Introduction

At the Marbella Design Academy, our goal is to educate our students to a professional level in all aspects. Not only in all the subjects related to their choice of education, but also in the cutting-edge professional computer programs used in the industry.
We develop the students in all the necessary skills required to accomplish a wide variety of real life design tasks and respond to the challenges, demands and opportunities that face a professional designer in the industry of their specialization.

We aim to preserve and foster individual creativity and as well as enhance artistic and technical skills.
The students are prepared for the high level of achievement demanded by the market in terms of presentational quality, aesthetic sensibility and project management in any design environment.
All tutors are practicing professionals within their respective fields.
For more information about our courses, please see our area dedicated to our Study Programmes.

The necessary information regarding Timetables, Rules and Regulations and other Academic details are included in our Student Guidelines Handbook, which is given to students as classes commence, but can also be emailed upon acceptance in our Academy.

The Administration is at your service for any questions you might have regarding your study:
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The Curriculum:

The Marbella Design Academy implements the state-recognized curriculum proposed by the Spanish Ministry of Education.
The quality of the programmes has been improved to a 3 years - Bachelor Degree level and updated by the Academy referring to the QAA publications for Art & Design disciplines.
Tuition in the latest technology and industry-specific computer programs have been incorporated to assure cutting edge resources.
Please see details in the Fees/material list option in the Study Programmes area of this website

Admissions:

To be accepted at the Marbella Design Academy, the students must comply with the following requirements:

• To be 18 years of age or over (17 year-old students are admitted if they reach 18 during the current academic year)
• To have completed High School studies or equivalent.
  In the event a student possesses an outstanding artistic talent, but has not obtained a high school diploma, a discretionary exception from this rule can be made.
• Basic level of English is required.

Location and Surroundings

Marbella Design Academy is located in a 2.000m² facility on a 10.000m² park. The building has been special designed for the Academy and contains all the latest requirements for a modern design academy. The building has been approved by the Ministry of Education and is living up to all the given requirements for a state recognized design school

Marbella Design Academy is placed in the heart of Andalucía. In your free hours there are plenty of possibilities to go sightseeing. Monda is in the middle of a splendid nature reserve and is surrounded by several cultural sites.

The history of Andalucía is rich, with a cultural heritage going back as long as several thousands of years.

Andalucía has been the homeland for the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Romans and the Moors. They have all left evidence of their stay in Andalucía, which we all have the pleasure to see and explore within a short distance from the Academy.

Of bigger towns to be mentioned: Cadiz, Jerez, Seville, Cordoba, Jaen, Grenada and Malaga. All are within 2 hours drive from the Academy. Malaga is the nearest bigger town, next to Marbella. Malaga and Malaga Airport can be reached within a 30min drive.

Around 60% of the students live in Monda, only a 3 to 5 minutes walk from the Academy. Monda is a beautiful typically Spanish white village.

With 330 sunny days per year, cheap living costs and accommodation, Monda is a wonderful place to be a student.

It is very easy to rent a furnished house or apartment in Monda or Marbella. You will have plenty of choice.

To live in Marbella, 15km away, is only suitable for the students who have a driving license and who want to purchase a car. Cars are cheap to purchase. You can buy a good old car for around 500Euros to 1000Euros.

If you do not have a car or a driving license, then we do not recommend any students live in Marbella.

We have had many cases of students who had an agreement with another student as a driver and who could not come to class in time as the driver didn’t show up. If this happens, then you are stuck in Marbella, as the public bus service to and from Marbella is slow and the time schedule does not correspond with classes.

Monda

We recommend all students to live in Monda, a 3 to 5 minutes walk from the Academy.

All the apartments are furnished and a short distance from our Academy.

The Academy is cooperating with a girl, Karen, in Monda, who distributes apartments and houses to all our students. Karen can inform you of the houses and apartments available a short distance from the Academy. She will also be able to send you some pictures via email of the rooms, houses or apartments of your interest.

By living in Monda, you will be able to use the facilities offered at the Academy and come to your classes in time.

For sure many other students would like to share a house or an apartment with you. You can ask Karen to make the contact with other students searching for a roommate.

When students are sharing a house or apartment, they normally pay around 150Euros per month each. Please contact the Academy for her email address.

Marbella

The Andalusian town of Marbella is situated along the seafront of the Mediterranean in Southern Spain.

