Course Information
- What is a Foundation Degree?
- Who is the FdA Web Design course suitable for?
- Why choose the FdA Web Design course?
- What is the content of the course?
- How is the course taught and assessed?
- How much time needs to be devoted to the course?
- Where is the course based?
- How much does the course cost?
- What options are available after the course has finished?
- How to apply for the course
What is a Foundation Degree?
A Foundation Degree is an employment-focussed HE qualification, equivalent to the first two years of an Honours Degree. It’s different from other higher level qualifications because it prepares you with work related skills for a specific career path. ‘FdA’ is an abbreviation for Foundation Degree [of] Arts.
Who is the FdA Web Design course suitable for?
Our students come from many different backgrounds. You may have just finished studying A Levels or an Edexcel BTEC Level 3 Diploma; you may be an adult wanting to re-train so you can start a new career; or you may be an industry professional wanting to up-skill, or to gain a formal qualification for the experience you already have.
Ideally you would have a creative or technical background, and share our enthusiasm and curiosity for the potential of web and graphic design.
Why choose the FdA Web Design course?
We have a proven reputation for creating employable graduates. We think this is important because the majority of our applicants want the course to lead to job in the creative industries.
Although Wakefield College is predominantly an FE institution, we think that’s a distinct advantage to your HE experience. Our course fees are significantly lower than most universities, and you’ll achieve your qualification in less time: two years, rather than three.
Our group sizes are are relatively small – in fact, you’ll be one of only a dozen students or so in each year – so we’re able to provide substantial levels of individual support, which will accelerate you towards your career or education goals.
The National Student Survey confirms time and time again that Wakefield College provides an outstanding learning environment for its Higher Education students.
And with fourteen years of experience delivering web design qualifications, we know what we’re doing. All in all, we’re confident that we provide a more relevant, higher quality, web design qualification than most.
Please contact us if you require any further information.
What is the content of the course?
We’ve created a course that develops your ability to design AND build websites. We offer creative and technical modules in equal measure, in order to produce graduates who are ready to make an immediate impact in the web design industry.
The skills you learn can also be re-purposed for print design projects, which opens up further career paths in the graphic design industry.
We work to web standards, creating valid HTML and CSS, and examine PHP and Content Management Systems as the course progresses.
Work relatedness is a core theme of Foundation Degrees and during the second year of the course you will work on a variety of commercial projects in our studio, honing your skills whilst working with real clients. Over the past few years we have created websites for numerous local and regional businesses, from the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats to the BBC’s ‘The Apprentice’ finalist Claire Young.
We have excellent links with local web professionals, and work closely with them to ensure there’s a high degree of industrial relevance to the course.
First Year [Level 4] Modules
- Typographic Design
- Digital Imaging Design
- Web Pre-production
- Web Development Fundamentals
- Employability in Web Design 1
- Work in Context 1
Second Year [Level 5] Modules
- New Web Technologies
- Design for Print
- Brand Identity Design
- Commercial Web Projects
- Employability in Web Design 2
- Work in Context 2
How is the course taught and assessed?
The course is built around a series of assignments that encourage you to investigate the tasks and processes of website production. You develop the knowledge to undertake these assignments through a mixture of lecture, workshop, seminar and self-study activities.
As you gain experience, you’ll also undertake live work for external clients in order to contextualise your theoretical studies.
Your progress through the assignments is monitored in a variety of ways: on a daily basis through workshop activities; weekly through seminar sessions; and the assignments themselves are formally assessed at the end of each semester.
Over two years you will build a grade profile that determines your final level of achievement on the course. Successful completion will earn you 240 CATS points.
Please contact us if you require any further information.
How much time needs to be devoted to the course?
Attendance is a minimum of 14 hours per week over two consecutive days: usually Monday and Tuesday in the first year; Wednesday and Thursday in the second year. An equivalent amount of home-based self study is also essential.
The timetable has been specifically devised to minimise the amount of travelling you’ve got to do; to maximise your time whilst here; and to allow you a consolidated block of time outside your studies.
Where is the course based?
We’re at Wakefield College’s Wakefield City Campus.
How much does the course cost?
The latest information is available on Wakefield College’s Higher Education website. There are no up-front fees and it’s normal to apply for a Student Loan to cover the costs. These are only repayable when you’ve graduated and start to earn more than £21,000 a year.
Depending on your circumstances, you may alternatively be eligible for a Professional & Career Development Loan.
What options are available after the course has finished?
The majority of our graduates seek employment. Our website footer includes an ever-growing list of our alumni and where they now work.
It includes those who are now web designers, web developers, front-end developers, graphic designers and some who have set up their own creative businesses.
Alternatively, successful completion of the course can lead to a top-up on a BA or BSc Honours Degree. A progression pathway is available through Leeds Metropolitan University.
How to apply for the course.
We’ve created a separate page which explains our Entry Requirements & Applications.