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Product Design MA

This course will help you to develop the key design skills and creativity required by entrepreneurs and industry professionals, in relation to your own professional ambitions and area of design.

Overview

This course is for students with a product, furniture or a directly-related 3D design degree who wish to build on their expertise, specialist knowledge and employability. You will develop an advanced understanding of design practice, learn about research methodologies, explore service design and the ways that emerging digital technologies can enhance your work. The flexibility of the curriculum allows you to create a distinct programme of learning that is focused on your individual interests and ambitions, and equip you with the practical commercial skills for a successful career in the creative industries.

Within the course, you can choose from two specialisms. On the Design Practice specialism, you will explore design innovation and the creation of innovative products that fulfil the users’ wants and needs. Alternatively, our Design and Business specialism focuses on commercial practice, research methods and product design – all valuable skills that you would need to forge a career as a creative entrepreneur.

Your studies will culminate in a self-directed design project, during which you will explore real world product design processes such as external validation, prototyping, testing, technical definition and specification.

In all your designs and processes we will empower you to experiment boldly and encourage you to take risks. We aim to develop independent learners who can take their own personal and critical approach to tackling complex design challenges. Access to our sophisticated facilities, including industry-standard vector-based and three-dimensional modelling packages, will enable you to push design boundaries and realise your creative visions.

Key features

  • Our flexible learning environment allows you to choose from an impressive range of specialist modules to develop your own personal and professional interests.
  • Learn from an expert teaching team who are active in their own field and maintain their professional skillset, ensuring you develop the most relevant skills for a career in the industry. 
  • Join a community that is working together to co-design new ways of thinking to redefine the future of creative practice. 
  • With an optional year-long work placement you can gain valuable experience to further enhance your practical and professional skills. 
  • The award-winning Vijay Patel Building provides both the space to foster creative thinking as well as top-class facilities, giving you access to a range of dedicated workshops and a host of specialist equipment.

Scholarships:

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International Scholarships

Find out about available scholarships and country specific fee discounts for international students. 

 

More courses like this:

Design Innovation MA/MSc
Digital Design MA

  • UK
  • EU/International

Programme code: W24071

Duration: One year full-time. Two years part-time.

Start date: September 2023

Fees and funding UK/EU:

2022/23 tuition fees for UK students: £8,986 per year.

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Programme code: W24071

Duration: One year full-time

Start date: September 2023

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for EU and international students: £15,800

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements 

You should have the equivalent or above of a 2:2 UK bachelor’s honours degree in product or furniture design or a directly related subject.

If you have other professional qualifications and industry experience we will consider your application on an individual basis. 

Interview and portfolio

Applicants with relevant qualifications should submit a portfolio of work (please see our Product Design MA application portfolio advice for full details).

Non-standard applicants will be invited to attend an interview with a portfolio.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

 

Modules

Design Practice Specialism

Core modules

  • Research Methods
  • Design Innovation
  • Insight, Enterprise and Innovation
  • Final Major Project

Optional modules

  • Design Futures
  • Design as a Strategic Business Tool
  • Service Design
  • Business Planning for the Creative Entrepeneur
  • Design, Innovation and Sustainability
  • Technology for Design

Design and Business Specialism

Core modules

  • Research Methods
  • Creative Design Studio
  • Action Research Lab
  • Final Major Project

Optional modules

  • Design Project Management and Portfolio Development
  • Design as a Strategic Business Tool
  • Integrated Brand Management
  • Global Markets: Designing Businesses for International Growth
  • Service Design
  • Business Planning for the Creative Entrepeneur
  • Managing a Web Presence

 

Click here for further module information.

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

Overview

Assessment methods include report submissions, individual/group oral and design-based presentations as well as a major design project submission comprising development, technical specification, prototyping and testing elements. 

The school close-knit community of postgraduate students and staff creates a supportive learning environment for design students from around the world.

All postgraduate module teaching staff are involved in research and commercial activities that shape the curriculum. Within the product design subject area, the team maintain the currency of their modules and design project teaching through involvement in consultancy, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships as well as noteworthy research activities.

The teaching staff have particular expertise in additive manufacture, new product development and inclusive design.

Contact hours

In your first two terms you will normally attend around 10 hours of timetabled taught sessions including lectures, tutorials and workshop and studio sessions each week, and be expected to undertake at least 25 hours of independent study each week. Your third term will be pre-dominantly self-directed (including meetings with your supervisor), during which you can expect to undertake 35 hours of independent study each week.

 

 

Facilities and features

Art and design facilities

Our award-winning Vijay Patel building has been designed to provide the space and facilities where all of our art and design students can develop their ideas and flourish. 

The creative industries require imaginative graduates who can develop new ideas and products. Students use our sophisticated and contemporary workshops, labs and studios to experiment and test in the same way they will in industry, while the open and transparent spaces in the building encourage collaboration between disciplines. In doing so, the building prepares students for industry and helps develop them as future leaders in their respective fields. 

Take a look at our stunning showcase of the building at dmu.ac.uk/aad.

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

 

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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Placements

During this course you will have the option to complete a paid placement year, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice. This insight into the professional world will build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career. Placements will normally take place between semester two and three. 

Our careers programme DMU Works can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement.

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DMU Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

 

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Graduate careers

Our graduates have found employment in product and display design, and the manufacturing industry, both in the UK and internationally. We also place a strong focus on research and developing your skills as an independent learner, meaning that this course provides an excellent stepping stone to study at PhD level.

Graduate Emily Hancock is a project manager for the Impacting Business by Design project.  She said: “Undertaking my MA in Product Design enabled me to develop my skill set in multiple areas including research, business and of course product design. The support and freedom from the staff enabled me to discover where my strengths lie and how to improve in areas where I felt needed improvement. Without this postgraduate degree I would not be in the role I am currently.”

Find out how graduate Dan Sawford received a coveted commendation in the international RSA Student Design Awards 2020 with his innovative ideas to improve pedestrian crossings. 

Take your next steps

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