Print this page MA Garden Design

The Master’s Degree course is in two parts: Part I is the Postgraduate Diploma course in Garden Design. On successful completion to the required standard, students may progress to Part II to achieve the MA Degree.

Part II is a research module in which you prepare, over a maximum of twelve months, either a 15,000-word treatise or a design dissertation. The latter involves presenting design solutions for a single site supported by two essays on the major generic underlying design issue.

You are encouraged, in discussion with tutors, to select subject matter inspired by your own interests and culture subject to the agreement of the Course Committee. Previous successful dissertations include Ecological Design in Spain, Innovation in Garden Design since 1900, and The Aesthetics of Contemporary Naturalistic Herbaceous Vegetation in the UK.

At Master’s level you work independently within a framework of tutorial support, provided via meetings, email or telephone, to suit your circumstances. Tutors are assigned according to their specialist subjects and interests. You may use the school research facilities and attend any lectures that may be relevant to your chosen subject.

You are encouraged and required to develop your own study pattern; and implicit within this are independent research, critical analysis of existing published material and practical timetabling for production of the dissertation. You will be expected to document your methodology and to articulate clear analytical relationships between your own research, design theory, and an extensive body of relevant precedent studies, leading to firm logical conclusions.

An MA in Garden Design is both a valuable professional design qualification and a springboard to related fields such as writing, teaching and further research. It is an opportunity to explore and research a particular aspect of garden design that is relevant to you. Your work must also have a relevance to the design community as a whole and be seen to contribute to the bank of knowledge and research for other interested parties to access.

MA Garden Design – course objectives

• Define and critically analyse a selected subject area and generate a clear programme of research, directed towards a clearly defined end.
• Show familiarity with relevant published research and a range of additional sources of information such as case histories, site visits, plans and associated documentation commensurate with the post-graduate challenge.
• Reflect upon the selection, organisation and integration of researched material, presenting a clear argument and conclusion in the presentation of your thesis or dissertation.
• Critically relate to the research experience, to plan, structure, organise and present a view of the subject area that relates to your work and personal design philosophy.

The MA Garden Design is validated and awarded by the federal University of Wales.