About

The Department of Metal Design provides an opportunity to obtain Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in design concerning metalworking on various scales. The program offers education in two subdivisions – jewelry and functional objects such as light objects, cutlery, garden furniture etc. A wide range of other materials – polymers, wood, precious and non-precious stones, amber, etc. are used in combination with the fundament (ferrous and non ferrous metals).

Courses of the Department include composition, work in material, gemstone studies, jewelry history, basics of graphic design etc. The classic technologies to be obtained include sawing, drilling, filing, chiseling, soldering, metal casting and aluminum anodizing. Lathe and milling cutter are available in the workshop as well as horizontal band saw and welding tools. Students are trained to choose the most appropriate methods for the realization of the project. The result differs from a group of jewelry or tableware in the first years of Bachelor's program to complicated art projects including various technological solutions in the Master studies.

ECTS course catalogue I (SPRING) SEMESTER: 
BA level 2nd year
BA level 3rd year
MA level 1st year

ECTS course catalogue II (FALL) SEMESTER:
BA level 2nd year
BA level 3rd year
BA level 4th year
MA level 1st year
MA level 2nd year

About

The focus of the master's studies in metal design department is on in-depth research of each student's individual field of interest, learning specific techniques, in-depth research of the chosen topic and materials. Studies in the programme include not only the tangible and visual part, but also a set of strategically planned and directed actions that result in meaningful design solutions.

The Master's programme in the Faculty of Design covers the broad and interdisciplinary field of the industry. Regardless of the chosen study department, studies in design programme encourages specialisation in one of three directions - conceptual product development in Product Design, innovations, processes, services in Process Design, academic and practical in Design Research.

Product Design – innovations in material, development of new physical or digital products, continuing the practical researches that have started or creating new ones in cooperation with departments of Art Design and/or Visual Plastic Arts of the Art Academy of Latvia, or material science departments in other Latvian universities.

Process Design – an insight into the contemporary process and intangible design (communication design, service design, speculative design, information design, social design, experience design), integrating students into the processes and problem solving of various other sectors and industries.

Design Research – analysis of the design industry, criticism of it, promotion of the strategic processes of the industry, history fixation, or research with design methods, in cooperation with the Art History and Theory faculty of the Art Academy of Latvia.