Visual Communications and Design

Visual Communication and Design is a problem-solving practice that uses image, text, print and screen to communicate messages. This discipline originates from graphic design and now incorporates the traditional skills of drawing, printing, photography, typography and other graphic processes with the new digital realms of video, web and animation.

Course Structure
This course is designed to facilitate a transition from novice student to creative practitioner. Students are taught a variety of skills to achieve this. This highly practical course features a studio environment where students complete projects in a variety of 2D design disciplines, such as: branding; illustration; packaging; typography; advertising; layout; signage; websites; games; moving image, video and animation.

Digital Marketing

Course options include:

Common Entry
Business
Digital Marketing
Applicants should choose Common Entry if they are undecided on their speciality and can decide on their degree option at the end of Year 2. Applicants that select a specific degree option at CAO stage are guaranteed a place on that programme, subject to meeting the entry requirements and points. All applicants may change their selection up to the end of Year 2 and must confirm specialism at this point.

Business touches on almost every aspect of modern human society and careers in business are diverse and often highly rewarding. At undergraduate level students can gain a foundation in key areas of the business world, before choosing a specialisation. Digital marketing plays an increasingly important role, involving most areas of business including, branding, public relations, publishing and customer engagement.

Common Entry
This four-year honours degree programme equips students with a broad skill-base ensuring graduates will have a wide range of career options. The first two years of this programme provides students with a foundation in business, with some electives. After two years, students decide on their chosen area of specialism.

Digital Marketing
The Digital Marketing stream is for graduates who are interested in a career in business with specialist skills in digital marketing. The digital marketing option develops specialist technical skills and knowledge including e-business, digital media design and marketing management.

Business
The Business stream provides graduates with a broad-based Bachelor of Business (Honours) structured around management, finance and economics, business technology and marketing. There is a strong emphasis on the application of knowledge and skills in an international context, through modules such as international business; european economics and innovative business.

Tourism and Event Management

Tourism is one of Ireland’s most important and growing economic sectors, supporting jobs on both national and international level. Festivals and events are critical for tourism growth as they specifically attract both domestic and overseas visitors to Ireland and contribute significantly to the economy every year. Event management has become an integral element of the Irish tourism offering. Demand is growing for high-calibre graduates who have the necessary skills to develop their careers in this exciting industry.

Course Structure
The course combines tourism and event modules with a strong business, entrepreneurial and research focus. From project management, to designing websites, to understanding key management issues relating to events in the tourism sector, this course equips students with the required knowledge and skill set to develop careers in this area.

Is this course for you?
If you are interested in a career in an exciting and dynamic industry where your contribution can make a difference, then Tourism and Event Management may be the course for you.

Organic Agriculture

The BSc (Honours) in Organic Agriculture aims is to provide learners with a cross-disciplinary education in the fields of business and science with a particular emphasis on the application of these to organic agricultural systems. Learners will be exposed to the most up to date knowledge in the area of organic food production including the regulations around the marketing and distributing of these products.

Over the duration of the programme, the learner will have gained knowledge in the production of fruit and vegetables, meat and dairy products that confirm to the rigorous standards of organic food production. Guest lecturers and field trips will be used to complement the classroom based activities, exposing the learner to industry leaders in the area of organic agriculture.

Upon graduation, the learner will be well placed to gain employment in both organic and conventional agricultural settings.

Engineering Agricultural Systems Engineering

The agri-food sector is one of Ireland’s most important indigenous manufacturing sectors, accounting for employment of around 150,000 people. It includes approximately 600 food and drinks firms throughout the country that export 85% of our food and seafood to more than 160 countries worldwide.

This programme focuses on agricultural science, agri-business, agricultural engineering and agricultural systems. Students will develop knowledge in areas such as sensing technology, electro-pneumatics, electro-hydraulics, automation, Agribusiness, management, marketing and product pricing.

It is also envisaged that graduates of this programme will have Young Trained Farmer status.

Business Common Entry (Options in Business & Digital Marketing)

Business is the interaction between people, processes and exchange. It plays an important part in our daily lives along with driving innovation and prosperity in our communities.

