Master of Design

Degree guide

More information

View on ANU Programs and Courses website

Design has a vital role in shaping a fast-moving world: it’s about applied creativity, engagement and collaboration, as well as the art and craft of making. This degree prepares graduates who are skilled, inventive and versatile, ready to engage with the challenges and opportunities of our changing society.

The Master of Design is suitable for students with an existing practice in design, fine art or another creative field who want to update, extend and develop their practice. Students can specialise to deepen their existing knowledge or branch out to acquire new techniques and skills. Students will take on independent, studio-based projects that combine industry engagement with research and collaborative practice.

Research, inventive thinking and the ability to navigate and acquire new skills and knowledge are key to the modern design profession, and these values are central to the Master of Design. Students wishing to pursue a research project in greater depth have the opportunity to apply for the Master of Design (Advanced).

The program’s combination of leading-edge digital practice and hands-on making is unique in the Australian tertiary sector and equips graduates with the diversity and depth of expertise necessary to flourish in the contemporary design industry.

Career opportunities

The Master of Design offers practitioners an opportunity to develop new skills in growing areas of practice including data visualisation, web design and user experience design. The program supports students to develop distinctive hybrid practices, combining digital workflows with material techniques.

This degree will advance your professional design career and prepare you for further graduate study.

Professional outcomes

This unique program provides contemporary design education by focusing on cutting-edge practice at the intersection of material and digital domains. A flexible structure allows students to bring together digital and material practices, in ways that broaden and deepen their skills, knowledge and design agility. Engagement and innovation are program foundations. Students will collaborate with expert teaching staff, industry, and public audiences to gain real world experience and develop versatile design expertise

Admission requirements

A Bachelor degree or international equivalent with a minimum GPA of 5/7 and successful assessment of a portfolio of works and other supporting material for the Master of Design
A Bachelor degree or international equivalent with a minimum GPA of 6/7 and the approval of an identified supervisor for the thesis and with the successful assessment of a portfolio of works for the Master of Design (Advanced)
All applicants must meet the University’s English Language Admission Requirements for Students
Applicants with a Bachelor Degree or Graduate Certificate in a cognate discipline may be eligible for 24 units (1 semester) of credit.
Applicants with a Graduate Diploma or Honours in a cognate discipline may be eligible for 48 units (1 year) of credit.