The Marbella Design Academy is located only 15km from Marbella and the beach. Marbella is small (100,000 Inhabitants), extremely clean and well kept town, which has become home to many foreigners, making it totally cosmopolitan. Marbella is the chosen place to visit for numerous celebrities such as the Obama family, Bruce Willis or Antonio Banderas.

You cannot avoid making friends from all over the world.

In the "Old Town", at the "Plaza de Naranjos" (Orange Square), you will find a hive of activity with many cafes, bars and restaurants, surrounded by orange trees, which gave the plaza its name.

Staying in Marbella is as if you are in a botanical garden. The town has been beautifully designed with many parks, palm trees, orange trees and a wide variety of colourful flowers arranged in fine beds.

The pedestrian promenade stretches the entire length of Marbella's beach.

Here you can find many restaurants serving a wide range of international and Spanish specialties or even eat fresh sardines cooked in the traditional way on the beach.

Marbella is a lively town, the nightlife starting around midnight and carrying on until the early hours of the morning, with everybody enjoying themselves to the full.

Marbella is as well the place to go shopping. You have the huge commercial center La Cañada only 15 minutes away. There is nothing you cannot buy in Marbella. Marbella has it all.

Leisure

With the best climate in Europe, the most sunny days and as the stunning mountains are surrounding Monda you have plenty of possibilities for hiking, horse riding and other out door activities.

There are many sports clubs and fitness centers in the area.

Are you into surfing, diving, sailing etc? Then you have the Mediterranean and Atlantic beach in a short distance from the Academy.

The Worlds best surfer beaches you will find in the small town, Tarifa, which is the most southerly town in main land Europe. Here you can go by boat to Morocco within 35 minutes.

Are you into skiing? Then you have the best possibilities in Sierra Nevada. Highest peak, Mulhacen is 3.482m. You can actually go skiing in the morning and sunbathe at the beach in the afternoon. Sierra Nevada is 2 hours drive away from the Academy.

For sure a great place to be a student!

Spanish for Beginners:

Free Spanish Classes (Voluntary) 1 hour twice per week and during the entire academic year, Spanish classes have been introduced into the curriculum to aid a more satisfactory communication with the Spanish world around us.

Welcome from the Founder:

History:

Founder of the Marbella Design Academy, Helle Byrn, is herself a Danish designer. Her academic background hails from the Danmarks Design Skole, where she received her degree as an Interior Architect in 1976. Since 1986, Helle has fronted her own design company, holding International patents in 24 countries.
In 1993, she chose to emigrate to the sunnier climate of Marbella in Spain

Marbella of that period was undergoing the beginning of a major building boom, during which higher education was an undervalued concept. In this context, in the Spring of 1995, Helle Byrn decided to open an international design school in the area.

Marbella Design Academy opened doors to its first students in October of 1995.

Over the last 16 years, the school has grown from a small academy, to the present expansive and modern location in which today, full courses  - Higher Educations in Interior Design, Graphic Design and Fashion Design are offered

In August of 2008, the Academy moved 15 kilometers from Marbella to its present new location in the peaceful village of Monda, occupying a new venue built expressly to fulfill the needs of an official educational institution.

The large building occupies some 2.000 square meters of a 10.000m2 plot, and contains the necessary space for a modern Design Academy. It includes a vast parking lot, a small lake and recreation areas for the students to enjoy their breaks in.

In 2009, the Marbella Design Academy gained State recognition from the Spanish Ministry of Education.

Holidays:

For info about holidays please see the Academic Calendar in the Studies Programme section.

Fees:

FEES: Academic Year 2011-2012 Academic Year 2012 Academic Year 2012-2013 Academic Year 2013 Academic Year 2013-2014 Academic Year 2014 10 months, the entire Academic year, to be paid in advance	10x900€	9000€
Registration Fee (to be paid in your first year at the academy only)		500€
Fees per academic year.		9.000€

The list of materials required for the courses are not included in the fees. You must provide your own materials. Please see the material lists provided on the Course information pages of this website.

We are looking forward to developing you into a top class professional within your chosen Programme.

Director - Principal: Gualberto Cerron
Tel:  (+34) 952 45 96 77
Tel.: (+34) 609-59 48 85
E-mail
Fax.: (+34) 952 45 73 41