The UOC's first 3-year bachelor's degree starts on 21 September
The UOC starts the new 2016-17 academic year with its first 3-year bachelor's degree, Digital Design and Creation, which can be completed with a 2-year master's degree. It is one of four bachelor’s degrees with this format that four Catalan universities will offer for the first time. With this new degree, the UOC proposes to train designers capable of developing creative solutions for social, cultural and corporate demands, applying an engaged, sustainable, forward-looking approach. The degree course, which is official, will start on 21 September and will have 180 ECTS credits.
Versatile designers trained in three years
"We will train holistic designers", explains Javier Melenchón, the new degree's director. "We will move away from the classic division of the various branches associated with it, such as graphic design, interior design or fashion design," he adds.
According to Melenchón, design studios are currently having difficulties in finding versatile designers who can offer a more global approach to solving design problems, going beyond the specialized design function associated with a particular branch. "We took this into account when designing this degree course; it will cover the demand from the professional sector, which aspires towards this more integral design. The dividing line between graphic, fashion and interior designers... is insufficient," he clarifies.
The course will have a "unique" focus in that it conceives design as an agent for social transformation. "We highlight the designer's work as being collaborative, open, sustainable and responsible. Our degree seeks to build bridges toward the free culture, the maker movement and hacker ethics."
Europe follows the 3+2 model
The three-year bachelor’s degrees will be implemented at the University this year, following the Ministry of Education's approval of the flexibilization of the duration of university degree courses in January 2015. These 180 ECTS credit degrees, which can be complemented with a two-year master's degree, will coexist with the current 4+1 model (four-year bachelor's degree and one-year master's degree) that was implemented in Spain with the arrival of the Bologna Plan, which replaced the old pre-EHEA degrees and diplomas.
According to a report by the European Commission, in the academic year 2010-11, more than 60% of the forty-seven countries included in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) were already offering 3+2 in more than half of its degree courses. The rest of the course offering was complemented with the 4+1 model (240 bachelor's degree credits + 60 master's degree credits). In fact, only seven countries, Spain among them, chose to ignore these shorter bachelor’s degrees. The other six are Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Ukraine and Cyprus.
Internationalization of the Catalan university system
But which is better? 3+2 or 4+1? According to UOC Vice President Carles Sigalés, the difference is "relative". "One cannot generalize that the four-year bachelor’s degrees are better than the three-year degrees or that the opposite is the case. In fact, the latest trends clearly show that skill acquisition is not directly related with a course's duration. You can assimilate a skill very quickly because you have prior knowledge and certain abilities that make it easier for you, or you might need much longer in other circumstances," he says.
What the 3+2 formula does, therefore, is to align the Spanish university system with the European system. "It makes internationalization, student exchanges and programmes with other universities easier for us and, therefore, connects us with the activity taking place in the European system," he points out.
Corporate communication covered in a university master's degree
The other innovation that the UOC is launching this year is the University Master's Degree in Corporate Communication, Protocol and Events, which is aimed at training students to work in communication in companies and institutions. Students will learn how to design, execute and evaluate corporate communication projects and to organize institutional and corporate events. It consists of 60 ECTS credits.
According to its director, Elisenda Estanyol, this master's degree addresses the changing needs of the job market and new digital environments. "It focuses on the strategic aspect of communication. It goes beyond an instrumental, tactical use of public relations techniques, becoming a management-level area that requires coordination with other departments within companies, such as marketing or human resources." Beyond conveying messages, Estanyol adds, there is a need for professionals who are able to relate effectively with different audiences.
The UOC's complete academic offering for this year
21 bachelor’s degrees
36 university master’s degrees
3 doctoral degrees
40 UOC-certified master’s degrees
280 postgraduate diplomas, specializations and courses
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