ENGLISH LANGUAGE

SUBJECT SHEETS

Web design
The United Kingdom (UK) has been at the forefront of developments in Information Technology (IT) since its beginning. Many of the developments in the Internet, software development (including interface design) and computer communication have been achieved by UK computer scientists, who continue to shape developments in this fastchanging world.

Checklist: Why study web design in the United Kingdom?

web design impacts the usability of computer systems and has close ties to multimedia systems, mobile systems and interface design UK institutions have been quick to adapt to the demand for this new and exciting discipline, and you can study at all levels and in many ways a UK education carries international prestige, and international employers recruit large numbers of graduates in IT disciplines the opportunity to improve your fluency in English will improve your job prospects in Englishspeaking countries. you can study web design on its own or as part of a broad-based curriculum courses are intellectually rigorous, and you could learn other important skills such as teamwork, commercial awareness and project management UK universities have particularly strong links with industry and commerce in the computing and IT fields, so their work is relevant and up to date.

www.educationuk.org

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1 What can I study?

You can study web design at all levels, from national certificate to first degree and postgraduate level. The table below gives a summary of the different levels and types of course available.

Level/type of study
Introductory courses

Course options open to you

Features

Offered by state-funded and private colleges, these can be as brief as one day or part-time for several weeks. State-funded and private colleges offer these courses. They vary from sixty hours to two years, and some private colleges offer one-to-one tuition for as much time as you need to reach the level you want. Search the database www.educationuk.org for these courses. Web design is offered as a main subject or a component subject in various City and Guilds courses and BTEC/Edexcel National Diploma courses. Search for courses on www.educationuk.org

Full or part-time. Be aware that course providers may use the word Introductory for different depths of study. You can find part-time courses of all types (day time, evening, weekends) and full-time courses.

Certificate or Diploma in web design or web design and Internet technologies

Career-based training

One or two years full-time, depending on the level, for a City and Guilds qualification; two years full-time for a National Diploma. These courses are also available part-time. (See Choosing a career based training course in this series) Two years full-time; part-time study also available. May lead into employment or into the second or third year of a degree course.

Higher National Diploma (HND)

HND courses with web design as a component include:

e-commerce HND multimedia HND HND in computer and digital product technology

Search for courses on www.educationuk.org Foundation degree (with work experience) Examples of courses available include: Full or part-time, with partial on-line delivery. May lead into employment or into the final year of a degree course.

Computing and internet technologies Electronics and computer interfacing Design for digital technologies New media design

For more information on foundation degrees go to www.foundationdegree.org.uk or www.ucas.com Foundation degrees are also listed at www.educationuk.org First degree Examples of courses available include: Full-time courses (usually three years in England or four years in Scotland).

Web design (BA) Web design and development (BSc) Internet product design (BSc) Design for interactive media (BA) Internet systems (BEng) Internet computing (BSc) Computing and design for the World

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Wide Web (BSc)

Web and e-business computing (BSc) Computer networks and web design (BSc) Search for courses on www.educationuk.org. Distance learning Many distance-learning courses offer web design as a subject or component. These are at all levels, from beginner to postgraduate. To look for distance-learning courses, search on www.educationuk.org/distance. Many postgraduate (Masters) degrees include web design as a component. If you want to study design alone, you should look for courses such as Design (visual communication) and Interactive Digital Media. Search on the web site www.educationuk.org There are a variety of short courses, many of them offered by private training colleges these often offer individual tuition. Search on www.educationuk.org Courses are offered by state-funded and private colleges in all the leading web page software packages, such as Dreamweaver and FrontPage. Search for the name of the software package you want to train in under short courses on www.hotcourses.com. Vendor qualifications are provided by the major systems suppliers (such as Microsoft, Cisco, Novell, 3 Com, etc.). They focus on specific products and technologies and are generally recognised worldwide. e-skills UK has worked with Microsoft, Cisco, Novell and 3 Com to link their qualifications to NVQs/SVQs. For more information on this initiative go to www.eskills.com/qualify/index.htm. This site also has links to the training and certification sites of Microsoft, Cisco, Novell and 3 com where their courses are listed. For general information on distance learning courses, see Distance learning in this series.

Postgraduate courses and degrees

Usually one year full-time, two years parttime.

Short courses (general)

Most of these courses are between half a day and five days long, although a small number of three-month courses are available.

Professional development and software courses

Most of these courses are between half a day and five days long.

Vendor qualifications

Most of the courses for vendor qualifications are up to a few days long. They are usually available online.

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Checklist: Choosing the right course

always make enquiries in the countries in which you want to work as to whether they expect a certain level of formal qualification check whether the course is accredited if this is important to you (see Quality issues in this series for a full list of the organisations that accredit courses) always ask for a course prospectus and make sure that it fulfils your requirements make sure you read the course requirements carefully some courses ask for art and design skills, for others the emphasis is on information technology skills (see Entrance) apply for degree courses and Higher National Diplomas through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) for all other courses, apply directly to the institution.

