MA
Design for Digital Media
Experiment with digital media to create pioneering visual experiences
Course Overview
Why take this course?
Design for digital media means designing interactive, multi-sensory, aesthetic experiences. This course promotes practical experimentation and visual research alongside a user experience approach.
It encourages you to be a cultural media producer with the ability to critic media usage as well as develop innovative solutions. We believe this is more important than your technological finesse and helps to develop your individual style and stance in the design world.
What will I experience?
On this course you can:
- Work in our purpose-built studios and workshops which offer a wide range of production methods
- Use the latest software and equipment to bring your practical project work to life
- Opt to do an industry placement
- Visit our course blog to find out more
What opportunities might it lead to?
This course can lead to considerable success within the professional fields of interactive multimedia and digital communications. Your specialist knowledge of digital media will pave the way to careers in the internet, media or services industries, such as retail, finance, tourism or social media to name a few.
Here are some routes our graduates have pursued:
- marketing communications
- digital marketing
- multimedia production
- web design
- digital graphic design
Please see our course blog for current and past examples of student work and our activities.
The course really opened my mind to creative possibilities. I’m looking at design in a completely different way now, which is going to have a huge impact on my work in the future.
Saratina Shegem, MA Design for Digital Media student 2012
Key Facts
- Duration
- 1 year full time, 2 years part time
- Entry
A good honours degree in a related subject including design, media, communications, illustration, information technology and cultural and theoretical studies, or equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications. A portfolio of art and design is required. Additional evidence of in-depth engagement in the subject and/or relevant work experience is ideal.
English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 or equivalent with no component less than 6.0.- Fees
UK/EU/Channel Islands and Isle of Man full-time students: £5,000, part-time students: £1,670 in year 1 and £3,330 plus inflation in year 2
International full-time students: £10,500, part-time students: £3,500 in year 1 and £7,000 plus inflation in year 2
*Please note that all fees are subject to annual increase.- Contact
- create.admissions@port.ac.uk
+44 (0)23 9284 2421 - Department
- School of Art, Design and Media
Structure & Teaching
This course is structured into three distinct project-based stages involving a combination of learning modes and progressive development of your project management skills.
Here are three projects you will undertake:
- The Initial Individual Project: The project at the centre of this phase will provide you with an overview of the qualities of digital space, physical and social environments, and modes of presence. Through a body of theoretical and visual research and analysis, you will be required to demonstrate a multifaceted understanding of your selected subject. The study of related creative and practical projects within visual culture will assist you in situating your work and realising its potential.
- The Group Project: The group project at the centre of this phase requires you to investigate the surrounding social and cultural factors within your academic and creative investigations, and to consider how these factors are reconfigured in technological and virtual environments. Particular emphasis is placed upon the critical understandings and applications of the internet, allowing you to gain practical experiences of project work in this area, whilst acquiring a deeper understanding of remotely connected users.
- The Major Project: The major project will allow you to develop and design your own brief. This can be done either in a University context or as part of an industrial placement. Importantly, the research has to be shown to achieve breadth and depth, your concept needs to be considered and you will achieve and sustain a systematic investigation of a research project. You will also foster relevant skills in your chosen area of study and will combine a body of theoretical and visual research with practical experimentation, to result in a presentable outcome with relevant documentation.
Teaching and Assessment
Though there is an emphasis on self-initiated learning and project work, you will be supervised and receive full support via one-to-one tutorials with staff. We also aim to encourage seminar-based discussions where you will have the chance to participate in group activities or collaborate on projects.
Taking this course in part-time mode will give you the opportunity to undertake an industrial placement in your second year of study alongside your major project. You will gain contemporary workplace experience that employers demand, making you highly employable upon graduation.
How are you assessed?
The main form of assessment will be the practical artefacts you are producing during your project work. However, you’ll also be assessed for the written component of each project. This includes:
- short essays
- proposals
- research documentation
- project logs
Facilities & Features
Specialist Workshops
Take advantage of our many workshops on offer
Design Studios
We also have a variety of digital print studios
Computer Suites
We have dedicated computer suites
University Library
Our library offers a wealth of information
Specialist Workshops
Take advantage of our many workshops on offer, from wood and metals, plastic and plaster to printmaking, 3D and photographic workshops. There are excellent facilities for you to create prototype images and objects with specific areas for fabricating and forging metals, plaster mould making, body casting and sculpting. We can also source the materials you need direct from suppliers, securing the best possible discounts for you.
Design Studios
As well as our purpose-built studios for our material workshops, we also have a variety of digital print studios. From letterpress and screen printing equipment, a digital darkroom, a lightbox room and computer suites with Macs and PCs running industry-standard software, our design facilities can cater to whatever project you are working on.
Computer Suites
We have dedicated computer suites equipped with the latest software to enable you to produce digital media and design interactive content through manipulating images, editing videos and sound. You will also have access to a virtual reality and motion capture suite to be able to create the finished products for your projects.
University Library
Modern, comfortable and a great learning environment, our library offers a wealth of information including 400,000 books, DVDs, maps and thousands of online ejournals and newspapers. Many electronic resources are available anywhere, 24/7 and our friendly staff are always on hand to help.
Careers & Opportunities
Career prospects
Once you have completed this course you could find yourself working across a range of media including design for print or web, interactive design, motion graphics and film, and specialist typographic design.
Depending on your chosen focus of study, you will develop skills relevant to a range of digital media jobs such as designer, producer and/or manager. Most opportunities that have arisen for our graduates have focused on visual and moving image design, and interactive design for cultural and commercial environments, with increasing prominence in the internet domain.
Roles our graduates have taken on include:
- graphic designer
- digital marketing executive
- web designer
- production manager
Career planning
One of the benefits of studying at Portsmouth is the support that we provide to our Master's and Research Degrees students in career planning. Our careers and recruitment service – Purple Door – can assist you in career research and finding employment opportunities. Help is also available if you wish to find a part-time job while studying your degree. We offer our postgraduate students and alumni one-to-one appointments with a careers adviser, or an online service for those not able to travel back to the University. Our alumni can call on our career services for five years after graduation.
In addition, regular employability events offer you the chance to meet employers, find out about different career sectors and improve your applications or CV. The Graduate Summer Programme provides a range of guidance and employability seminars and workshops.