Course details
At Homerton
We were excited to welcome our first cohort of design students in 2024. Design combines architecture, engineering and materials science in one degree, giving you the opportunity to design solutions to environmental and societal challenges. You will learn how small and large-scale designs such as physical objects, apps, artificial intelligence, electronics or architecture and planning systems can influence people, cultures, economies and the natural world. The Department of Architecture, where the majority of your lectures will take place, is located at the southern end of the town centre, only a short distance away from the College.
You will be taught by a wide range of academic experts in architectural history, theory, construction, structures and environmental, as well as Design Fellows who are practicing architects. The Director of Studies at Homerton, Dr Philip Graham, is a practicing architect in London and postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge, specialising in socially, environmentally and economically sustainable housing design.
Design combines architecture, engineering and materials science in one degree, giving you the opportunity to design solutions to environmental and societal challenges. You will learn how small and large-scale designs such as physical objects, apps, artificial intelligence, electronics or architecture and planning systems can influence people, cultures, economies and the natural world.
The course is structured around a series of core studio projects which will require you to create solutions to real-world problems: from planning stage through to pitching a final product and evaluating user impact. For most projects, you will be working with stakeholders such as clients, end-users and suppliers. Outside of the studio, you will learn about related subjects including design history, philosophy, mathematics, engineering and natural sciences, which will then be applied to your design projects.
Based in the Department of Architecture, you will have access to a variety of facilities such as workshops, studios, reprographics, flexible co-working spaces and a new digital fabrication lab.
Homerton offers diverse internal events and field trips around the interdisciplinary theme of the 'design sciences' or, the study of what could be - whether architectural, design, economics or policy. By crossing fields and widening the debate, Homerton is particularly interested in applicants wishing to engage with 21st century challenges linked to the built environment. We are therefore keen to hear from students with 'range' in the subjects they are studying and their portfolio. This might include, for example, subjects such as economics, history, biology or geography as well as the more typically seen art, maths or physics, alongside an art and/or design portfolio that may come from the student's own initiative rather than material from an assessed course. Evidence of regular sketching, thinking through drawing, observed hand drawing and ability in various media, materials and scale, is common to most if not all our offer holders. At interview, applicants should expect to be challenged on issues from wellbeing and climate change to affordability, supply chains, biodiversity, behaviour and policy.
In order to explore Design in more detail we would recommend the introductory reading for prospective applicants and offer holders listed here.
You can also explore your chosen subject through the Homerton Resources page.
We take the view that various combinations of subjects make a good Design student; most students take a mix of Arts and Sciences with Mathematics being required.
Admissions assessment: There is a college admissions assessment for Design. More details are available on this page.
Written Work: All Colleges will ask Design applicants to submit a PDF (6 A4 pages, and less than 15MB in size) of their own artwork prior to interview. The selection of images should, in part, reflect material an applicant might bring to interview as part of their portfolio, if interviewed.
Further information about the written work and portfolio requirements is available here (under the entry requirements tab). You can also see examples of portfolios on the ArcSoc website here. This work isn’t expected to consist of architectural drawings (e.g. plans, sections etc). We want to see something that illustrates an applicant’s interests, experience and ability in the visual and material arts. This may include drawings, paintings, sculpture and/or photography. It's usually sufficient for three-dimensional work to be exhibited in photographs. A sketchbook with ongoing drawings is extremely helpful and applicants are encouraged to have this to hand so that they can hold this up to the camera in the interview. The sketchbook can be in any media (pencil, charcoal, crayon etc) and should include a variety of subject matter. The work can be material prepared for school-leaving examinations but creative work executed outside formal courses is also welcome.
The interdisciplinary focus of Design means that you will gain the knowledge and skills to be a leader in a range of technical and creative sectors. Depending on the route you take throughout the course, you could pursue a wide variety of careers, from working in manufacturing, to joining the design sector, to starting an entrepreneurial journey. You could also choose to continue to a PhD in a particular area of the course that interests you, such as emerging materials. If you would like to develop your professional skills during your degree, optional paid industrial or research summer programmes will be available each year in a variety of different fields.
