We aim to cover the broadest spectrum of automotive and transport design focusing on design driven innovations.
We examine issues of autonomy, sustainability, ergonomics and the user experience and interaction in relation to exterior and interior design, surface and colour applications, lifestyle and future design solutions.
An award-winning course with a long history of achievement, we can offer you access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment for virtual, digital and physical design realisation.
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
The University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2020/2021 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to Covid-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
We are currently in the process of a major redevelopment of our Faculty of Arts and Humanities buildings. The building will be open to the public as well as students, and will feature an expansive gallery space.
We hope that you are all staying safe in these uncertain times. Creative activities can really help fill the days, while we are spending more time at home and we have some ideas to keep you busy.
Visit our online degree show where we have brought together the work of over 500 students.
Four of our Automotive and Transport Design students have won awards at the 8th SAIC Global Design Challenge (2020). This follows on from our success at last year’s challenge where Coventry University students walked away with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the European Division.
I really enjoy being surrounded by peers with a common interest and I'm relishing the opportunity to learn from tutors with industry experience. I feel like by the end I will have the tools to be successful wherever I go.
This course will develop your understanding of the latest developments, drivers and practices of the automotive, transport and mobility designer beyond merely illustration and styling. You will have the opportunity to learn to create innovative product design solutions in a range of styles and media, which factor in purpose, usability, materials, ecology, desirability, technological feasibility and professional constraints.
You will progress from a general foundation in practical and theoretical automotive and transport design capabilities to more specialist knowledge, culminating with your final project. We focus on both digital and physical 3D modelling, providing you with deeper understanding of digital tools and visualisation techniques. Emphasis is also placed on the development of interpersonal skills with the aim to better prepare you to work in teams, as a collaborator, conciliator or leader with patrons, makers, users and specialist interest groups.
86%
of our BA students agree that staff are good at explaining things
NSS, 2016
Course Specification
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We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
Our Design and Crafts courses are ranked 20th by Guardian University Guide 2020
This exciting course is designed to provide you with the opportunity to develop the skills and expertise to produce innovative and visionary designs for every form of transport imaginable. This includes cars, motorbikes, boats, luxury yachts, construction vehicles and vehicle interiors, as well as emerging areas such as electric vehicles and personal mobility devices.
Our current excellent industry links, with diverse employers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Herman Miller, Lotus, Dyson, Aston Martin, Speedo, Ford and Electrolux, for example, may provide opportunities for ‘live’ collaborative projects, work placements, industry visits, design competitions and expert advice through regular guest lectures. You can start building your contacts and gain the networking experience to establish yourself as a design professional long before you graduate.
Coventry University has gained an international reputation for automotive research and teaching covering design, engineering, business and media. A former winner of ‘Best Design School’ in the World Automotive Design competition, we have hosted major symposiums on the future of transport design, including RINA conferences and the ITS-UK Automotive User Interest Group.
You will be taught by current specialists in automotive, transport and broader industrial design with expertise in concept, modelling, interior, exterior and design-led development of low carbon vehicles. Their extensive professional experience includes working for well-known companies like General Motors, Daihatsu, Nissan, Ford and JLR.
The course is informed by and aims to reflect the changing nature of the issues that drive automotive and transport design. Sustainability, social impact of designs, internationalisation, global branding and design in context are changing people’s perceptions about diversity in transportation. Such ‘drivers of design’ are embedded within coursework and we regularly review our curriculum in response to feedback from our many industry connections.
We deliberately try to strike a balance between traditional hand-processes and emerging technologies. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in workshops for physical and digital model making, whilst having the opportunity to access state-of-the-art milling, rapid prototyping and 3D printing.
Design learning is diverse and exploratory but also integrative. At the heart of learning is a core design process which the course is aligned to (the ‘Design Studio Methodology’). Instead of building on skills with individual focus the curriculum is presented as a journey of building skills through connected practice.
To implement a ‘Design Studio Methodology’ projects are used to ‘glue’ together the different phases, skills and activities around challenges that have a sense of reality e.g. industry linked or inspired. The projects move by Year 2 to being outward facing where portfolio, placement, or employability become the focus. Teaching will be adapted to the needs of the taught material and the ideal group size. We use lectures, group tutorials, one-to-one tutorials, demonstrations, studio based support, self-guided study and online learning tools.
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will could vary depending upon the module.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes.
