Systems Design Management

Entry requirements

You will typically need an upper second-class honours degree or an international equivalent in any subject.

Applicants from Social Science, Arts and Humanities backgrounds will need to demonstrate maths ability with one quantitative unit at 60% or above (UK equivalent) or international equivalent from the Quantitative unit requirements list below.

OR

A-level Mathematics with grade A if no mathematics or quantitative units in your degree.

We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer. This offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree.

If your achieved grade is lower than our entry requirements, your application may be more likely to receive an offer if you have additional relevant work experience or qualifications. If you have at least one of the following, please include your CV (curriculum vitae/résumé) when you apply, showing:

• 5 years' relevant work experience such as in Business and Corporate Management, Finance and Accounting, Marketing and Sales, Operations and Logistics, Public Sector or Nonprofit Administration, Human Resources, Project Management, Data and Analytics, Engineering, Technology, Design, Creative industries, Innovation-related roles.
• a relevant postgraduate qualification.

Months of entry

September

Course content

MSc Systems Design Management is an interdisciplinary programme which sits at the interface of business, design, and engineering, which will provide you with the necessary skills to design and develop optimal and sustainable solutions for organisational and societal problems.

The programme focuses on managing design strategy, processes, and implementation, applying the thinking and practices of designers to organisational challenges. We welcome graduates from varied backgrounds and offers opportunities to apply design management skills while engaging with diverse perspectives.

You will be based in a vibrant city well-renowned for its business (for example, PWC, Hargreaves Lansdown), engineering (for example, Airbus, Babcock, Frazer-Nash, GKN, OVO Energy, and Rolls-Royce) and the arts (for example, BBC, Wallace and Gromit, Glastonbury, and Banksy).

The MSc Systems Design Management is built on the integration of business, design and engineering. Unlike most programmes that connect only two of these fields, it brings all three together in a genuinely interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the combined expertise of the Business School, the School of Arts, and the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

At the start of your programme, you will choose one of the following pathways:

• Design for Advanced Manufacturing
• Design for Sustainability
• Design for Creativity

The curriculum is designed to ensure that you do not only learn fundamental principles of business, design, and engineering (such as, systems thinking, design thinking, creativity, and sustainable business models), but also learn to identify, evaluate and apply these skills in various organisational scenarios where interdisciplinary teams are involved.

The interdisciplinary approach will enable you to connect business and management knowledge with design and engineering, promoting an understanding of how organisations can develop optimal and sustainable solutions to the world's global challenges.

You will work on industry-linked projects, group assignments, presentations, and applications of design and systems thinking to real organisational and societal challenges. A systems approach maps the interaction of social, economic, environmental, and technological factors, fostering collaboration across disciplines, sectors and stakeholders. These experiences develop leadership, communication and teamwork, while the emphasis on hands-on learning ensures you are ready to apply your knowledge in practice.

We feel our programme is unique because:

• Unlike most programmes that link only two disciplines such as business and design, design and engineering, or business and engineering, MSc Systems Design Management integrates all three: business, design, and engineering.
• It is taught across two Faculties and four Schools, with units co-designed and delivered by academics and practitioners from multiple disciplines.
• It offers three pathways: advanced manufacturing, sustainability, and design for creativity, selected to match industry demand, future trends, and global needs, enabling students to tailor their studies while gaining strategic insight.
• Its curriculum combines business and management, creativity and design thinking, engineering design and manufacture, and systems thinking.
• It offers knowledge and skills in Business and Management, Creativity and Design thinking, Engineering Design and Manufacture, and Systems Thinking.
• You'll experience a high degree of industry engagement from conception through to delivery.
• The Business School and parts of the Faculty of Science and Engineering are co-locating in the new University of Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, a state-of the art, interdisciplinary facility with industry presence.

Teaching for this postgraduate programme will be delivered at our new Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, opening 2026. Here, enhanced links with industry and collaborative learning spaces will provide students with real-world knowledge, networks and skills to succeed once you graduate. Depending on your choice of optional units, you may also be taught on the Clifton Campus.

Information for international students

See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.

Fees and funding

The Business School is offering a range of scholarships for master's students starting in 2026.

Scholarships for International Students include Think Big Scholarships and Think Big Career Accelerator Scholarships.

Scholarships for Home (UK) Students include the Business School Advance Scholarship.

Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.