Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: See fees section below
International/EU: £17,155 per year -
How long will I study?
3 / 4 Years
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Where will I study?
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What are the entry requirements?
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What is the UCAS code?
W240
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When do I start?
September 2025
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Placement year available?
Yes
Course summary
- Learn the creative, practical and digital skills needed to become a professional product or service designer
- Put learning into practice with leading product design brands and the opportunity to take a placement year
- Collaborate with practising designers with a diverse range of experience and professional networks
- Challenge convention as you learn how to contribute to a more sustainable future
This course prepares you for an exciting career as a globally minded product or service designer. Through real-world projects and exploration of new materials and processes and systems, you’ll be equipped to identify and respond empathetically, sustainably, and collaboratively to creative opportunities and challenges.
This course also allows you to specialise in and receive a different named award – Product Design (Service Innovation) – through focused project work in your final year.
Employability
100% of our graduates are in work or further study fifteen months after graduating (2021/22 Graduate Outcomes Survey).

Come to an open day
Visit us to learn more about our gold-rated teaching and why we were awarded the highest possible rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.
Creative UK membership
We are members of Creative UK, which means our art and design students are also members until they graduate. With 10,000 members in its network, Creative UK represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries, advocating on the issues that matter the most to creative communities.

View our students' work
View our gallery of student work and learn more about the exciting projects they've been working on this year.
How you learn
Your lecturer's view
Watch course leader Mark Fisher talk about this course.
Based in our bespoke studios, workshops, and digital spaces, you’ll become part of a dynamic and collaborative learning community. Together, you’ll undertake creative adventures, explore possibilities, and challenge conventions.
You’ll engage with live creative design projects supported by external clients and industry professionals – and you’ll have opportunities to enter national and international design competitions.
You learn through:
- Studio practice
- Lectures and workshops
- Technical demonstrations
- Group and individual tutorial
- Reviews
- Guest lectures
- External visits and field trips
- Live projects
We take a holistic and person-centred approach to assessment to support your creative growth while respecting the diverse ways people learn.
Key themes
This course focuses on insight-driven design for future-facing products, services and experiences. We recognise the responsibility we have as creators and agents for environmental sustainability. You’ll learn to be globally-minded designers, seeking out future challenges, challenging convention and embracing creative risks.
In our studio-based collaborative learning community, you’ll explore both the feasible and the conceptual, the highly technical to the hand-made – from individual products to product-service systems. You’ll gain the skills to identify and respond to future needs and opportunities using industry-standard design strategies and digital technologies. Through engaging design projects, you’ll gain key skills, techniques and principles – such as design for sustainable manufacture, new and emerging digital technologies, creative research methods, and principles of colour, material and finish.
As the course progresses, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the ecological, social and economic factors that all designers must consider when designing for diverse audiences and contexts.
In the final year you’ll develop your own insight-driven, individual creative design project/s closely aligned to your own interests, skills and personal career aspirations.
Course support
92% of students on this course were satisfied with academic support in the 2024 National Student Survey.
We’re a dedicated, qualified, and highly experienced teaching team, with world-leading research and recognised professional creative reputations, who take the time to get to know you.
Throughout your learning journey, you’ll experience a range of dedicated personal, academic and career development support, such as:
- Access to our Skills Centre with one-to-ones and online resources to help with planning and structuring your assignments
- Access to office and studio space, expert workshops, freelancing opportunities and a vast business network to tap into
- Industry-specific employability activities and careers support for up to five years after you graduate
The course develops strategies of attention, empathy, imagination, courage and resilience in the face of an uncertain future. Our course prioritises care as a critical activity – care for global human contexts and for the more-than-human world.
Course leaders and tutors

