Umeå Institute of Design - Umeå University
MFA in Advanced Product Design
Umeå, Sweden
Master degree
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* tuition-free for EU citizens. Students from non-EU countries have the possibility to apply for a reduction in tuition fees
Key Summary
Masters programme, 120 ECTS-credits
The Master's programme in Advanced Product Design develops you into a skilled industrial designer with the toolkit and mindset needed to create, develop and design new relevant product solutions. Students explore design through the lens of environmental and societal challenges. The education is hands-on and practice-based, and a majority of the projects are carried out in collaboration with external partners.
The Master's programme in Advanced Product Design develops your design competence by providing professional tools, hands-on work methods, creative challenges and an inspiring study environment. The programme combines the analysis of complex contexts with the identification of relevant design opportunities and a holistic ideation scope, using visualisation techniques and the tools required in the professional-oriented practice of industrial design.
The programme is international in its scope and all education is conducted in English. About 80 per cent of students come from abroad. For instance, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Austria, France, England, Turkey, Spain, China and New Zeeland.
Develop design in real projects
Applied design projects form the backbone of the APD programme. Projects usually include lectures, field trips and user studies, workshops and group work as well as studio work. Most projects target original problems identified by students, not problems that have been solved countless times by other designers. The projects can address anything from conceptualizing new technology solutions for specialists to the design for upcoming consumer needs to the design of professional tools within heavy industries.
Define your graduation project
The fourth and final term is devoted entirely to the examination project. You will carry out your exam project in cooperation with a corporate sponsor or other external partners. It is important that the project is seen as a collaboration and not a commission. You are expected to define a problem area, establish contact with an external partner and write a project brief that includes aims, method description and anticipated deliverables.
Degree show with invited companies
All degree projects are presented at a big end-of-semester event - the UID Design Talks & Degree Show. Here, students from all programmes participate. In addition to students, relatives and friends, the audience includes representatives from NGO's and multinational companies from across the globe.
International Students & Exchange Students
The teaching language is English and the course is open to international students and exchange students. When exchange students are accepted, they have been selected on equal terms as our regular students starting the autumn term of the first study year.
Internships
Internships allow you to develop your professional skills as well as your own professional networks in preparation for a future career in industrial design. The majority of the programme's students take advantage of the school's support and broad network of industry connections and do a full year of internships between the first and the second year of the programme.