Program Overview

MA/MDes Design

Overview

The MA/MDes Design is a postgraduate program that helps students develop their creativity and grow into adaptable, resourceful, and collaborative designers. The program looks to the future of design and the big challenges facing global society, equipping students with the core knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to face the uncertainties of the next few decades.

Course Description

This new MA/MDes Design will help you develop your creativity and grow into a more adaptable, resourceful and collaborative designer. It looks to the future of design and the big challenges facing global society and equips you with the core knowledge, skills and competencies you will need to face the uncertainties of the next few decades. The programme has been designed to prepare you for the challenges and opportunities provided by changing industries, economies, cultures and societies, and to develop a personal practice which makes a positive contribution to that future.

Study Options

• Full-time: 1 year
• Part-time: 2 years

Tuition Fees

• UK fee: £9,720 for the full course (2025/26)
• International fee: £16,900 for the full course (2025/26)

Start Date

• September

Location

• Markeaton Street and Britannia Mill, Derby Campus

Course Structure

Postgraduate Certificate

• Design Lab Option (20 credits)
  • Choose one of:
    • Image / Identity / Ethos
    • Experiencing the Past
    • Consuming Nature
    • Creative Futures
    • Technologies Hi & Lo
    • Systems & Services
    • Place & Civility
    • Play & Playfulness
    • Creative Entrepreneurial Business
• Design Propositions (40 credits)

Postgraduate Diploma

• Design Lab Option (20 credits each)
  • Choose three of the below modules:
    • Image / Identity / Ethos
    • Experiencing the Past
    • Consuming Nature
    • Creative Futures
    • Technologies Hi & Lo
    • Systems & Services
    • Place & Civility
    • Play & Playfulness
    • Creative Entrepreneurial Business

MA/MDes

• Design Synthesis (60 credits)
  • Choose one module:
    • Design Synthesis: Core to MA Design
    • Design Synthesis: Graphic Design, core to MDes Graphic Design
    • Design Synthesis: Illustration, core to MDes Illustration
    • Design Synthesis: Fashion, core to MDes Fashion
    • Design Synthesis: Textile Design, core to MDes Textile Design
    • Design Synthesis: Interior and Spatial Design, core to MDes Interior and Spatial Design
    • Design Synthesis: Product Design, core to MDes Product Design

Entry Requirements

• Undergraduate degree (at least second class) in a related subject
• 500-word project proposal
• Portfolio of practice
• IELTS score of 6.0 (with 5.5 in each skills area) or equivalent for international students

Careers

Graduates from previous Design programs at Derby have become independent designers, worked in an array of creative careers, and set up their own freelance businesses across the creative industries.

Research

As a postgraduate student, you will be encouraged to join our Civic Lab research group, which focuses on how participatory culture, creative dialogue, and experiential design can be used for social impact.

Teaching Team

You will be learning from a multidisciplinary teaching team made up of academic and technical staff with expertise in critical practice, experiential design, interior architecture, fashion and textiles, illustration, animation, graphic design, and product design.

Additional Costs

• Printing research material for journal work (approx. £100 per year)
• Additional materials (printing, stationery, portfolio sleeves, folders, USBs/hard drives, etc.) (approx. £100-£300)
• National trips (coach, approx. £8-£12; London, approx. £30+)
• International trip (approx. £500)
• Individual project work (towards the end of each of the three stages, costs determined by student, £200-£1000)
• Travel for work placement opportunities (costs will vary depending on location)

Scholarships

We have a range of scholarships and discounts available to international students which can be used together to offer a reduction in your tuition fees.