In this chapter, I argue that to understand students’ educational experiences of higher education, we need to have a richer understanding of the role of knowledge and curricula in shaping these experiences. Drawing on Basil Bernstein’s notion of the pedagogic device, I argue that the curriculum expresses the educational intention of a degree programme. I argue that the educational intention of a curriculum needs to be based on an understanding of the particular students who will study it, the knowledge that constitutes it and a clear sense of who students are expected to become through engaging with it. This approach highlights the importance of higher education institutions in providing a context for the design of curricula and the importance of the subject expertise of higher education teachers. I explore the implications of the approach for understanding educational quality and academic development in higher education.