hii!!
im Smarita from india.im planning on doing my masters in the uk (Industrial/product design). i ve applied for the following universities
…can somebody please help me decide a university?? i dont have a design background , have a bachelors degree in civil engineering…but i would like a more creative n an arts based course…
thank you!
Northumbria, Loughborough, Brunel are all very good. Brunel more engineering focussed I hear. Coventry is the best if you want to get into automotive design.
I went to Bournemouth which is another uni with a good reputation.
hey
i already applied for nottingham trent…they asked me for a project proposal…as i wasnt sure about what to send , so i was looking for some other options ! 
hmmmm…thank you! but i quite liked the curriculum for ID at coventry … how good is the university? does it have a good reputation ?
I’m going to through a spanner in the works and say that as you dont have a design background is a masters in design the right thing ? (see post about the value of ID masters)
What is the ultimate dream outcome from getting an ID masters, where do you want to work in a design consultancy, we really need to know that before any advice can be given ?
Simply being that an 1 year ID masters isn’t going to provide you with enough time to go from no design background to junior level designer, there is a reason why undergrads take 3-4 years to complete the course.
If the ultimate aim is to get in as a junior designer than I would recomend doing an 3-4 year undergrad course at Loughborough, Brunel or Northumbria.
Coventry has top reputation for trans, but it rarely comes up in product discussions. I don’t know why, maybe it’s just overshadowed by having one of Europe’s top 3 trans programmes. I figure that you will get to meet a lot of talent if you mix with trans students, many of instructors and professors should be the same. The city however is supposed to be awful.
Lboro is very user centered more than anything else, and you can steer your degree towards more artsy (MA) or technical (MSc) by electing modules and picking focus for your major project. There are instructors and students to supports both directions. On top of that Loughborough was just (once again) selected to be the best student experience in the UK. Loughborough voted top university by students - BBC News
Actually I think design department is supposed to open up it’s brand new facilities next year.
For some reason I think if you want the most artsy stuff, Glasgow is the place. And I share the view that Brunel is more focused on engineering.
Hi Smarita,
I’m in a not to dissimilar situation to yourself, as I’m looking to do the MSC in virtual ID at Loughborough later this year and i have no academic background what so ever. My initial calls to Loughborough were immediately negative as I was told i would almost certainly need a degree, however with a bit of a push and the opportunity to go down and show what I’ve done i my own work (Civil, architectural, R&D and testing) over the past several years, they were happy to have me.
Clam (reply above) maybe right in most cases, however I know exactly where I’m heading (i.e.: which industry) and want the qualification behind me to make achieving the goal easier. My point is that comment about being a (broad skilled) junior level designer doesn’t always.
The previous student works, including the degree show booklet from 2010 all look very good, but i can’t compare them to other institutions. The workshop facilities also look good and when these are in the new building, this Sept, it should be an excellent school. I just hope the experience and instruction match the facilities.
I live in the East Midlands, and cannot move further away for personnel, so I also went to NTU, but have opted for Loughborough. This was partly because L’boro looked more of a taught course than NTU’s research based approach that i considered (something i feel will be more beneficial, with never having gone to Uni before), better facilities, and L’Boro is out of the city traffic.
If you like any info regarding the two institutions or the local area, PM me.
Dave
Loughborough is opening a brand new design building for 2011/12… No brainer really
I was reading that Jonathan Ive goes back to Northumbria every year and drops in some classes, sounds awesome to me. 
True. One of the guys at work from Northumbria said he saw him around the halls. Apparently the teachers have stories of when he was there too - one he shared was that he was incredibly meticulous and would sand things perfectly even if it took all night