Mark Fisher
Course LeaderMark is a product designer, researcher and course leader on the BA Product Design course.
Applied learning
Your course has been designed to embrace real-world challenges and provide you with the practical skills and knowledge to be successful.
We do this by developing your expertise in collaboration with the professional creative and cultural sectors – with commercial and creative practitioners, commissioners, clients and arts organisations.
Work placements
You’ll have the opportunity to undertake a year-long work placement (25 weeks minimum) or multiple placements between your second and final years. This gives you valuable work experience to prepare you for your future career and allows you to graduate with an Applied Professional Diploma to add to your CV.
Previous students have secured placements with prestigious brands such as Design Futures, Morphy Richards, Lowe Alpine, BDP Lighting, Joseph Joseph and Mazda Europe.
Students can also apply for funding through the Turing Scheme to support a study exchange or placement outside of the UK.
Live projects
Take part in live projects where you work with external partners to respond to real-world challenges, projects and opportunities. These projects give you the chance to apply your skills in a professional setting and gain valuable feedback, exposure and networking opportunities.
Our students have worked with RAB, the NHS, Astro Lighting and 257 Product + Brand Development. You'll have the opportunity to pitch project outcomes to company representatives, and potentially receive payment for designs.
Field trips
We offer opportunities to go on study trips and visits in the UK and abroad – with free travel and accommodation for all mandatory field trips. These might include workshops, conferences or visits to practitioners’ studios, cultural institutions and special collections.
There’s also the option to enhance your studies further with our optional field trips. Recently, the course has visited the Venice Biennale and Berlin.
Networking opportunities
All our academic staff have industry experience – they won't just teach you professional skills, they’ll introduce you to their thriving design networks.
With a diverse set of guest lectures, you’ll hear first-hand advice from leading designers, curators and thinkers. We also organise an annual two-day employability event, allowing you to network with commercial partners and participate in one-to-one portfolio reviews.
Competitions and exhibitions
We’ll give you the support you need to enter national and international design competitions. These competitions can significantly impact your professional reputation.
Recent successes include the RSA Student Design Awards and four prizes awarded at the 2019 New Designers graduate exhibition in London, including the Joseph Joseph and 100% Design awards.
- RSA Student Design Awards 2023: All being well WINNER
- Bolt Burdon Kemp’s Design the Change competition WINNER
- The Habitat Future Design Award – Furniture, Product, Industrial and Spatial Design WINNER
At the end of your final year, you’ll have the opportunity to exhibit your work in our annual Future Now Festival of Creativity – to which we invite VIP guests, employers, businesses, influencers, friends and family, and the general public. The festival is widely attended and is hosted in the city centre. You’ll also be able to curate and exhibit your work on our online Gallery.

Come to an open day
Visit us to learn more about our gold-rated teaching and why we were awarded the highest possible rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.
Future careers
This course prepares you for careers and future study in:
- Product design
- Service Innovation
- User experience (UX)
- Design consultancy
- Consumer insight and brand strategy
- Strategic innovation
- Entrepreneurship
- Digital visualisation
- Education
- Sales and marketing
Previous graduates from our course have gone on to work for:
- BBC
- Brompton Bikes
- Dyson
- Fosters + Partners
- Habitat
- Joseph Joseph
- Kenwood
- Lucid Group
- Monitor Audio
- names
- NESTA
- Panasonic
- Rolls Royce
- Ron Arad Associates
- Shark Ninja
- Stanley Black & Decker
- Thomas Heatherwick Studios
- Volvo
- Vtech Hong Kong
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | City Campus tour

Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreLearn more about your department
Art and Design facilities tour - shared workshops
Take a look around the shared workshops in the Department of Art & Design at Sheffield Hallam University.
Equipment and facilities
You'll have access to a wide variety of facilities across the university campuses – including a 24-hour learning centre, Students’ Union, cafes and eateries, lecture theatres, exhibition spaces and more.
You'll be based in a fully equipped and purpose-designed studio, with state-of-the-art facilities, including:
- Industry-standard computer hardware and software
- Extensive workshops for soft modelling and prototyping
- Metal fabrication and fabrication (plasma cutting, welding, casting, bending and forming)
- A precision-metal workshop with milling machines and lathes
- Print, wood, plastics, metal, mixed media, casting and ceramic workshops
- CNC equipment including laser cutters, CNC routers (2D and 3D)
- An electronics and coding lab
- 3D printing (including SLA, FDM, SLS, Polymerand metal 3DP)
- 3D digital tools (including 3D CAD, FEA)
- 3D scanning (Artec Leo)
- Industry-grade spray painting and colour-matching facility
- Industry-standard XYZ CNC mills, DMG mill-turn lathes and EDM
- A structural-integrity laboratory for testing materials and components
Media Gallery
Entry requirements
All students
UCAS points
- 112 - 120
This must include at least 64 points from two A levels, or equivalent BTEC National qualifications (to include a relevant subject such as Art, Design or Graphics). For example:
- BBC-BBB at A Level.
- DDM in BTEC Extended Diploma.
- Merit overall from a T level Qualification
- A combination of qualifications, which may include AS levels, EPQ and general studies.
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
GCSE
- English Language or Literature at grade C or 4
- Access - an Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2. At least 18 level 3 credits must be at merit grade or above, in a media-related programme from a QAA-recognised Access to HE course, or an equivalent Access to HE certificate.
- Diploma in Foundation Studies (Art and Design) - pass
If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills or equivalent. If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.0 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.
We welcome applications from people of any age. We may be flexible in our normal offer if you can show a commitment to succeed and have the relevant skills and experience. This must show that you will benefit from and finish the course successfully.
Portfolio review
If your application is successful, you will receive an email inviting you to submit a link to your portfolio.
The portfolio helps us understand whether we are able to offer you a place on the course you’ve applied for. Your UCAS statement and portfolio provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate your creative experience, potential ability and enthusiasm for the course you’ve applied for. Visit our portfolio review guidance.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Modules
Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.
You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.
Year 1
Compulsory modules
Module Aim:
This module introduces fundamental skills, techniques and principles for designers of contemporary products, services and experiences.
You will become part of a collaborative, studio-based learning community where you and your peers will begin to explore, understand and experience a diverse range of perspectives as you respond to exciting and challenging creative design briefs.
You will learn investigative and analytical skills, communication techniques and begin to develop an appreciation of form and visual language appropriate to different audiences and contexts.
Indicative content:
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Principles of contemporary design practice
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Strategies for creative thinking and ideation
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Risk as part of the creative process
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Critical and contextual awareness of design and designed products and experiences
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Visual language and aesthetic awareness
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Design sketching and 3D sketch modelling
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Foundational digital skills
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Communication and presentation of ideas and information
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Undertaking group and individual design project work
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APA referencing for academic writing
This is the level 4 work experience module and will enable you to work on an Applied Project.
Module Aim:
The focus of this module is to explore diverse aspects of contemporary commercial product design including the product and service user experience.
As part of this module, you will benefit from authentic professional work experience by working on an applied project with practicing designers, industry and other external stakeholders.
This is your opportunity to influence human behaviour through disruptive, future-thinking design informed by signals of change. You will be introduced to core principles of design for accessibility, allowing you to consider the perspectives of diverse audiences and contexts as a fundamental principle of inclusive design.
Indicative content:
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Ethnographic and market research techniques
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Inclusive design
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Designing for enhanced user experience in physical and digital products and systems
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Narrative in design and user experience principles
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Service design methods and approaches
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Futures thinking
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Ethical, responsible and environmentally sustainable design
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Design specifications, technologies, materials and design for manufacture
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Market and ethnographic research analysis
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Intellectual property
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Critical evaluation of design concepts
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Digital and physical prototyping
Year 2
Compulsory modules
Module Aim:
This project-based module will facilitate you to collaborate with others to tackle sustainable development challenges creatively. With the support of academics and external stakeholders, you will develop your collaborative, creative, communication, and presentation skills. Through multi-disciplinary project work, you will develop an informed and imaginative response to local and global sustainable development challenges.
Learning will be blended and delivered through teaching, workshops, doing, and independent study individually and in groups.
Indicative content:
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Study and consideration of Sustainable Development
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Exploration and utilisation of collaborative skills
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Exploration and utilisation of design thinking and creative thinking tools
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Project management
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Creative research methods
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Understanding audiences
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Communication and presentation skills
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Working with others, building relationship including with external stakeholders
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Critical thinking and reflection
This is the level 5 work experience module and will enable you to work on an Enhanced Applied Project.
Module Aim:
The module aims to build the professionalism of your design practice. You will develop your profile and portfolio, preparing you for applications to industrial placements or internships. You will also develop transferable skills for life beyond the university, such as negotiation, communication, presentation and project management.
Part of the module will be an enhanced applied project in collaboration with an industry partner. You will apply research techniques to tackle a complex real-world challenge whilst experiencing professional design culture. This project will be student-employer led, meaning the brief is to be negotiated between you and industry partners.
This module also includes preparation for sandwich placement success including the Applied Diploma.
Indicative Content:
The content of the module will typically include:
● Project planning and management
● Intellectual property, copyright and confidentiality
