Master of Arts [M.A] Design Products

at Royal College of Art

The programme is delivered across three terms and includes a combination of programme, School and College units. Learning will develop during the programme through terms 1 and 2 via a series of short projects focussed on experimentation and developing a strong and adaptive personal creative process, building a portfolio of projects culminating in the independent research project in term 3.
 

Term 1

In the Locating Practice unit, we help you locate your own practice at the forefront of the design products landscape. This is supported by enhancing research skills and identifying additional technical and intellectual skills to develop new and improved design methods and approaches connecting research and making. The Experimental Design unit allows you to expand the range and ambition of your design practice through various forms of experimentation to uncover new skills, methods and ideas. This unit covers a broad spectrum of experimentation from methods to materials, technology, making, manufacturing, futures, social and participatory.
 

Across Terms 1 and 2, you will participate in the College-wide unit. This unit aims to support students to meet the challenges of a complex, uncertain and changing world by bringing them together to work collaboratively on a series of themed projects informed by expertise within and beyond the College. These projects will challenge you to use your intellect and imagination to address key cultural, social, environmental and economic challenges. In doing so, you will develop and reflect on the abilities required to translate knowledge into action, and help demonstrate the contribution that the creative arts can make to our understanding and experience of the world.
 

Term 2

The second term engages with the Advanced Practice unit, by deepening your own creative methods through specialist focus via elective programme platform options based on programme ethos themes and School-wide electives. Programme specialist design input is delivered via platform electives in the Advanced Practice unit. There are also opportunities to take part in commercially sponsored projects in terms 2 and 3 depending on availability.
 

In term 2 all School of Design students will participate in the Grand Challenge, School-wide unit. The aim of this unit is to connect and challenge all students in the School through the introduction of a ‘wicked’ design problem that requires a cross disciplinary approach to problem solving involving an external international scientific or industry partner (or both). This unit and lecture series has been hugely successful in connecting and disrupting disciplines, people, philosophies and approaches to design thinking whilst providing our student body with very unique networking opportunities.
 

Term 3

In the third term you will demonstrate that you can draw together learning from terms 1 and 2 by independently developing, managing and delivering a high-resolution advanced Design Products project for the final Independent Research Project unit. The emphasis here is showing how you have brought together skills, learning and design practices from across terms 1 and 2 to design and deliver a project that sits at the forefront of the design products landscape, and enables the delivery of a design discourse that argues for the new design space within which it sits. The Independent Research Project (IRP) will be delivered through a supervision model and it is expected that you will spend the majority of your time on personal study and making. We anticipate that you will have the option of completing term 3 (IRP) remotely or in your own studio/ employment/ designer in residence subject to a satisfactory IRP proposal agreed in advance.

Candidates are selected entirely on merit and applications are welcomed from all over the world. The selection process considers creativity, imagination and innovation as demonstrated in your portfolio, as well as your potential to benefit from the programme and to achieve high MA standards overall.
 

For MA Design Products, you should have a good undergraduate degree or equivalent in an area of design, or related background and proficient written and spoken English. Several years of professional experience, either before or after a first degree, is a benefit, and you must be able to demonstrate critical and innovative thinking, a design curiosity and the ability to thrive in student led projects.
 

Applications are welcomed from candidates from related backgrounds, such as engineering, architecture, communication, sports science, medical/health, international development/NGO, economics/business, material science, technology development and user experience.
 

For the portfolio, there are five slots, each can hold multiple files. The overall limit for the portfolio is 20 pages; you do not need to fill all five slots.
 

Please show different aspects of your work and capability, whether from your professional, education or personal practice and with at least one individual project. Remember to consider how your uploaded work will appear to the viewer.
 

We would be looking for the criteria below, please make it clear what we are looking at by labelling the work accurately. We would suggest one PDF per slot, rather than individual pages, as it makes it easier for the staff team to review the work, and your projects should provide the following:
 

1. Evidence the ability to envision projects; realisation, making, coding, physical or digital. Evidence of good communication skills, to represent concepts and insights.
2. Evidence of intellectual content and conceptualisation. Demonstrate high levels of creativity.
3. Evidence of innovative and critical thinking, this can be through system, artefact, insight or product.
4. Evidence your working practice, i.e. the process in which you make work.
5. Demonstrate high quality work in documentation of applicant’s process and reflection on what was learned or could be better.
6. (Desired) Industry or professional experience in the field, this can include internships, business outputs or learning from parallel industries.

Overseas and EU - £32,000*