OCA preloader logo
Committed to communication - The Open College of the Arts

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

Committed to communication thumb

Committed to communication


As we prepare our plans for the next academic year for discussion with our Trustees, we can announce one commitment. We have been very pleased with the take up of the Illustration and Graphic Design courses which were introduced in 2010. So pleased, we are now committed to developing new degrees in Visual Communication. The exact make up of this range of courses has yet to be decided and Christian Lloyd will be leading this development over the coming months. It is likely to be January 2012 at the earliest before we are able to publish the degree handbooks setting out the exact module structure and courses will be introduced as they are needed to fill out the structure (anyone studying Graphic Design Core Concepts today will be several years away from studying at level 3 and it makes no sense to invest in courses before they are needed).
As in the past when we have introduced new degrees, it will be possible for students previously on a BA (Hons) Creative Arts pathway to transfer to the new degrees once they are validated.
If you have any questions about this exciting new development for the OCA please ask below. Further curriculum developments will be announced in June.
Gareth Dent


Posted by author: Genevieve Sioka

8 thoughts on “Committed to communication

  • Good afternoon,
    I would be keen in studying the new degree.
    On the timeline 2012 – could I start with the OCA and then transfer to this new course when available as it only early next year. I would be keen on studying more graphics design modules.
    Thanks
    Naomi

  • Yes Naomi. If you were to start the Graphics Design Core Concepts course, the degree pathway should be validated and other courses for you to progress towards the degree should be in place by the time you completed.

  • As a creative writing tutor for the OCA I would love to see an MA in Creative Writing. If it’s possible to develop this in the near future, it would be good to see modules in specific areas, eg cross art-form modules which are not generally available on other MA courses.

  • Hi Liz and Tony
    We launched our first MA (in Fine Art) in February and filled all of the places we made available. Unlike the undergraduate modeles it is cohort-based and we are planning to learn the lessons from the first cohort before making decisions on extending the portfolio. So, I’m not against the idea by any means, but it will be May 2012 before the trustees consider MA developments.
    Gareth

  • Hi Kati and Tony, and any other writers out there. I’m interested that there’s such enthusiasm for an OCA MA writing: because so many other institutions offer Writing MA’s, including distance learning ones, I have been inclined to think it would be a good idea for OCA to offer Writing Mentoring (focussing on finishing a piece of work which can be submitted to agents and publishers) at an advanced level, rather than offering a postgrad academic qualification.
    But I do like Liz’s idea of a cross art form MA – that would be really interesting. Do you think it is better to go for an academically validated qualification at this level, or for mentoring? Writing MA’s usually contain an element of academic essay writing, and I know some writers really are not keen to spend time on such work. Mentoring is one way of avoiding that.
    Jane

  • Hi Jane,
    oh, I meant I am looking forward to the degrees in visual communication, not the MA writing 🙂
    Kati

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

> Next Post Making sense of it all

< Previous Post Blog of the week: Ula

Back to blog listings