Product Design13

BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design

UCAS CODE: HW72 (Full-time) or HW74 (Foundation Year)
TARIFF: 88 - 112 (Full-time) or 32 - 56 (Foundation Year)
  • Study Mode: Full Time
  • Location: High Wycombe
  • Duration: Three or Four Years
  • Start Date: September 2024

Do you want to a socially responsible creative making innovative designs?

On this course you’ll discover how to craft products from scratch, taking them from scale drawings to the final prototype. You’ll lean towards an environmentally aware and technologically innovative approach, supported by a sound understanding of cultural and critical insight and user behaviour.

An award icon with a star in the middle.
No. 1 in England for Student Satisfaction*
*Measured by % of positivity across all questions within the larger providers only: taught or registered population (NSS 2023)
A trophy icon with a star in the middle of it.
No. 1 Students' Union in the UK*
*As ranked among taught students at non-specialist HEIs (NSS 2023)
Pound symbol inside of a house icon
Top for our response to the cost-of-living-crisis*
*Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023
A star sitting on top of a laptop in an icon drawing.
5th for learning opportunities*
*NSS 2023
A handshake icon.
Top 10 for student support*
*Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023
Why study BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design at BNU?

A sustainable product design course is essential to all walks of life, whatever industry you work in having the skillset to problem-solve and ensure the user-experience is as efficient as possible. The products and designs you create can change the future by answering ethical, environmental and social issues with tangible objects and well-considered concepts as we respond to global sustainability challenges.

We’ve invested in workshops that replicate those you’ll find in industry. We keep on top of the best equipment, using professional facilities and software for your designing needs.

You’ll get hands-on with our industry standard 3D CAD systems, and benefit from our workshop facilities to produce 3D models, fully working prototypes, and computer models to demonstrate your design solutions. In these workshops you’ll be able to experiment with a range of different materials including wood, metal, ceramics and mixed media, developing traditional hand skills and working with new technologies such as our MetraSCAN 3D and utilising the latest CNC machining and techniques.

You’ll explore different solutions for several areas, engaging with live industry briefs as you use your expertise to create products with a purpose.

We also have specialist technicians and demonstrators on site to support and share their knowledge with you.

With a history of delivering expert craft, art, and design education for more than 130 years, Buckinghamshire New University is the perfect place to start your creative career. This rich history mixed with contemporary teaching techniques and hands-on learning, makes this course unique.

Led by a dedicated teaching team with a wealth of experience within the product design, model-making, and design visualisation industry, many of your tutors on this course are still involved with design practice and research. Not only will you benefit from a rich and varied programme, you will also have direct access to guest lectures, live project briefs, master classes, and plenty of networking opportunities with industry professionals.

Our BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design graduates have gone on to a wide range of careers such as;

  • Product Designer for Nokia
  • modelmakers for Sony
  • Aerospace Designer for BAE
  • Engineering Designer for BMW.

Students also go on to start their own design business and work within design consultancies.

Our Product Design degree is situated at our High Wycombe campus, a town with a rich history within furniture making and manufacturing. Our university Chancellor is also the renowned Furniture Designer and Restorer, Jay Blades MBE, makes this course strictly unique.

With London only a short journey away, and access to a range of business and organisations relevant to product design, there are ample opportunities for visits to sites of historical and contemporary interest. 

As well as this we are only around the corner from Oxford and Reading - other cities full of inspiration. 

What will I study? 

This product design degree course offers you the opportunity to successfully design innovative and functional products that include a successful interface between products and users. You’ll become a multi-disciplinary designer who have a focus on sustainability within Product Design. You’ll adapt and work on a range of different products for different industries, whilst gaining hands-on knowledge on how to work with materials, processes, components, and products to meet user requirements.

During your time studying this course you’ll develop and grow as a sustainable designer with advanced design knowledge and skills. You’ll use your new learnt knowledge to consider, incorporate and communicate your knowledge and apply your skills in the professional development of sustainable products, both 3D and 2D.

By working through a sequence of challenging projects, you will acquire a wide range of creative and technical skills, which enable you to complete sustainable design projects from the stages of consultation and research through to final product presentation. You’ll learn how to communicate an idea from concept, to functioning product.

Upon graduating from our sustainable product design course, you’ll be in a position to follow career ambitions within the profession or progress to postgraduate studies.

Range of unique stalls made by a BNU student
Product Design11

How will I be taught and assessed?

As a BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design student you’ll have to complete a series of modules and projects across your time spent studying with us. Projects are designed to present new challenges to you as you progress through the course. They involve working with varied briefs, clients and requirements. By the end of your time with BNU, you’ll benefit from a full portfolio of work to go to employers with.

You’ll also benefit from lectures, 1:1 or small group tutorials, seminars that enable open discussions, guided research and reading, group critiques and self-directed study.

We also aim to provide industry brief opportunities for you to apply your knowledge, skills and understanding into real-world contexts. The theoretical underpinning of practice encourages the development of critical perspectives in relation to the history and language of design.

Our graduate network continues to spread through many companies in the industry. You’ll be a part of this network, gaining valuable contacts with a variety of work opportunities.

An electric car charger plugged into a car
A bicycle locked into a stand on a pavement.
Useful Documents

BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design Programme Specification

BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design Additional Course Costs

What are the course entry requirements?

A typical offer will require a UCAS tariff score of: 88 - 112 (Full-time) or 32 - 56 (Foundation Year)

UCAS points can be obtained through qualifications such as A levels, T levels, BTEC or an Access to Higher Education course in a relevant subject. Please list all your qualifications on the application form as you will be asked to provide copies when we receive your application.

A minimum of two full A-levels (or equivalent) is required. Every application is considered on an individual basis.

Applicants will need to complete an interview and/or demonstrate portfolio work, further guidance is given on the portfolio advice tab.

For further details of our international English entry requirements, please visit our international pages.

Applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements for the three-year undergraduate programme, or those who do not feel fully prepared for a degree course, can apply for a four-year programme including a Foundation Year; find out more.

Modules

This provides a guide of the modules that make up your course. You can find more information about how your course is structured on our Academic Advice section.

What are the tuition fees

Home

Home, Academic Year 2024 - 2025

£9,250 per year

International

Overseas/International, Academic Year 2024 - 2025

£15,150 per year

Additional course costs and financial support

Most courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees.
You could benefit from financial support through a bursary or scholarship during your time as a student. For more details visit our financial support, bursaries and scholarships section.

Questions about fees?

If you have any questions about the fees above, contact our Enquiries team by calling 0330 123 2023 or emailing advice@bnu.ac.uk.

What are my career prospects?

Throughout your time with us we’ll support you on the route to your chosen career. We’ll help you to develop crucial skills, encouraging you to become enterprising, employable and good leaders. We also help you find employment after graduation. Have a look at our Careers and Employability pages to find out more.

With a range of new skills and experience working in a professional environment, you’ll have many qualities employers look for.

Our BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design course will help prepare you for a range of career possibilities, such as:

  • Product Designer
  • Industrial Designer
  • Automotive designer
  • Model maker
  • Design Engineer
  • Exhibition and Event Designer
  • Furniture and Kitchen Designer
  • Display Designer
  • CAD Visualiser and Technician
  • Production and Set Designer or Prop Designer and Maker.
Elisavet Kalpaxi staff profile photo
Dr Elisavet Kalpaxi
  • Senior Lecturer
Read full profile
Rupert Hammerton-Fraser staff profile photo
Rupert Hammerton-Fraser
  • Technical Demonstrator
Read full profile
BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design
BSc (Hons) Sustainable Product Design with Foundation Year