On successful completion, you will have knowledge of:
On successful completion, you will be able to:
In a typical teaching week, you will have approximately 18 ‘contact’ hours of teaching. This generally breaks down as:
We firmly believe that a future design career must fit a global context and we encourage you to engage in an international experience during your study. The course has current direct links with universities in China, India, the USA, and Colombia.
Opportunities occur for all students to participate in international trips and exchanges with partnering universities.
Throughout the course, projects will be set with an international focus, which aims to enhance your global experience and broadening your mindset. You may have opportunities to take part in Coventry Online International Learning (COIL) projects working collaboratively across international boundaries.
All international experience opportunities are subject to availability, competitive application, meeting visa requirements and additional costs.
Did you know we help more students travel internationally than any other UK university according to data from the experts in higher education data and analysis, HESA?
In 2018/19, we provided a total of 5,469 experiences abroad that lasted at least five days.
Explore our international experiences1st for
Sending more students overseas than any other UK uni 2016/17
5,469
The number of student trips abroad for at least 5 days in 2018/19
12,000
The number of students we’ve helped travel internationally since 2016
12
As well as trips, we offer other opportunities like language courses
This course has given me so many different experiences from international placements to designing for different types of transport design. It’s given me a broad understanding of the industry and my placement year gave me an understanding of what my employment focus should be.
Coventry University’s amazing reputation in the automotive industry attracted me to the course. The course gave me the opportunity to evolve and grow into the designer I am today.
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
For more information, please visit our Finance pages.
We're committed to communicating study costs clearly to make sure you're not faced with having to make any unexpected payments.
This is why our ‘Flying Start’ package provides you with a few course essentials. Your full-time fee for an undergraduate degree will cover the following:
As well as covering UK field trips, key materials and laser prints, the fees for this course also includes; Specified core reading material; any mandatory UK residential field trips; any mandatory UK site visits and trips; tuition fee waiver for study abroad year; required software packages.
The following are additional costs not included in the fees; any optional overseas field trips or visits; any additional design materials.
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
The UK Government has confirmed that EU students who are starting their course in September 2021 and onwards will be classified as an international student. To support our EU community who are affected by this change, Coventry University are providing an EU Member State Transition Bursary.
Students ordinarily domiciled in an EU Member State who prior to the 2021/22 academic intake qualified for UK fees (home fee status), are eligible for the EU Member State Transition Bursary. This will bring fee levels for those students across the Group into line with those of UK students for courses starting in the 2021/22 academic year.
Review more details on our EU Member State Transition Award/Bursary page.
Coventry University's amazing reputation in the automotive industry attracted me to the course. The course gave me the opportunity to evolve and grow into the designer I am today.
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
Professional enhancement is central to our ethos and you will be encouraged to embrace either an industry placement or international study exchange before your final year. Upon successful completion of this course, you should be used to working proactively to generate ideas as an individual or in teams and meeting deadlines.
We will encourage and guide you to enter national and international design competitions which can enhance your portfolio, expose you to potential employers and increase networking prospects.
Career opportunities are vast and varied - you could start your own business, become a design consultant, modeller, illustrator, CAD professional, design manager or marketing professionals. Graduates have found opportunities in automotive exterior and interior design, lighting systems design, clay and 'hard' modelling, digital modelling and surfacing, 3D visualisation and animation, colour and materials design, user interface design, lifestyle products and design research.
Our Creative Futures employment team is on hand to offer tailored career and enterprise support if you wish to gain employment or take advantage of professional practice opportunities within course specific industries. It provides specialist careers information, advice and guidance to all our students from their first year through to final year and beyond graduation, with the aim of helping them to achieve their desired career outcome. Our dedicated enterprise officers also offer valuable assistance on how to begin as a freelancer/entrepreneur.
90%
of our BA graduates are in work or further study six months after the course
DLHE 2014/15
Some of our graduates have gained leading positions in the automotive and transport industry in the UK and all over the world. They are responsible for designing many of the vehicles in circulation today for employers including Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Citroen, Ford, GM, Jaguar Land Rover, JCB, Lotus, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, MG-SAIC, Nissan, Porsche, Renault, Rolls Royce, TESLA, Toyota, Qoros, VW and Volvo.
Our BA graduates earn an average salary of £17,000 six months after the course (DLHE 2014/15)
Being on this course has changed the way I think about design. I wanted to design top end luxury cars, but I've learnt that designing with restrictions is just as exciting. I want to go into designing and improving transport products for the mass market, improving quality for everyone not just the elite.
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2021/22 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
Priory Street
Coventry CV1 5FB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44(0)24 7765 7688