This course equips students with the applied skills and knowledge needed to pursue a career in a variety of areas such as commercial activity, entrepreneurship, public service, government and the not-for-profit sector. The course is structured around four key pillars – management, finance/economics, business technology and marketing.

Course Structure
The first two years of this programme provide students with a foundation in business, with some electives. After two years, students decide on their chosen area of specialism in either Business or Business with Digital Marketing. Depending on your choice and your areas of interest there are also electives are available in Commercial Law, Fund Accounting and Global Economics.

In Year 3, you will also undertake a professional work placement where you will put your learning into practice and gain practical experience.

Early Childhood Education and Practice

Early childhood education and practice involves supporting babies and young children to become competent and confident learners through loving relationships with others. Children require high-quality education and care during their formative years. Research indicates that the higher the professional qualification of the educator working with the children, the higher the quality of the setting and the children’s experiences in it.

Course Structure
This honours degree in Early Childhood Education and Practice enables the student to study a diverse range of subjects in order to gain a deep understanding of babies and children from birth to six years of age. Students develop a knowledge and understanding of Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework and Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, essential for professional work in this area of practice.

Human Resource Management

The MBS (Human Resource Management Stream) is customised for the modern business climate, which demands a dynamic and flexible approach to management and an increased emphasis on fostering a knowledge-based economy. In this setting the importance of employees, and consequently the human resource function, has never been greater. Employees are increasingly viewed as the critical determinant of an organisations success and thus the professional management of people takes centre stage. The MBS (Human Resource Management Stream) is designed to provide graduates with the opportunity to enhance their specialist subject knowledge in HR whilst gaining a deeper knowledge of key contemporary issues prevailing in the business environment. Candidates will experience innovative learning methods, undertake practical assignments and acquire key competencies and skills to help them advance their career. Emphasis is placed on developing skills of critical thinking, analysis, debate, dealing with high levels of ambiguity and the simultaneous treatment of inter dependent decisions in a more complex environment. Students achieve this through participation in class activities and through involvement in a series of events including those organised by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The School of Business at SETU Waterford is an accredited centre for the CIPD professional body and the MBS (Human Resource Management Stream) awards associate membership of the CIPD and with one year’s relevant experience Chartered member of CIPD (MCIPD) which is a global qualification.

Visual Art

Art as a subject taught at third level encourages self-expression and creativity while building confidence and creative skills as well as a sense of individual identity for our students. Most important, studying visual art at SETU Waterford helps to develop our students critical thinking and the ability to interpret the world around us through determination and resilience while opening up new possibilities to think beyond what we already know through art’s unique visual language.

What is the BA (Hons) in Visual Art?
The undergraduate Visual Art programme at SETU Waterford offers students the opportunity to work broadly and experimental across a wide range of fine art media and practices, these include; drawing, painting, sculpture, print-making, photography, performance, video and digital media. On this studio-based programme, emphasis is placed on developing both the student’s visual awareness and artistic analysis through theoretical and historical contexts in contemporary art in order to shape and develop each student’s individual art practices.

The programme is structured on the basis of a modulated four-year degree, starting with the inculcation of core skills. These are then extended through a number of thematic projects in which practical ability is augmented and strengthened by the development of visual awareness. Finally, each student brings their cumulative learning to bear on the accomplishment of a personal artistic project.

Applied Social Care

The BA in Applied Social Care (previously known as the BA in Applied Social Studies in Social Care) is a three year (level 7) course of study. The course is designed to facilitate students who wish to pursue a specific area of interest and prepares students for professional careers in Social Care Work.

The overall aim is to develop reflective and ethically-aware practitioners with the capacity to build professional relationships, in partnership with vulnerable individuals and groups who experience marginalisation, disadvantage or special needs.

The course involves the study of related disciplines of Sociology, Social Policy, Psychology, Law, Applied Social Care, Personal and Professional Development and Supervised Professional Practice.

Entry will only be permitted at year one and applications in relation to RPL, advanced entry and module exemption applications for any year will not be accepted and reviewed for these programmes.

Applicants who seek entry into the BA (Hons) in Applied Social Studies in Social Care will be permitted once they have completed the Bachelor of Arts in Applied Social Care, Waterford Campus or equivalent programme.