Are you a problem solver? Do you look at issues in industry and society today, and think about how you could make it better? Do you enjoy looking at a challenge and coming up with a design that fixes it? If yes - Design is the course for you. Blending design thinking with physical and digital prototyping, you’ll learn all the intellectual and practical skills you need to become a well-rounded product designer.
You’ll be able to put your methods, materials, manufacturing and engineering learning into practice by developing a product from concept to final model and prototype. You’ll also have the opportunity to spend a year on a paid industrial placement. In your final year, you’ll exhibit in our end-of-year degree show.
We’re one of the longest-running degrees to hold IED accreditation. This course fully meets the educational requirements for a Registered Product Designer (RProdDes). The course also partially meets the educational requirements for Chartered Technological Product Designer (CTPD).
Our students have an amazing track record in winning national and international prizes over the last three decades, with recent winning prizes being awarded to our product design students; including the Design Innovation in Plastics Award, and the Vision Direct’s Visionaries competition. Students joining us really are joining a winning team that will enhance their future job prospects.
ModeFull-time | Duration4 years | Start dateSeptember | Application codeH95F | Application method UCAS |
London South Bank University student union is located at 103 Borough Rd, London SE1 0AA.
If you are visiting our Southwark Campus, you may wish to use our downloadable campus map (PNG File 466 KB). For information on accessibility, see our DisabledGo access guides. See our location page for more details.
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If you have already completed some studies at another university, we may be able to consider you for advanced entry. Please see our advanced entry page for more information.
£9250.00
Tuition fees for home students
£15900.00
Tuition fees for international students
Tuition fees are subject to annual inflationary increases. Find out more about tuition fees
UK fee: £9250.00 | International fee: £15900.00 |
AOS/LSBU code: 5922 | Session code: 1FS00 |
Total course fee: |
UK (excluding any optional years): £37000.00 |
UK (including any optional years): £37000.00 |
International (excluding any optional years): £63600.00 |
International (including any optional years): £63600.00 |
UK fee: £9250.00 | International fee: £15900.00 |
AOS/LSBU code: 5922 | Session code: 2FS00 |
Total course fee: |
UK (excluding any optional years): £37000.00 |
UK (including any optional years): £37000.00 |
International (excluding any optional years): £63600.00 |
International (including any optional years): £63600.00 |
UK fee: £9250.00 | International fee: £15900.00 |
AOS/LSBU code: 5922 | Session code: 3FS00 |
Total course fee: |
UK (excluding any optional years): £37000.00 |
UK (including any optional years): £37000.00 |
International (excluding any optional years): £63600.00 |
International (including any optional years): £63600.00 |
UK fee: £0.00 | International fee: £0.00 |
AOS/LSBU code: 5922 | Session code: 4FS00 |
Total course fee: |
UK (excluding any optional years): £37000.00 |
UK (including any optional years): £37000.00 |
International (excluding any optional years): £63600.00 |
International (including any optional years): £63600.00 |
UK fee: £9250.00 | International fee: £15900.00 |
AOS/LSBU code: 5922 | Session code: 5FS00 |
Total course fee: |
UK (excluding any optional years): £37000.00 |
UK (including any optional years): £37000.00 |
International (excluding any optional years): £63600.00 |
International (including any optional years): £63600.00 |
For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for undergraduate students.
Please check your fee status and whether you are considered a Home, EU or International student for fee-paying purposes and for our regulatory returns, by reading the UKCISA regulations.
See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 391 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 775 KB).
The University reserves the right to increase its fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions.
The fees for international students are reviewed annually and the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fees in line with the RPIX measure of inflation up to 4 per cent.
We offer several types of fee reduction through our scholarships and bursaries. Find the full list and other useful information on our scholarships page.
The course is not currently open to international students.
International (non Home) applicants should follow our international how to apply guide.
Mode Full-time | Duration 4 years | Start date September | Application code H95F | Application method UCAS |
Once we have made you an offer, you can apply for accommodation. You can rent from LSBU and you’ll deal directly with the university, not third party providers. That means we can guarantee you options to suit all budgets, with clear tenancy agreements and all-inclusive rents that include insurance for your personal belongings, internet access in each bedroom and on-site laundry facilities.
Or, if you’d rather rent privately, we can give you a list of landlords – just ask our Accommodation Service.
Read more about applying for accommodation at LSBU.
You don't need to wait for a confirmed place on a course to start applying for student finance. Read how to pay your fees as an undergraduate student.
After you’ve received your offer we’ll send you emails about events we run to help you prepare for your course.
Before you start your course we’ll send you information on what you’ll need to do before you arrive and during your first few days on campus. You can read about the process on our Enrolment pages.
