at UK and International conferences and has been exhibited at the national Museums Scotland as a Knowledge exchange event since 2014.
Graduates emerge from the College with the confidence to establish themselves in the field as designer/makers, industrial designers, and teachers. Recent employers have included: Edinburgh Assay Office; Gucci, New York; Hamilton and Inches, Edinburgh; Theo Fennel, London; Royal College of Art. The department benefits from visiting professional practitioners and lecturers. Students can participate in live projects and competitions, and have an enviable track record of success. Links have been forged with companies, galleries and individual makers in the UK and abroad.

Other items

Student/ Staff Liaison

Student representatives make a significant contribution to Programme Committees. They are responsible for canvassing the views of their fellow students on agenda items and, most importantly, informing them of the content and outcome of Programme Committee Meetings. Students are advised to make use of EUSA help in training for their role as representatives and in Committee procedures.

Student representatives are appointed annually. Invitations for nominations, seconded by at least two other students, are posted in the studio at the beginning of each year. A secret ballot is held if more than the requisite number of nominations is received by the closing date.

International Study/Exchange Programme

Our students are able to participate in a number of regular international exchanges with leading jewellery and silversmithing courses in countries including Japan, South Korea, USA and Canada. Erasmus partners currently exist in Finland as well as other EU partners. These exchange take place in Year 3 (Level 9).

Personal Tutors

All students are assigned a Personal Tutor on admission to the degree programme, who oversees the course of the student’s degree programme, offers advice on academic matters and should be the student’s first point of contact for course-related worries or concerns.