Got a passion for creative design? Not quite ready to undertake a full honours degree? Solent University’s Design Foundation Programme is perfectly suited to students who may not be from an art- design- or fashion-related background or whose qualifications do not meet the admissions requirements of their chosen course. To help get you up to speed, this one-year foundation course provides all the creative, technical and study skills needed for entry onto a degree-level art, design or fashion course. Upon completion, you will be able to progress onto a range of art-, design- and fashion- related courses here at Solent.The course begins with a five-week group project. This enables students to mix with like-minded peers and helps them to settle in quickly. This project also helps students to decide which area they might like to follow at a later stage. The following ten weeks are spent introducing students to the world of art, design and fashion. This includes design history, vocabulary, methods and academic foundation. This ten-week block will also give students the opportunity to learn and apply two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualisation techniques, giving them the tools required to conduct their final project. This final project takes place in the last fifteen weeks of the course and is based around the specific discipline that the student will go on to study. The project will be supported by tuition in visual presentation techniques, enabling students to communicate their concepts, development processes and final proposals. Students will also receive instruction in verbal communication and presentation techniques, increasing their confidence in pitching design ideas.Students can develop an understanding of the ethos and expectations associated with degree-level study, enabling them to more easily make the transition to higher education.

You will go on to study the BA (Hons) Architectural Design and Technology degree.

Our design foundation programme is ideal for students who aren’t quite ready to undertake a full undergraduate degree, either because they aren’t from an art- design- or fashion-related background, or they don’t quite meet the entry requirements.