3D Design and Craft (with placement year)

Dive into the world of making in three dimensions with our BA (Hons) 3D Design and Craft course, where traditional craft meets contemporary design and hands-on experimentation. Here, you’ll think as much as you create, shaping ideas, materials, and objects that are entirely your own.

You’ll have the chance to explore and experiment with a variety of materials, including wood, ceramics, metal, and digital processes such as 3D printing, with scope to engage with emerging practices and future technologies. You’ll discover techniques, textures, and forms to bring your ideas to life. Projects might range from furniture, ceramics, jewellery and lighting to installations and interior objects, with a focus on sculptural and functional outcomes that reflect your personal approach.

Alongside making, you’ll be encouraged to explore sustainability, research, and creative problem solving, helping you develop your own identity as a maker, designer, artist or craftsperson.

In our studios and workshops you’ll be guided by experienced educators and practitioners who support and challenge you to experiment, question and explore ideas and processes. Seminars, tutorials, and group critiques give you the chance to test ideas, share feedback, and grow your practice in exciting ways.

As a student at Leeds Arts University, everything is on your doorstep. You’ll be able to explore galleries, exhibitions, and cultural hotspots across the city, with opportunities to take part in trips to events, inspiring studios, and cultural centres. Within a vibrant community of makers, designers, and artists, you’ll have the support and inspiration to develop your practice, build connections, and graduate, ready to make your mark on the world of 3D design and craft.

• This course is subject to approval

Year one - You’ll be introduced to the processes of making in three dimensions, working across materials such as ceramics, wood, metal, and plastics, as well as exploring digital methods like CAD, 3D modelling and 3D printing. Projects will help you to experiment widely and develop a foundation in both functional and sculptural approaches, helping you build material fluency and design thinking. Alongside practical exploration, you’ll begin to build research skills, explore sustainability in design and craft, and consider how context shapes creative work.

Year two - With growing confidence in your technical skills and creative direction, you’ll refine your personal approach while taking on more ambitious and complex projects. You’ll have the opportunity to respond to live briefs, undertake collaborative projects, and develop your awareness of professional practice. Alongside this, you’ll begin to build employability skills through portfolio development, presentation practice, and an introduction to professional networks. Critical and contextual studies will deepen your ability to position your work within wider debates around design, craft, and culture, preparing you for the realities of life as a creative graduate.

Year three - Your final year allows you to bring together your skills, interests, and personal vision in the form of a major self-directed project. This body of work will demonstrate your identity as a maker, designer, or craftsperson. Alongside your studio practice, you’ll complete a written research project that connects your making with historical, cultural, or theoretical perspectives. By graduation, you’ll have a professional portfolio and the confidence to take your next steps into industry or further study.

*This course includes a placement year (also known as a sandwich year, work placement, industrial placement, or year in industry), which provides a fantastic opportunity to enhance your employability and gain practical experience in your field of study. The placement year typically occurs after year two and before year three. Please see the Undergraduate Placement Year FAQs on our website for more information: www.leeds-art.ac.uk/undergraduate-placement-year-faqs