L’École De Design Nantes Atlantique
International Master in Design, Strategy and Innovation / Brazil Studio
São Paulo, Brazil
Master degree
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 Feb 2027
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2027
TUITION FEES
EUR 9,900 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* 8900 EUR for European students, 9900 EUR for non-European students
Key Summary
About: This Master in International Design Strategy – Brazil Studio is a two years postgraduate programme based in São Paulo, Brazil. It focuses on social and environmental design: urban design, social design, mobility, health, education, food systems, energy access, waste management and local crafts. Graduates receive a Level 7 Master’s degree registered in the RNCP.
Career Outcomes: The programme trains global designers fluent in English and Portuguese, and builds intercultural, service, urban design and design research skills. Graduates can work in consultancies, NGOs, public planning, innovation and international development. Career opportunities include international design strategist, urban designer and sustainability consultant.
A postgraduate program in two years specialized in International Design Strategy, a single master’s degree in design
The Master Brazil Studio, in association with the prestigious Mackenzie University, deals with topics related to social and environmental issues (mobility, health, education, food, access to energy, waste management) and its specific characteristics (high population density, multiculturalism, natural The Master Brazil Studio resources and local crafts...).
Main themes
- Immersion environment
- Urban Design in the context of high population density
- Social Design adapted to multiculturalism
São Paulo, Brazil
São Paulo is a creative, hyperactive, seductive and warm city, where design, architecture, communication, events and innovation agencies abound. "Sampa", the largest urban center in the southern hemisphere, is the economic center of Brazil, a market of more than 200 million inhabitants. The city is considered as one of the most culturally diverse in the world.
A Master's Level Degree
The successful completion of the two years leads to the Master’s level degree in design, certified by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research and registered in the Registre National des Certifications Professionnelles (the French directory for vocational qualifications or RNCP) as a Level 7 Master’s degree.
1st year
Semester 1
Students spend this semester abroad in an internship as a junior designer (13 weeks minimum). They follow before this internship a module including a welcome seminar and methodology-transculturality (80h), language courses, and local culture.
The goal of this semester for students is to highlight and expand professional knowledge in the context of another culture.
Semester 2
During this semester, students learn how to manage complex design projects, deepen their knowledge of the economic, social, and cultural aspects of the field covered in their program, build and apply a methodology, and support their end-of-term project. studies, the subject of which they define.
Teaching, delivered in the form of projects in partnership with industry, workshops, lectures, conferences, and professional meetings includes the following compulsory credits:
- Design and complexity project
- Workshop to define the end of the studies project
- Prospective design project
- Seminar methodologies
- Innovation seminar
- Intellectual property
- Seminar specific to the theme of the program
- Introduction to the Research Workshop
- Professionalisation / lab
- Contests
- TOEIC preparation
- Preparation for the end of studies project, complementary seminar
- Memory preparation workshop
2nd year
Semester 3
Continuation and finalization of the end-of-studies project summarizing all the professional skills acquired. It can be conducted in collaboration with a company and/or research laboratory of a partner university. This personal end-of-studies project must be related to the program in which students are enrolled.
Supervision is ensured in the form of workshops under the direction of a referent designer, to which punctual speakers are associated. Writing a thesis on the theme of the project.
Courses:
- Initiation to law
- Introduction to management
- End of studies project workshop
- Memory Workshop
- Professionalization & lab
- Competitions
Semester 4
The study program ends with a minimum of sixteen weeks (and a maximum of six months) internship within a company, in France or abroad.
Trainees work as junior designers and support all or part of a project.
The student must demonstrate his ability to integrate into a team, manage a project, and develop all the sequences of the project for its smooth running. It allows the student to articulate all of his studies with what will be his first professional experience. Depending on the professional project of the student, this internship can also take place within a company that the student will create, or even within a research laboratory.
Beyond the acquisition of the design profession skills through the experimentation of project management and the experience of complexity, this program aims to offer the opportunity for young graduates to begin an international career.
The MDes program covers four full semesters of accredited curriculum, with 30 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits rewarded per semester. During the first semester, beginning in September, students participate in an orientation seminar before starting their internships. The second semester offers a densely packed schedule of instruction and projects, led by teaching staff and professional designers. The third semester is dedicated to focused, individual work on a thesis and a personal design project related to Transcultural Design. The fourth semester releases students into a final internship experience, ideally also conducted in Brazil, or at least otherwise in an international context, and ends with a thesis defense in which each student presents him- or herself as a professional designer.
Consistently ranked among the world’s leading design schools, L’École de design Nantes Atlantique is recognized by independent national and international rankings across its areas of expertise, including Industrial Design,UI/UX Design, Interior Architecture, Graphic Design, and Digital Design.
- 4th best French design school in the world - QS ranking 2026
- Top 3 Best Design School in France - Ranking Le Figaro L'étudiant 2024
- 4 palmes of excellence - league of the Eduniversal official selection of the schools of excellence in arts & luxury worldwide
- 1st Best Postgraduate Program in Design in France - Ranking Eduniversal 2025
- 2nd Best Interaction Design School in France - Ranking UX / UI Design
- Recognized by the French State
- Member of the Conférence des Grandes Écoles (a French association of leading higher education schools)
- School associated with Nantes University
Diplôme de designer Bac +5 : master’s level degree.
This program leads to the master’s level degree (Diplôme de design) certified by the French Ministry of Higher Education.
The Master’s level degree confers the "Grade de master", and you can pursue your education at a PhD level.
The school does not have manage a scholarship program. According to your country of residence and your particular situation, different possibilities of financing your studies in France may be available: government grants, funding granted by international organizations and NGOs, private fellowships...
For information regarding grants and scholarships, we recommend you contact the French embassy in your country, your local CampusFrance agency, or "CampusBourse", the CampusFrance grant search engine: see the CampusFrance website for more information.
This program trains students to become global players who can converse fluently in English and possibly even Portuguese, understanding Brasilian context better, and most of all, improve the ability to design for clients and employers from other cultures. It is a living experience that will change its participants, often opening up unexpected, exciting international career opportunities.
Consistently ranked among the world’s leading design schools, L’École de design Nantes Atlantique is recognized by independent national and international rankings across its areas of expertise, including Industrial Design, UI/UX Design, Interior Architecture, Graphic Design, and Digital Design.
The school has a unique vision, considering design as a strategic discipline for companies to leverage social, technological and
environmental innovation. It has developed Design Labs combining teaching, experimental research and support to innovation.
L’École de design Nantes Atlantique is strongly connected with the professional world (companies, public administrations, associations) in its teaching approach. This solid link allows for the professionalization of future young graduates. It takes many forms: internships, apprenticeship contracts, work on real projects in partnership with companies or local authorities, lectures by professionals, conferences, and the presence of representatives from the business world on degree juries.
L’École offers international students the opportunity to experience interculturality and to place their design practice in a strong international context through contact with students of different nationalities. A designer must be able to open up to others and to their culture in order to feed his or her curiosity and creativity, qualities that are essential to the practice of his or her profession. Our school allows its students to cultivate this openness to the world through international programs and opportunities, in France and abroad.