Graduate Diploma Creative Computing
University of the Arts London
Key Information
Campus location
London, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
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Application deadline
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Earliest start date
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Introduction
Graduate Diploma Creative Computing
Creative graduates with advanced computing skills are in high demand. The graduate diploma gives creative graduates the opportunity to study in a specialist UAL Institute environment. Learning new skills will allow you to develop your undergraduate area of study and potentially lead to new opportunities as a creative practitioner.
You will learn to code using industry standard languages and frameworks, how to develop apps and be introduced to emerging areas such as machine learning.
You will also develop creative projects informed by these tools and techniques and gain an inside look at London’s digital creative economy, exploring both its working practices and the emerging opportunities for technology engaged creative graduates.
As a student at the UAL Creative Computing Institute you will study in a specialist and research rich environment. We provide dedicated technical resources and access to an Institute wide lecture program. There will be further opportunities to engage with researchers and practitioners through additional events, seminars and workshops.
By studying at the UAL Creative Computing Institute, you will join a network of creatives excited by the potential of computational technologies.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Several scholarship options are available. Please check the university website for more information.
Curriculum
Terms 1 and 2
The first half of the course sees students study 3 units (1,2,3) in parallel. It aims to give an intense grounding in creative coding, computational concepts and creative computing practice.
Unit 1 - Creative Coding and Frameworks
This unit aims to take students with varying creative coding experience and give them a solid grounding in key coding languages for creative computing and key computational concepts. This will be delivered in up to 6 hours a week of coding classes that cover JavaScript, P5 and Python and workshops exploring tools and frameworks such as VVVV, Open Frameworks and Max MSP.
Unit 2 - Computational Futures, AI and Machine Learning
This unit explores the emerging area of machine learning. It is mix of practical tasks introducing ML frameworks such as TensorFlow and seminars that look at emerging practice across the arts and creative industries that employ some level of artificial intelligence.
Unit 3 - Physical Computing, Creative Project
This unit is the creative application of the skills gained in this part of the course and students will produce creative projects using sensors and actuators. This application of coding skills creative practice will include an introduction to physical computing and electronics prototyping with platforms such as Arduino and Micro:bit.
Terms 2 and 3
The second half of the course sees students study 3 units (3, 4, 5) in parallel. It aims to give students expertise in the process of developing apps in teams. It also introduces students to the digital creative industries in London and further develops their creative practice.
Unit 4 - Coding for Collaborative App Development
In this unit students will develop an app concept using one of the dominant platforms such as Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. This will give students and understanding of the development process using standard development tools and introduce platform specific coding languages such as Swift. Importantly this unit will include an introduction to collaborative tools for software development.
Unit 5 - Digital Creative Industries
The aim of this unit is to provide and in depth understanding of both the structure of the creative industries in London and the varied opportunities that exist in what is a diverse sector for people engaged with creative computing.
Unit 6 - Computational Environments, Creative Project
This unit builds on the creative practice developed earlier in the course and explores scaling that practice by developing spatial interventions. Students will explore projection mapping, computer vision and sound tools to explore computational environments.
Program Outcome
- Lectures and seminars
- Studio/lab-based practice and masterclasses
- Project work
- Technical tuition
- Collaborative problem-solving and group work
- Independent study
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
The course is committed to supporting students in developing the skills, knowledge and confidence necessary to continue your creative practice.
Personal and professional development is integrated into the course with opportunities to develop your skills through bespoke sessions, talks with industry practitioners, career management and postgraduate progression seminars.