Industrial Design

Entry requirements

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:

• An honours degree in a relevant field: product design, 3D design, furniture design, service design, interaction design, architecture, engineering and ergonomics. Applicants are also considered from related disciplines but portfolios from these areas must demonstrate some proficiency in industrial design skills, however, and demonstrate that personal and professional aspirations are compatible with the aims of the course.

Or an equivalent EU/international qualification

and normally at least one year of relevant professional experience.

AP(E)L – Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning:

Exceptionally applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:

• Related academic or work experience
• The quality of the personal statement
• A strong academic or other professional reference

Or a combination of these factors.

Each application will be considered on its own merit but cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Traditionally, industrial design is associated with the improvement of goods and services through creative intervention. However, as the nature of production and consumption has changed, so has the role of the industrial designer. Increasingly, they are required to conceptualise new products and systems with limited user experience. Inevitably, this places an emphasis on the social value and accessibility of technologies. In this context, psychological and emotional factors are often as important as rational and physical ones. This requires a different set of critical skills.

As a pioneering course in the field, MA Industrial Design adapts to these changes in business models and consumption patterns. On the course, you will question how and why particular goods and services are produced. We recognise the need for drawing on current thinking and practice in other discipline areas, including social psychology, behavioural science, cultural theory and innovation studies. The course does not impose a particular manifesto or rule-book for design. Instead, it is concerned with the development of industrial design as a discipline and profession.

MA Industrial Design will encourage you to question what industry is today and to consider changing paradigms. You will continually reappraise the discipline, addressing critical and socially responsive design. You will explore the application of industrial design in both market-led and societal contexts. This constant review of what industrial design is creates a culture independent of a particular style or dogma. Instead, it encourages diverse engagement, reflection, negotiation and prototyping of the discipline.

MA Industrial Design applies this intellectual development directly to design practice. It will teach you to take on strategic roles, identify and respond to trends, initiate design approaches and thrive in multidisciplinary teams. While the course honours the traditional legacy of the subject, we continue to reframe what industrial design is and means.

Information for international students

IELTS level 6.5 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking (please check our main English language requirements webpage).

Fees and funding