Master of Design Administration ((MDA) (Distance))

How will I be taught?

You will be taught through a wide range of distance learning methods. Course material will be available in the form of detailed course notes, wikis, and pre-recorded video presentations. There will be regular live-streamed events, including webinars and on-line workshops given by leading experts, and a blog updating you on course events and current industry developments relevant to the course.

There will be regular contact throughout the year. Each module will have two days of on-line events with at least one lunch time webinar. This will be supplemented by the weekly blog, discussion boards relating to specific topics, regular written feedback on your work, and individual and group online tutorials.  You will be encouraged to maintain a reflective journal on your professional experience, which will inform the assignments and the tutorials. All events are designed to encourage you to share experience and knowledge gained in practice. Recordings of material will be available on-line through the University’s virtual learning environment, Learning Central.

Due to the nature of this course, you are responsible for reading any emails sent by module tutors or announcements made through Learning Central on a frequent basis.

How will I be assessed?

You will be assessed through a range of course work formats, including structured assignments, case studies, essays, pre-recorded videos, webinars and an adjudicator decision (see module descriptions for more details). There are no examinations or class tests.

How will I be supported?

You will be allocated a personal tutor when you enrol. A personal tutor is there to support you during your studies, help you reflect on your performance on the course and advise you on study techniques, module selection and career planning (in conjunction with the University’s Career Service). You should have regular meetings through Collaborate (the University online package for virtual seminars, and one-to one or group meetings) with your personal tutor to ensure that you are fully supported.

You will normally receive at least three individual tutorials during the course, using Collaborate (as above)

All modules content will be shared via the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, Learning Central, where you can access discussion forums and find course materials including recordings of lectures and links to related materials.

Cardiff University also offers a wide range of online support services which are easily accessible to our distance learning students, such as counselling and wellbeing, financial and careers advisors, the international office and the Student Union.

What skills will I practise and develop?

The Learning outcomes for this Programme describe what you will be able to do as a result of your study at Cardiff University. They will help you to understand what is expected of you and academic staff will focus on precisely what they want you to achieve within each Module. 

Knowledge & Understanding:

On completing the programme you will be able to:

• Demonstrate a systematic and in depth understanding of the methods used to regulate development, the construction industry and the provision of design services within and outside the UK
• Critically evaluate and compare simple and complex procurement systems, including collaborative and multi-party arrangements, assessing their implications for the role of consultants, including design managers
• Demonstrate a systematic and in depth understanding of the relevance of design management to contemporary practice and the potential role of design managers in delivering client objectives.
• Critically evaluate procedures and tools for managing design firms, design teams, and the design process throughout all stages of a project.

Intellectual Skills:

On completing the programme you will be able to:

• Identify and appraise sources of information (including current research work), relating to the construction industry within and outside the UK, to determine their authority and reliability.
• Undertake a detailed analysis of the purpose, role, and relative and combined impact of selected regulatory instruments on the design and feasibility of building projects.
• Construe the individual and combined effect of key terms in professional services and construction contracts on the extent of design responsibility and level of risk assumed by those involved.
• Critically analyse key methods for coordinating design development prior to construction including design team integration, early supply chain involvement, and collaborative working at the interface of demand and supply
• Critically analyse key methods for ensuring delivery of project objectives during construction, including risk management, change control, quality monitoring and handover procedures.
• Analyse and compare the roles of contract administrator and project manager as delineated in a range of contrasting contract types, including their duties and powers relating to achievement of quality, time and cost targets.

Professional Practical Skills:

On completing the programme you will be able to:

• Undertake a comprehensive analysis of current enablers and constraints (including institutional, legal and economic) relevant to the feasibility of a proposed development project.
• Assess the design services required for a project, and propose with justification suitable terms of appointment that lead to clear and appropriate allocation of design team responsibilities
• Propose and justify management strategies that would lead to effective design team coordination and efficient management of staff and resources,
• Propose and justify procurement and contractual arrangements that would enable client design and quality priorities to be upheld throughout all stages of a project.
• Evaluate complex situations, including construction disputes, and exercise independent judgement in evaluating and reaching decisions regarding those situations. Justify the decisions clearly and logically.
• Demonstrate the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development

Transferable/Key Skills

On completing the programme, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks in a professional context.
• Propose appropriate methodologies for tackling a selected research topic; plan and execute the work necessary to further understanding in that field
• Critically analyse complex professional and contractual processes, comparing real-life arrangements with theory and recommended good practice.
• Justify and communicate the results of a study clearly and in a manner which would be accessible to a developer, to professionals and to other researchers, using a range of formats and media, including essays, reports, and on-line presentations.