2 Entrance
Some courses demand evidence of your ability in art and design and may ask to see a portfolio of work. Other courses ask for evidence of information technology skills. Many courses require both. Postgraduate courses that include web design as one element of wider IT studies could ask you to do a conversion course (a year-long course available at many universities) if your earlier degree is not in IT. This may not apply to postgraduate degrees in visual communication only, but they would probably also require some IT experience.

Would I need to have a good grasp of the English language?

Some institutions expect you to have a formally certified level of English. You need to check with the individual institutions.

3 How can I register as a professional?

There is no professional registration for web designers in the UK, and you would not need to be registered to work. However, you should check the requirements in the country where you want to work as these may differ. The professional body for the whole IT industry in the UK is the British Computer Society (BCS), which is the only information systems organisation that can award an internationally recognised professional qualification (membership of the BCS can also lead to registration as a Chartered Engineer or Incorporated Engineer ). Qualification for membership of the BCS is based on a points system; some points are awarded for educational achievement and some for expertise and experience in the industry. The number of educational points that your web design course would carry depends on the content of the course. You can check this with the BCS (see Where can I find more information?) or your chosen institution.

Would a United Kingdom qualification be recognised in other countries?

UK qualifications are recognised all over the world, but you should check whether a particular qualification is required in the countries in which you want to work.

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4 Next steps
Checklist: Your next steps
1 2 3 Take time to go through the course listings. There are hundreds of courses of all lengths and types, at both state-funded and private institutions. Always ask for the course prospectus and make sure it will offer you the skills you want. If it is important for you to have an accredited qualification, ask the institution whether it is registered with the British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education (BAC). You can also look at the web sites of e-skills UK www.e-skills.com and the British Computer Society www.bcs.org.uk. Both organisations list accredited organisations. If you intend to do a distance-learning course, you can check whether the institution is accredited by the Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (ODLQC) www.odlqc.org

5 Where can I find more information?

British Accreditation Council for Independent Further and Higher Education (BAC) 42 Manchester Street London W1U 7LW Telephone +44 (0) 20 7224 5474 Fax +44 (0) 20 7224 5475 Email info@the-bac.org Website www.thecapability.uk.com/bac

British Council Education information Website www.educationuk.org For further information, you can find details of your nearest office at www.britishcouncil.org/homecontact-worldwide.htm which includes links to all our country web pages and a worldwide address book giving contact details for all offices.

EducationUK Scotland Website www.educationukscotland.org

British Computer Society 1 Sanford Street Swindon SN1 1HJ Telephone +44 (0) 1793 417417 Fax +44 (0) 1793 480270 Email bcshq@hq.bcs.org.uk Website www.bcs.org.uk

Wales International Consortium Website www.walesinternationalconsortium.com

Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) Rosehill New Barn Lane Cheltenham Gloucester GL52 3LZ Telephone +44 (0) 870 1122 211 Fax +44 (0) 124 2544 961 Email enquiries@ucas.ac.uk Website www.ucas.com

e-skills UK 1 Castle Lane London SW1E 6DR Telephone +44 (0) 20 7963 8920 Fax +44 (0) 20 7592 9138 Email info@e-skills.com Website www.e-skills.com

Institute of IT Training Westwood House Westwood Business Park Coventry CV4 8HS Telephone +44 (0) 845 0068858 Fax +44 (0) 845 0068871 E-mail info@iitt.org.uk Website www.iitt.org.uk

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Institute for the Management of Information Systems (IMIS) 5 Kingfisher House New Mill Road Orpington Kent BR5 3QG Telephone +44 (0) 700 00 23456 Fax +44 (0) 700 00 23023 Email central@imis.org.uk Website www.imis.org.uk

NCC Education The Towers Towers Business Park Didsbury Manchester M20 2EZ Telephone +44 (0) 161 438 6200 Fax +44 (0) 161 438 6240 Email info@nccedu.com Website www.nccedu.com

City and Guilds 1 Giltspur Street London EC1A 9DD Telephone +44 (0) 20 7294 2800 Fax +44 (0) 20 7294 2400 Email enquiry@city-and-guilds.co.uk Website www.city-and-guilds.co.uk

Other useful resources

Complete guide to computer science courses 2005 (UCAS/Trotman 2004, ISBN 0 8566 09617) includes comprehensive introduction covering general course characteristics, with information on graduate destinations and continuing professional development. British Qualifications 34th ed. (Kogan Page 2004, ISBN 0 7494 4138 0) lists every recognised qualification on offer in the UK, by schools, colleges, universities, business schools, learned societies, trade and professional bodies and associations. Occupations 2004 (DfES 2003, ISBN 0 8611 0864 7) Connexions compilation, an in-depth guide of over 600 career choices of all types from unskilled to professional work, also list prospects and qualification for each occupation. NB. Please note these books may not be available at your local British Council office.

While every effort has been made to ensure that the information given here is correct and up to date, the British Council accepts no legal liability for its accuracy, currency or completeness.

June 2004

British Council classification. Which course (red) 6/8

British Council 2004 The United Kingdom's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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