Semester 1
Semester 2
This course is assessed entirely through coursework: there are no formal exams
Each module is assessed by the process that is deemed most appropriate to the subject matter. In many engineering subjects, this may mean that there is a combination of coursework and examination, whilst in design and business-based modules assessment is by 100% coursework. When and where appropriate assessment is undertaken as group presentations and critiques. During and after critiques, students benefit from oral and written feedback. As and when appropriate, assignments are submitted to the faculty office or digitally through the VLE and are assessed by academic staff who provide written feedback and tutorial advice.
The product design project at level 6 (final year) is assessed by a variety of means, including the public display of work in the annual degree show, and the opportunity to be selected to display their projects at the New Designers exhibition.
Our course philosophy places making at the heart of the design process; you'll learn in an environment that is highly in tune with refined technologies. You'll gain the knowledge and training needed to meet future demands for products and services, and the requirements of employers in the design industry.
Well-placed and considered investment means you'll have access to up-to-date and large-scale workshops, laboratories and design studios. Through hands-on engineering experience you'll learn how to test, measure, design and produce your own prototypes, bringing ideas off the drawing board or computer screen and into full-size and functional 3D models.
Our workshop capabilities include:
Find out more about our workshops and industry-standard software packages.
The workshops are great and really inspirational environments. The tutors have expert knowledge and can provide insight from their own professional design careers.
Kadeza Begum, Alumna, BSc Product Design
Our course philosophy places making at the heart of the design process; you'll learn in an environment that is highly in tune with refined technologies. You'll gain the knowledge and training needed to meet future demands for products and services, and the requirements of employers in the design industry.
Well-placed and considered investment means you'll have access to up-to-date and large-scale workshops, laboratories and design studios. Through hands-on engineering experience you'll learn how to test, measure, design and produce your own prototypes, bringing ideas off the drawing board or computer screen and into full-size and functional 3D models.
Our workshop capabilities include:
Find out more about our workshops and industry-standard software packages.
The workshops are great and really inspirational environments. The tutors have expert knowledge and can provide insight from their own professional design careers.
Kadeza Begum, Alumna, BSc Product Design
At LSBU, we want to set you up for a successful career. During your studies – and for two years after you graduate – you’ll have access to our Employability Service, which includes:
Our Student Enterprise team can also help you start your own business and develop valuable entrepreneurial skills.
Combining flair and vision with practical skill, Product Design is an exciting course that will set you on course for a creative, fulfilling career.
Our recent graduates are pursuing successful careers with companies like LEGO, VosLED, Cogent Healthcare Systems, BDP and Complete Fabrication. Others have set up businesses or work as freelance product designers. From design consultancies to manufacturing companies, there’s a wealth of choice for you.
The course has a focus on studio-based design assignments and design project work. You'll learn how to propose workable and functional solutions within financial constraints whilst still delivering compelling, aesthetic products. These are the very skills that will set you in high demand from industry employers!
Take a look at some potential careers, including product designer, in our Prospects section.
As well as recent graduates going into jobs with design consultancies and manufacturing companies, they have also excelled in design competitions:
After graduation I went to work for LEGO in Denmark where I spent four years working as a design/model maker before coming back to London to work for WOW Toys as a Design Manager.
Peter Grinsell, Alumnus, BSc Product Design
To us, your professional career begins as soon as you start the course, so we continuously prepare you for real-world challenges from the first day of your study.
We have a panel of advisers from the industry to make sure that the course content is up-to-date and matches employers’ needs. And this means our graduates are in demand.
Our professional links with the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED) mean that our course content is regularly reviewed and revised, making absolutely sure that we are teaching the skills and techniques that the design industry needs from graduates.
The IED is the UK's only professional body representing those working in the field of Engineering Design. Members work in a diverse range of industries that span product design, architecture, mechanical, automotive and aircraft design, design education, IT and computing.
Most of our third year students choose to improve their employability by undertaking a year-long placement in industry, and we help you to find your placement. The rewards speak for themselves; work experience gives you the opportunity of testing and adapting the skills that you have learned in class within a workplace environment. It also builds your professional network.
Our teaching staff are experts, with a great deal to share. Whether they're teaching, carrying out research or involved in consultancy for industry they have the skills to make a difference to you. You'll learn both intellectual and practical skills in a modern, well-equipped environment that blends traditional manufacturing equipment and sophisticated technology.
You'll learn through lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical work. Taking on both group and individual projects, we assess your work through a mixture of coursework and exams, with project and laboratory work counting towards your final award. We also teach you the life skills of effective communication, problem solving, project planning and team working that will set you apart and give you the best chance of getting the job you want after you graduate.
Lectures, tutorials, seminars and lab-based study | Self-directed study | |
---|---|---|
Year 1 | 38% | 62% |
Year 2 | 38% | 62% |
Year 3 | 20% | 80% |