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MA Product Design

Shahid Abbas, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham overlay icon close
Shahid Abbas, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham

Course overview

MA Product Design at UCA Canterbury will challenge you to think beyond product design - to consider our relationship with the products we design, their impact on our environment, and processes by which they are manufactured.

This course is ideal for designers with a hands-on, making background. You’ll be encouraged to think beyond a product itself, asked to consider how the way a product is designed can influence an emotion or impact a particular space, and break away from convention as you tie in the traditional with the cutting edge with your work.

UCA Canterbury has a rich history and industry-wide reputation and on this course, you’ll learn from a team of talented academics as well as visiting lecturers and partners with a wealth of industry experience.

You’ll undertake individual research projects using an integrated product design process, and develop design solutions that fit with an overarching theme, working closely with students from MA Interior Design to consider the spatial implications for product design.

Graduates from our MA Product Design course have gone on to work in architectural firms, independent design studios, create their own businesses and roles in design management. Demand is high for graduates with technical skills in the product design industry, particularly those who have access to industry quality equipment and the know-how and passion to succeed. We aim to create product designers with a breadth of knowledge, the very latest industry experience and the passion and the drive to succeed in a fast-paced industry.

Course entry options

Select from the options below to find out more about the different study options available for this course:

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Product Design
MA

A one-year course of advanced study for furthering your research skills and specialising within your discipline.

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Campus
UCA Canterbury
Start date(s)
September 2023
Duration
1 year full-time
Entry requirements

Honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in the subject/related discipline
and/or
Relevant work experience 

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Product Design
MA with Integrated International Pre-Masters

A year-long preparatory course of study to ready you for your Master’s in the UK, developing your English speaking and writing together with your specialist skills, research acumen and confidence in working autonomously.

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Campus
UCA Canterbury
Start date(s)
September 2023
Duration
2 years full-time
Entry requirements

A recognised bachelor degree or 3 year diploma with a strong portfolio in a relevant subject

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Product Design

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Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
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Product Design

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Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
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Product Design

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
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Product Design

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
What you'll study

What you'll study

The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

For our students coming from a non-UK educational background, UCA has launched an Integrated International Pre-Masters year, which is based at UCA Farnham.

On this course you’ll prepare for postgraduate study with a mix of online and face-to-face learning that will give you the study skills required to complete a Master’s, and you’ll also improve your English for academic study.

You'll be introduced to the University and the technical workshops and facilities available to you. The first term includes a range of lectures and seminars and you’ll start to explore your creative practice.

Theory and Analysis
You’ll challenge and confirm your practice through critical reading, observation and handling. You’ll think deeply about products and craft artefacts and investigate contexts associated with your own work.

Exploratory Practice
You’ll explore creative product design practice based around a theme of transportation and journey – physical and emotional – and this will help inform the development of your own project proposal for stages two and three of your course. There will be a structured framework to allow you to investigate the potential of methods, ideas and themes in your discipline.

 

 

During term two you begin developing your MA project, evaluating and testing out the aims of your proposal over a sustained period of self-directed study.

Reflective Practice
Using the knowledge you’ve gained through the first term, you’ll reflect upon your own practice and consider the practice of others to develop your own sense of critical awareness and creative independence. You’ll build on the research questions you explored in Exploratory Practice, and establish a clear line of enquiry through selected materials, concepts and a clearly articulated context. You'll also have the opportunity to complete a period of professional practice during this unit.

 

 

In the third term of the course, you'll apply the knowledge gained through your research to create a final body of work.

Major Project
The final phase of your MA study requires the production of a portfolio, including finished interaction models and high-quality product prototypes – the realisation of the concepts and explorations you will have made already through the course. In addition to considering the aesthetics and form of design studies, the final product design should represent the quality and purpose of your design process, combining academic and practical skills.

 

Tuition fees - 2023 entry

UK students:

  • Integrated Pre-Masters course - £10,500
  • MA course - £10,500

EU students:

  • Integrated International Pre-Masters course - £10,500 (see fee discount information)
  • MA course - £10,500 (see fee discount information)

International students:

  • Integrated International Pre-Masters course (30 weeks) - £17,500
  • Integrated International Pre-Masters course (15 weeks) - £8,750
  • MA course - £17,500

Additional course costs
In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials. These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of your Course Information for details of the costs you may incur.

Further information
For more detailed information about our course fees and any financial support you may be entitled to please see our fees and finance pages.

