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Help deciding A-Level subjects

I am at the stage now where I have to apply to my preferred alevel subjects, I took DT as one of my GCSE subjects and I truly enjoy the subject: theory and practical. I did some research into DT fields and found that I would like to go into a product design career or something similar.
The problem is that I don't know what alevels to pick as the sixth form I want to go to does not give product design or engineering as a subject. They do give Art and design but it is mainly just art and not really dt if it makes sense. I want to pick Maths, Economics and one more subject which woud create a career path towards prodcuct design. I was wondering if I should do sociology but many people advice me against it. What should I pick as my last subject?

Reply 1

Firstly, it seems odd to have a 'favourite' sixth form that doesn't actually offer the A levels you want to do, so you may need to rethink this. Many PD degrees do not have any specific A level subject requirements, but they will require a portfolio.

Are you are more interested in an industry/technology focussed degree - Product Design and Technology BSc | Undergraduate study | Loughborough University requires 'ABB including one from Physics, Maths, Further Maths, Electronics or Computer Science' but this also requires a portfolio of relevant design ideas.

Another route would be to take a 1-year Foundation Art & Design course between school and Uni. This is a very common route for those heading for any sort of Art or Design degree - everything from Architecture to Illustration - and the course is offered at some Universities and many local colleges You do not usually need a formal Art and Design qualification for this course - but you may require a portfolio :
Art & Design Course - UAL Foundation… | Arts University Plymouth
UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design Runshaw College
etc
Original post
by mint.ice_tj
I am at the stage now where I have to apply to my preferred alevel subjects, I took DT as one of my GCSE subjects and I truly enjoy the subject: theory and practical. I did some research into DT fields and found that I would like to go into a product design career or something similar.
The problem is that I don't know what alevels to pick as the sixth form I want to go to does not give product design or engineering as a subject. They do give Art and design but it is mainly just art and not really dt if it makes sense. I want to pick Maths, Economics and one more subject which woud create a career path towards prodcuct design. I was wondering if I should do sociology but many people advice me against it. What should I pick as my last subject?

Are there any other 6th forms/colleges who do do Product design a-level? If so would they be an option?
Also look at the course on unis websites to see if there are any specific subject requirements.
Sociology is actually a good subject.
I did it at both gcse and a-level and loved it.

Reply 3

Original post
by McGinger
Firstly, it seems odd to have a 'favourite' sixth form that doesn't actually offer the A levels you want to do, so you may need to rethink this. Many PD degrees do not have any specific A level subject requirements, but they will require a portfolio.
Are you are more interested in an industry/technology focussed degree - Product Design and Technology BSc | Undergraduate study | Loughborough University requires 'ABB including one from Physics, Maths, Further Maths, Electronics or Computer Science' but this also requires a portfolio of relevant design ideas.
Another route would be to take a 1-year Foundation Art & Design course between school and Uni. This is a very common route for those heading for any sort of Art or Design degree - everything from Architecture to Illustration - and the course is offered at some Universities and many local colleges You do not usually need a formal Art and Design qualification for this course - but you may require a portfolio :
Art & Design Course - UAL Foundation… | Arts University Plymouth
UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design Runshaw College
etc

For the portfolio, does the coursework I did for DT GCSE count? And yes I am more interested in and industry/technology focused degree: so does this mean that by taking maths as one of my alevels I could get into this course?
Thank you

Reply 4

Original post
by Emma:-)
Are there any other 6th forms/colleges who do do Product design a-level? If so would they be an option?
Also look at the course on unis websites to see if there are any specific subject requirements.
Sociology is actually a good subject.
I did it at both gcse and a-level and loved it.

I did look for other sixth-forms nearby but couldn't find any that did product design. As the previous person also said I checked requirements but it doesn't specifIcaly ask for product design, atleast one from maths which I plan on doing.

I am considering taking Sociology now thank you, I have never done sociology as a subject so in your opinion what do you mainly learn?

Reply 5

I don’t know much about DT, but could other art based subjects like graphic design or media be helpful?

Reply 6

Original post
by icqrus
I don’t know much about DT, but could other art based subjects like graphic design or media be helpful?

