Master of Design (Research)

Overview

• Be at the forefront of innovative design practice and thinking.
• Meet the growing demand for advanced design skills within business and development.
• Be part of our vibrant, collaborative and multidisciplinary research culture and connect with other researchers within the creative industries.
• Available across seven key design fields: architecture, fashion, industrial design, interior design, interactive and visual design, landscape architecture, and urban design.
• Work closely with design researchers with expertise across design-led research topics – where people, place, products, process and technologies meet.
• Get the intellectual support you need to further develop a depth of knowledge in your chosen area.
• Learn how to incorporate practice-led research into your design career, or develop your research and design thinking skills for an academic or business career.
• Leverage your experience as a designer or professional in the design industry, to develop your own design project to suit your interests.

Details

The Master of Design (Research) is a unique interdisciplinary program at the forefront of design practice, design learning and design research, shaping the next generation of innovative design thinkers to question assumptions, push boundaries and use design research processes to tackle the key challenges of the twenty-first century.

The program offers designers, and professionals in other related areas, the opportunity to translate your practical professional expertise and creative design interests into a postgraduate research degree, where you'll develop new design research knowledge and skills through the development of a thesis or creative design project in your chosen research area. It offers a new pathway towards a more research-focused career in industry or academia, suitable for those seeking intellectual support in the development of a design idea, wishing to incorporate practice-led research into your design practice, or interested in further postgraduate study.

As a candidate you will be immersed in a vibrant, collaborative and multidisciplinary research culture, supported to develop skills in design research and follow your own research passion. You will work closely with and be supervised by School of Design researchers from seven diverse disciplinary groupings (architecture, fashion, industrial design, interior design, interactive and visual design, landscape architecture, and urban design), who have a breadth and depth of expertise in design-led research topics at the intersection of people, place, products, process and technologies.

A major strength of the program is that it offers theoretical and practical grounding in the latest innovative design research methodologies, tools and analyses, allowing you to develop advanced knowledge and skills relevant to your own specific area of research focus. Through a research methodology unit and seminars, you'll be connected to other researchers in the creative industries and exposed to the range of interdisciplinary qualitative and quantitative methodologies used in the design research process.

Design projects

Develop a project to suit your interests. Past examples include:

• Sustainability and innovation in design
• Subtropical and experiential design
• Urban morphology and informatics
• Design for health and social inclusion.

For more examples, visit ePrints.

Units

Entry requirements

An equivalent recognised 3 year Bachelor degree in an appropriate discipline with a grade point average of 5.5 and relevant experience or professional experience.

Course fees

Your actual fees may vary depending on which units you choose. All fees are based on current fixed fee prices. We review fees annually.

Scholarships and financial support

You can apply for scholarships to help you with study and living costs.

View all scholarships