Course Overview
Creative and Digital is the fastest growing industry sector in the UK, creating twice as many jobs as any other – 15,000 new jobs are anticipated in the Leeds City Region alone in the coming years. Its subject disciplines are diverse – game design and development, web design and development, graphic design, photography – but all share the creative use of technology to produce a wide range of digital products.
The course is designed for students who are over 19 and want to develop their creative and digital skills in preparation for applying to a Higher Education course and then want to pursue a career in one of these exciting and popular fields.
This is a one-year intensive course with excellent progression opportunities at both local and national universities and internally to the College’s own degree programmes.
An ideal candidate will possess a passion for the creative digital industry acquired through their personal interests or commercial activities in this field.
You will learn through formal tutor-led sessions in a studio setting, individual practical work, group discussions and critique sessions, tutorials, as well as an equivalent amount of independent learning outside of the classroom.
What You Will Study
The course is structured into a series of practical and theory-based assignments that aim to extend your knowledge, understanding and creative abilities.
Units:
- Higher Education Study Skills
- Opportunities in the Creative & Digital Industries
- Interviews in the Creative & Digital Industries
- Reflective Practices
- Introductory Design Principles
- Digital Imaging
- Building a Portfolio for the Creative & Digital Industries
- Self-Elected Project
- Creative & Digital Case Study
- Final Major Project
Initial workshops will introduce you to diverse ways of working, exploring creative applications to include digital image making / manipulation, vector graphics, motion graphics, etc., before undertaking more independent assignment topics to assist with independent idea generation within your chosen specialist pathway.
Alongside practical studio days, you will learn about the creative industry via theory sessions, which will also provide the opportunity to develop your skills in academic writing and Harvard Referencing.
Weekly Study Skills session will allow you to manage and organise your time effectively, as well as introducing you to effective learning strategies to assist with Higher Education. Within these sessions, support and guidance will also be provided with UCAS applications, interview preparation and portfolios.
- Attendance Expectations
An Access to Higher Education Programme is usually completed over two and a half days per week and will normally involve student contact time of approximately of 432 hours over the course of one year. An equivalent amount (two and a half days per week) of independent learning outside of the classroom is also expected.
- How You Will Be Assessed
The course uses a variety of assessment methods including:
- Practical Projects
- Reports
- Development Log (individual WordPress Blog)
- Presentations
- Interviews with a Portfolio
- Entry Requirements
Ideally you will have GCSE Grade 4 or Level 2 in English Language or above before joining the course in September, but you may be allowed to do an English GCSE alongside your Access course based on a college literacy skills test.
Selection is based on an interview and an initial assessment which you should use to demonstrate your aptitude and passion for one of Creative & Digital’s subject disciplines. The ideal candidate will be able to provide a portfolio of creative, but this is not mandatory.
- Fee Information
£3,384
- Further Study
This course will allow you to progress on to our HND Photography, HND Art & Design (Art Practice), HND Creative Media Production (Film & Television), or FdA Indie Games Development at Wakefield College or other degree courses in Creative & Digital, at both local and national universities and other Higher Education institutions. Popular HE destinations include Leeds Arts University, Leeds Beckett, Huddersfield, Sheffield Hallam, Manchester Metropolitan, York St Johns, Northumbria, De Montfort, Anglia Ruskin – Cambridge, etc.
Please note that most Universities will expect GCSEs in Maths and/or English depending on your chosen subject.
