Program Overview

The Master of Design caters for learners who are eager to become design leaders of the future through either a practice or leadership-oriented pathway, or a combination of both.

The course will deepen your understanding of design practice through theory-based and practical units that draw on contemporary and emerging design fields including experience design, social design and speculative design.

For professionals looking to develop leadership capabilities in design, units focusing on entrepreneurship, design-led innovation and design strategy will prepare you for senior or executive design roles.

Throughout your study you will have the opportunity to learn from experts across a range of design disciplines to inform your practice. You will engage with a community of fellow industry professionals and enterprises beyond the design industry to see how design can fuel innovation.

The course offers three levels of study, with completion of one level providing credit to the next. You can choose to exit the degree at the graduate certificate or graduate diploma level.

What you'll learn

• Develop an in-depth knowledge of their field of design practice articulated through the creation of new artefacts, services, products or processes.
• Apply specialised knowledge, theories, frameworks and practices relevant to design leadership to inform design-led innovation.
• Demonstrate a theoretical knowledge of design and reflect critically on design theory, practice and history in multiple cultural settings through space and time.
• Apply advanced cognitive, technical and creative skills to the framing and interrogation of design problems to develop innovative design solutions.
• Professionally communicate concepts, proposals, ideas, and final designs to the target audience in a highly accomplished (and persuasive) manner.
• Synthesise complex, contextual and critical information drawn from global perspectives to inform design.
• Apply emerging technologies effectively to their design practice and process to develop design innovations that fulfil individual, collective or societal needs.
• Develop leadership ability, in the context of the design industry, to manage and work in interdisciplinary project teams and contexts.
• Develop a lifelong commitment to the value of design and their design practice and be able to inform, advocate and communicate this value to communities, enterprises and public.