Postgraduate Course: Dissertation: Design for Social, Technical or Environmental Change (DESI11108)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 60 |
ECTS Credits | 30 |
| Summary | The 60-credit dissertation is an independent, student-led body of design work addressing key themes interrogated and addressed through the taught components of the MA Design for Change programme. Students will engage in generative research, iterative development, design implementation and dissemination at the cutting edge of design. |
| Course description |
The dissertation involves the analysis, synthesis and evaluation of key concepts, factors and proposed outputs composed as a significant, individual, design-led project addressing and interrogating themes leading to propositions for change. You will select from a variety of key themes, theories, principles and methods discussed and interrogated during the taught components of your degree programme, which have fostered a critical, strategic, tactical and creative perspective on significant global challenges facing the world's populations and communities.
Through an individual approach, you will analyse, synthesise and evaluate current states, and, through appropriate evidence of reflection, iterative and generative design-led development, communicate in text, image and/or object propositions leading to changes, whether driven by consensus with others, through future speculation or through data-driven approaches appropriate to your research question and domain of study. A key objective here is to promote informed, innovative, experimental and purposive generative research, iterative development and communication that relates to academic study and creative practice at the forefront of the design field and its allied disciplines which are intended to foster change.
As the dissertation is a student-led research project, the focus is on independent learning supported by regular contact with academics from the Design for Change programme. The learning experience is formed of introductory sessions exploring course content, including ethics. These are then followed by a 1-hour group tutorial, and three 30-minute one-to-one tutorials with an allocated supervisor. Formative reviews take place towards the beginning and later stages of the course. Students are expected to work independently outwith the formal points of contact, including attending fortnightly peer-led work-in-progress sessions.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | At least two of three dLabs must be completed to sufficient academic standard in order to enrol for this
course.
This Course requires additional costs to be met by the Student.
Materials: Students will be expected to fund the purchase of general art and design materials, such as sketchbooks, paper and pens. Students will be expected to fund purchase of some specialist materials required by their course. Course Organisers will support you in meeting intended learning outcomes while keeping material costs to a minimum, but students will be expected to fund optional material costs as necessary for their own project work.
Printing: Students are expected to fund occasional printing of posters and other research and design-related materials.
To fully participate in this course students are recommended to budget a minimum of £100 |
| Additional Costs | This Course requires additional costs to be met by the Student.
Materials: Students will be expected to fund the purchase of general art and design materials, such as sketchbooks, paper and pens. Students will be expected to fund purchase of some specialist materials required by their course. Course Organisers will support you in meeting intended learning outcomes while keeping material costs to a minimum, but students will be expected to fund optional material costs as necessary for their own project work.
Printing: Students are expected to fund occasional printing of posters and other research and design-related materials.
To fully participate in this course students are recommended to budget a minimum of £100
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Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Block 5 (Sem 2) and beyond |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
600
(
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 11,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 12,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
577 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
This course has 3 assessment components.
1) Literature and Contextual Review (3000 words), 30%, submitted in week 5. Assessed against Learning Outcome 1.
2) Final Project Portfolio (consisting of maximum 40 A3 pages, and 3000 words), 60%, submitted in August exam diet. Assessed against Learning Outcomes 1, 2, and 3.
3) Public Dissemination (2-page summary document), 10%, submitted in August exam diet. Assessed against Learning Outcomes 2 and 3.
Resit Information
The resit arrangements for this course are as follows.
- The resit task for assessment component 1 is Literature and Contextual Review (3000 words)
- The resit task for assessment component 2 is Final Project Portfolio (consisting of maximum 40 A3 pages, and 3000 words)
- The resit task for assessment component 3 is Public Dissemination (2-page summary document)
Students will receive further resit information as per University regulations where necessary.
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| Feedback |
Formative Feedback
Verbal formative feedback is communicated regularly throughout the course during individual meetings with supervisors. A formative feedback event, which feeds into summative assessment component 1, takes place in week 3, and feedback will be delivered by supervisors in verbal and written form on the day. A further feedback event takes place in week 9 and feeds into summative assessment components 2 and 3. Feedback for this event will be provided by supervisors in verbal and written form on the day.
Summative Feedback
Summative feedback will be provided by supervisors in written form on Learn. Feedback from summative assessment component 1 will feed directly into summative assessment components 2 and 3.
Summative feedback will be provided according to University regulations. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- LO1: Identify, distil and critically analyse appropriate and wide-ranging global debates and existing design-led interventions relating to situations and challenges that would benefit from change in order to frame potential design-led interventions.
- LO2: Evidence significant ability to synthesise ¿ through the selection of appropriate methods, iteration, testing and reflection ¿ propositions for design-led change that are directly relevant to the specific topic of exploration.
- LO3: Display professional standards of communication and dissemination through appropriate design-led media (including a range of texts, images and objects, either alone or in combination) that lead communities to new futures through design-led change.
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Reading List
Crouch, Christopher, and Pearce, Jane (2012). Doing Research in Design. London: Bloomsbury
Eco, Umberto (2015). How to Write a Thesis. Cambridge, MASS: MIT Press
Muratovski, Gjoko (2022). Research for Designers: A Guide to Methods and Practice (2nd Edition). London: SAGE
Vaughan, Laurene (Ed.) (2019). Practice-Based Design Research. London: Bloomsbury |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Graduate Attributes guidance
For the Graduate Attributes section on Euclid/Path, carefully study the information on the University's Graduate Attributes Framework. Select the 2-4 more relevant points and provide a few sentences of explanation how the course will help the students to develop these. Keep this information concise but be specific in linking relevant Graduate Attributes and Skills to the course content and skills developed on the course.
NB: The University¿s Graduate Attributes are a framework of mindsets and transferable skills. Therefore:
- Do not duplicate Learning Outcomes and do not use similar phraseology.
- This information is not directly related to the SCQF levels in the ECA Resourcing Form and should not include any references to SCQF levels.
An example of Graduate Attributes:
Personal Development: Making connections between intention, process, outcome, context and methods of dissemination in contemporary art will aid you in developing a reflective approach and taking responsibility for your aims.
Personal Effectiveness: Developing ideas through to outcomes that confirm an ability to select and use relevant sources related to contemporary art will enhance your assertiveness and confidence.
Communication: By articulating ideas and information in visual, oral and written form about current ideas and debates in contemporary art, you will become a more effective communicator.
University of Edinburgh Graduate Attributes: Mindsets
Aspiration and Personal Development: Students will become aware of a range of circumstances where they can be effective agents for change at different scales and in a variety of settings. They will be able to draw on a range of leadership, collaboration and facilitation skills that will serve them in their personal, professional, creative and intellectual journeys.
Outlook and Engagement: Students will be curious and sensitive to the needs and aspirations of local communities and wider global challenges. They will be mindful of the ethical and moral contexts of design and will seek to positively contribute to the role of design in fostering change.
University of Edinburgh Graduate Attributes: Skill Groups
Research and Enquiry: Students will be able to identify and deploy a range of appropriate research methodologies and methods that are attuned to the needs of the communities they work with and the topics they address. They will do so through a combination of analytical and creative skills that recognise the value of problem-finding and problem-solving approaches in design.
Communication: Students will recognise the importance of communication skills in receiving and sharing knowledge and understanding across a range of diverse communities. They will be sensitive to socio-cultural diversity and able to harness their ethical and creative skills accordingly.
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| Keywords | dissertation,design,change,social,technical,environmental |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Craig Martin
Tel:
Email: Craig.Martin@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Abbie Humphreys
Tel: (01316) 502306
Email: ahumphr2@ed.ac.uk |
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