The fees listed here are correct for the stated academic year only. Costs may increase each year during a student’s period of continued registration on course in line with inflation (subject to any maximum regulated tuition fee limit). Any adjustment for continuing students will be at or below the RPI-X forecast rate.

To support our students and alumni to progress to the next level of study, we have developed a new range of fee discounts across a range of courses.

Course specifications

Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.

Yanling Yang, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Mahima Ananthraj, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Helen Twigge-Molecey, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Mak Pok Leong, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Mengyu Lyu, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Anqi Song, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Annie Hazel, MA. Product Design, UCA Farnham Isabel James, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Aakanksha Kothari, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Lele Zhang, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Alys Blades, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham Xiaoyu Ma, MA Product Design, UCA Farnham

Facilities

UCA Canterbury has open plan studio spaces offer a flexible learning environment, used for tutorials and independent working. Fully equipped Mac and PC computer labs with software for design and coding. Access to a purpose built FabLAB with laser cutters, 3D printers and CNC milling and injection moulding equipment, as well as virtual reality and spatial tracking technology. Campus 3D workshop with machines for working in wood, metals, plastics and ceramics.

View 360 virtual tour
FabLab, UCA Canterbury

Fabrication Lab, UCA Canterbury

3D Workshop, UCA Canterbury

Materials 3D workshop, UCA Canterbury

Architecture studios, UCA Canterbury

Studios, UCA Canterbury

Wood Workshop, UCA Canterbury

Materials 3D workshops, UCA Canterbury

Career opportunities

Career opportunities

Our range of industry contacts include:

  • Industrial Design Consultancy
  • TheAlloy (product and interaction consultants)
  • IDEO (design consultants)
  • Philips
  • Kenwood/De'Longhi
  • Priestman-Goode

And recent guest lecturers include:

  • John Gertsakis, product ecology
  • Philip Davies
  • Stuart Heron, Design Director

Our course will equip you with a host of valuable and transferable skills. Graduate opportunities exist within:

  • Product design practice
  • Independent design studios
  • Specialist design consultancies
  • Design teams in manufacturing industry
  • Design management
  • Environmental management
  • Service design sectors.

You may also wish to progress onto a PhD or MPhil research degree.

Explore our Gradshow

Visit our grad show site to see the incredible work created by our graduating students

Visit the Gradshow website

Our Staff

JJ Brophy, Programme Director

JJ Brophy

Programme Director Design
Stephen J D Davies, Senior Lecturer Product and Furniture Design

Stephen J D Davies

Senior Lecturer – Product and Furniture Design
Lucy Jones staff profile image

Lucy Jones

Senior Lecturer Architecture & Design
Rob Nice

Robert Nice

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer Architecture and Design

Paul Found, Lecturer BSc Industrial Design

Dr Paul D. Found

Senior Lecturer Industrial Design and Design Media
Anna Baranowska, Lecturer in Interior Architecture & Design

Anna Maria Baranowska

Lecturer of Interior Architecture & Design and Stage 2 & 3 Convenor
Dr Kim Trogan staff profile picture

Dr Kim Trogal

Reader in Social and Political Design
Christina Fountoulaki
Christina Fountoulaki

"I had a great year completing my MA, the facilities were fantastic and I was able to gain a lot of knowledge thanks to the expert staff. I also found the workshops to be very useful – it was amazing to see my products come to life."

Entry requirements

Entry requirements

MA course

  • An honours degree or equivalent qualification in the subject or a related discipline

and/or

  • Relevant work experience, demonstrating your ability to study at postgraduate level.

Consideration will also be given to applicants who can make a strong case for admission in relation to a particular project and can demonstrate their potential to satisfactorily complete the course.

Check the equivalent qualifications for your country and the English language requirements:


  • Non-UK equivalent qualifications
  • English language requirements

    • Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

    MA course with Integrated International Pre-Masters course
    A recognised bachelor degree or 3 year diploma with a strong portfolio in a relevant subject.

    Don't meet the international entry requirements or English language requirements?
    You may be able to enter the course through the following entry pathways:

    MA course
    MA course with Integrated International Pre-Masters course

    For these courses, we’ll need to see your visual or written portfolio for review. We’ll invite you to upload your portfolio online via your Applicant Portal – further information will be provided once you have applied. If you would prefer to meet the Academic Team in person for a review of your work on campus, this can also be arranged for you.

    More portfolio advice

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    Please use the following fields to help select the right application link for you:

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