● A series of short concept development projects
● A professionally sponsored or inspired design project with a focus external to the university
● Design research and analysis
● Creative development through the analysis and synthesis of ideas and knowledge
● Origination of design proposals and creative outcomes
● Design communication and presentation
● Interdisciplinary collaboration
● Opportunities to undertake authentic work-related experiences that are representative of designing in a professional context
● Reflection on the role of a product designer in an entrepreneurial and enterprising commercial context
● Digital skills development
● Presenting yourself professionally through portfolio/ online presence
Module Summary:
This module builds on the principles of ethical and sustainable practice introduced at level 4 and aims to give you a thorough understanding of sustainable design, considering a balance of ecological, social, and economic factors.
You will apply sustainability knowledge and techniques to analyse the design of products and services, and create your own responsible designs, exploring what responsible design means to you as a creative practitioner. You will learn to assess the ecological impact of existing products and services, and predict the future local and global impacts of your own proposals.
The module will also include industrial design techniques such as material selection, component level design, CAD, costings, reverse engineering, and design for manufacture.
Indicative content:
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Developing a professional portfolio
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3D Prototyping and testing
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One or more design projects
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Analysis of sustainability of existing design objects and systems
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Data analysis and use of spreadsheets
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Visual communication
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Use of CAD and other digital skills
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Design research and analysis
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Concept generation
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New product development
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Advanced visualisation and presentation skills
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Working with outside organisations
Elective modules
This module is for undergraduate students to study abroad in their second year, Semester 2 (only for courses that offer this option). With this module, you can spend a semester at one of the University’s approved partner institutions worldwide – from Europe to the Americas, Asia Australia or Canada.
Study Abroad plays an important role in the University's commitment to an engaging, challenging, and thriving learning culture. It offers opportunities to experience other academic cultures and foster intellectual maturity while enhancing co-curricular skills and students' long-term employability.
Study abroad for credit is permitted on existing university-approved courses only. Students are awarded credits and grades at the partner institution, which are converted into Sheffield Hallam credits and grades on return and included in the Sheffield Hallam degree classification.
Please check and refer to the webpage How study abroad works. You must submit a Learning Agreement outlining the modules you will be taking at the partner institution. The Learning Agreement will be signed off by your academic tutor to ensure that the Learning broadly covers the Learning Outcomes set out in your course curriculum during your study abroad.
Year 3
Compulsory modules
Module aim:
The aim of this module is to enhance students’ professional development through the completion of and reflection on meaningful work placement(s).
A work placement will provide students with opportunities to experience the realities of professional employment and experience how their course can be applied within their chosen industry setting. The placement will:
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Allow student to apply the skills, theories and behaviours relevant and in addition to their course
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Enable students to enhance their interpersonal skills in demand by graduate employers – communication, problem solving, creativity, resilience, team work etc.
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Grow their student network and relationship building skills.
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Provide student with insights into the industry and sector in which their placement occurs
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Help student make informed graduate careers choices.
Indicative Content:
In this module students undertake a sandwich placement (min 24 weeks / min 21 hours per week) which is integrated, assessed and aligned to their studies.
Their personal Placement Academic Supervisor (PAS) will be their key point of contact during their placement and will encourage and support students to reflect on their experience, learning and contribution to the organisation they work for.
To demonstrate gains in professional development, students will be required to share their progress, learning and achievements with their Placement Academic Supervisor and reflect on these for the summative piece of work.
Final year
Compulsory modules
Module Aim:
The focus of this module is a substantial piece of design work undertaken as a self-generated design brief that demonstrates the skills and competencies of a professional designer.
You are encouraged to reach beyond the university to explore global challenges and real-world problems. You will generate insights to inform and validate your ideas through engaging with relevant stakeholders and professionals.
The module brings together the theoretical and practical skills, knowledge and experiences gained during previous study to reflect the role of the professional product/ service designer in a collaborative environment that fosters professional practice and etiquette.
Indicative content:
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Individual project management
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Collaboration with subject specialists
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Creative development through the analysis and synthesis of ideas and knowledge
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Origination of personal design proposals and creative outcomes
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Design communication, presentation and exhibition
This is the level 6 work experience module and will enable you to work on a Consultancy, Employer Led Scholarly Research project.
Module Aim:
During this module you will apply your design skills and knowledge to a real-world design research challenge, such as a design competition set by an employer or consultancy. You will conduct in-depth primary and secondary design research, working more independently than in previous projects. This is likely to involve consulting external stakeholders as well as collaborating internally with subject specialists and peers to explore diverse perspectives and iterate ideas.
As part of this module, you will also develop a research-informed, insight-driven design brief and project plan for semester two. You will develop your ability to identify, validate, and persuasively communicate design opportunities within given constraints.
The content of the module will typically include:
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Planning, undertaking and analysing research activity
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Working with people and potential product/service users to understand their needs and wants
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Understanding and considering local and global contexts when responding to a set brief
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Undertaking a creative project and generating designed outcomes
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Scoping an appropriate set of project aims and objectives
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Generation of a creative project brief(s) driven by insight
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Project planning and effective time management
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Presenting research insights and project outcomes creatively and articulately
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students on full-time undergraduate courses in 2025/26 is £9,535 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year). These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £17,155 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year)

Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
Additional course costs
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Sheffield Creative Industries Institute (PDF, 268.6KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.

Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.