Yes, I did think of those but it seems more computer/online based, I'm not sure?

Reply 7

Original post
by mint.ice_tj
Yes, I did think of those but it seems more computer/online based, I'm not sure?


Yeahh good point, I did graphic design gcse for a year and it was mostly computers like making designs, branding etc, but I think you might be able to make more physical projects since it’s still art and design? I did photography gcse which was mostly digital but I ended up printing my work and doing embroidery so idk if it could be more lenient 🤷*♀️

I just checked and I don’t think media would be that helpful since product design is more stem than I realised so sorry haha 🥲

Reply 8

Original post
by mint.ice_tj
I am at the stage now where I have to apply to my preferred alevel subjects, I took DT as one of my GCSE subjects and I truly enjoy the subject: theory and practical. I did some research into DT fields and found that I would like to go into a product design career or something similar.
The problem is that I don't know what alevels to pick as the sixth form I want to go to does not give product design or engineering as a subject. They do give Art and design but it is mainly just art and not really dt if it makes sense. I want to pick Maths, Economics and one more subject which woud create a career path towards prodcuct design. I was wondering if I should do sociology but many people advice me against it. What should I pick as my last subject?

Contact the course leader for art and design and ask whether they can accommodate you doing a more design-oriented course. Whether they are able to allow for any differentiation will depend on the size of the cohort but it’s worth asking if you really want it. Look at other options for schools too if you really want to pursue design. You could also look into doing a design based EPQ.

Reply 9

Original post
by icqrus
Yeahh good point, I did graphic design gcse for a year and it was mostly computers like making designs, branding etc, but I think you might be able to make more physical projects since it’s still art and design? I did photography gcse which was mostly digital but I ended up printing my work and doing embroidery so idk if it could be more lenient 🤷*♀️
I just checked and I don’t think media would be that helpful since product design is more stem than I realised so sorry haha 🥲

No its alright, thank you for helping though, I can still consider these subjects for my A-levels.

Reply 10

It’s great that you already know you’re interested in product design! Maths and Economics are solid choices they’ll help with problem-solving and understanding how products fit into real-world markets.

For your third subject, I'd suggest Computer Science if you prefer something more technical. In this day, you can build digital product very easily. If you enjoy the creative side, Art is another option. Even if it’s more art-focused, you can tailor your projects toward product design and build a portfolio.

Reply 11

Original post
by gagym123
It’s great that you already know you’re interested in product design! Maths and Economics are solid choices they’ll help with problem-solving and understanding how products fit into real-world markets.
For your third subject, I'd suggest Computer Science if you prefer something more technical. In this day, you can build digital product very easily. If you enjoy the creative side, Art is another option. Even if it’s more art-focused, you can tailor your projects toward product design and build a portfolio.

Thanks for your suggestion, I do computer science right now for GCSE and its not going that well and I feel like doing art will take up a lot of time and I would be struggling to keep up with other subjects, I don't know if that is true though. Would you be able to recommend anything about sociology?

Reply 12

Firstly id say, go to a sixth form that offers the subjects that you want. Theres no point in it being so great if you cant get want you want out of it
Secondly i would say that if you have the artistic capability, you could definitely pick art and design and it would fir into your two other subjects for a path on product design
Original post
by mint.ice_tj
I did look for other sixth-forms nearby but couldn't find any that did product design. As the previous person also said I checked requirements but it doesn't specifIcaly ask for product design, atleast one from maths which I plan on doing.
I am considering taking Sociology now thank you, I have never done sociology as a subject so in your opinion what do you mainly learn?

If the uni course requirements dont require product design, and you are doing the subject that it does require, then you are all good.
In sociology we learnt quite a few topics. We did crime & deviance, education, family, politics (those are the topics i can think of off the top of my head. I am trying to think what the others were. Its been a while).

Reply 14

Have a look at what they exactly do for art and design, with my school they where really flexible with both gcse and alevel art. For GCSEs I didn't even do much actual art, I mainly made models of building and instruments but with alevel art it seems a lot of people are doing design based projects.

Reply 15

Oh okay thanks, in your opinion was sociology easy or difficult?

Reply 16

Okay I will contact the school and ask if I could do a more design based than art project then?

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