ObjectivesDesign Management is a relatively new but rapidly expanding discipline. The course is designed to address the current needs of industry, examining how business and brand strategy can be effectively delivered through design management and how the design and creative processes can best be managed. The course has two distinct pathways: a one year full-time route and a two or three year part-time, evening study route. The course is mainly aimed at students from two types of background: for business/marketing professionals with little or no design training, and for design-trained professionals. Student cohorts will usually be 50% from each group.
Entry requirementsEntrance requirements: A good honours degree in an appropriate subject or professional qualifications plus evidence of a general education deemed equivalent
Academic titleMSc/PgDip Design Management
Course descriptionDesign Management - MSc/PgDip
Duration: 1 year full-time; 2 years part-time
STRUCTURE | This flexible, high quality course utilises expertise from across the University. The course is based in the School of Art & Design but it is run in conjunction with the University's School of Management . It is therefore able to offer a range of choices that we believe is unparalleled nationally, allowing students to tailor the course to their individual requirements.
Students undertake the following modules in design management: Design Industry, Design Strategy and Visual Literacy, underpinned by the study of Research Methods. These modules have been developed to be relevant to applicants from both design and non-design back-grounds. Students also study modules in the School of Management . These modules currently include Marketing Management, Organisational Behaviour and E-procurement and E-supply chain.
These modules form the Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip). Students who pass at the appropriate level progress to the masters dissertation.
FEATURES | A flexible course designed to meet the professional and career requirements of a variety of students, most projects (including the dissertation) are negotiated and tailored to students' individual requirements. They may involve live briefs with students' past, current or future employers.
Design management is a core research area within the School and many active researchers and research students contribute to the course, as do other members of staff and external consultants.
Students come to the course with a wide range of experiences and there is a high degree of peer interaction. Students from this course share computing, teaching and social spaces with students from other postgraduate courses.
A career-focused course, graduates find employment in a variety of areas, including design management positions within major organisations, brand/identity management, managerial roles within design consultancies, account handling/directorship, and owner management. The course also enhances the career prospects of those already involved in the commissioning and coordination of design and marketing.
APPLICANT PROFILE | All students require a good, relevant first degree and/or considerable professional experience. Students normally come from either a business and/or marketing background, either involved in or intending to become involved in the commissioning and coordination of design, or a design background, usually from the consultancy disciplines, such as graphics/communication/multimedia, spatial/interior or product/industrial design. The course is suitable for fashion graduates interested in fashion branding and marketing. Students are usually in, or aspire