Victoria University of Wellington
Master of Design Technology – MDT

Wellington, New Zealand

DEGREE TYPE

Master degree

DURATION

12 up to

18 months

LANGUAGES

English

PACE

Full time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

EARLIEST START DATE

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

Key Summary

About: The Master of Design Technology (MDT) at Victoria University of Wellington covers VFX, game and animation, 3D motion graphics, XR and multimedia design. Offered by the Wellington School of Design Innovation with Weta Digital mentoring at the Miramar Creative Centre, you’ll build a portfolio through coursework and a practicum guided by academic and industry mentors, combining research and practice. This one-year, full-time programme has a 40–45 hour workload.

Career Outcomes: Potential career paths include VFX artist, game designer, animator, 3D motion artist, XR developer and media designer. Graduates can work in film, games, animation, VR/AR, advertising or R&D, production and pipeline/tool roles.

Further, your skills in digital technologies so you can tell stories with visual effects (VFX), gaming, animation, or extended reality (XR).

The Master of Design Technology (MDT) is an innovative programme where you can learn from world-leading professionals teaching VFX, game design, animation, 3D motion graphics, and multimedia design.

In this intensive one-year, full-time programme, you’ll produce a professional portfolio in your chosen focus of study as well as doing coursework. A practicum rounds out the programme—you’ll work in a team to produce a short narrative work under the guidance of academic and industry mentors.

Learn in the heart of the industry

This programme is delivered by the Wellington School of Design Innovation, supported by guest lectures and mentoring from Weta Digital and other leading digital organisations.

Classes are taught at the Miramar Creative Centre, among the Weta group buildings on Park Road, offering unrivalled access to work experience and professional connections.

Research and industry practice

The Master of Design Technology is the only degree of its type in New Zealand that gives you the best expertise in both university research and industry practice. You’ll gain the skills you need for a future in the broad-based and rapidly growing technology sector.

Duration and workload

This is a full-time programme and you can expect a workload of 40 to 45 hours a week for much of the year.

What you’ll study

The Master of Design Technology (MDT) is a full-time 180-point Master’s programme that starts in Trimester 1 and is delivered by the Wellington School of Design Innovation.

You will complete this qualification in three consecutive trimesters over 12 months.

In Trimester 1, you’ll study:

MDDN 451: Creative Coding for Digital Content - This course will teach you computer graphics techniques that are used right now in the film industry. You’ll learn through a range of projects, ranging from generating special effects to the algorithmic treatment of media. Using Houdini and the Vex programming language we will build procedural models and parametric tools, generate environments, grow complex systems, and more.

And one of two electives:

MDDN 432: Character Animation - This course will teach you how to analyse and create digitally animated sequences with a strong focus on using character-based animation to convey compelling and emotive narratives. It’ll focus on technical workflows, skills, and good practices for animating complex characters and will culminate in a final animated short. You’ll primarily be using the industry-standard 3D platform Maya from Autodesk.

MDDN 421: Compositing and Motion Graphics - This course will teach you professional approaches to previsualization, production planning, and coordination, including workflows for post-production and compositing. You’ll progress to asset creation, which may include live-action plates, set extensions, visual effects elements, matte painting, and modelling. The primary software for this course will be Nuke from The Foundry.

In Trimester 2, you’ll study:

SIDN 412: Mātauranga Design - This course will teach you how to engage with toi (Māori creativity) and mātauranga (Māori understanding) in the production of both visual and material cultural design that honours our place and past in Aotearoa New Zealand. Guided by traditional Māori protocols and knowledge, you’ll learn how to understand and interact with Māori symbols and visual-spatial strategies in ways that are culturally sound and appropriate.

CCDN 422: Design Ideation - This course is an advanced investigation of a range of topics relevant to professional practice in design practice today, including branding, marketing, networking, presentation, and portfolio. You’ll consider both traditional and emergent approaches to these topics while demonstrating an autonomous design style and content.

And one of two electives:

MDDN 431: Lighting and Rendering - This course will teach you about traditional applications of lighting such as portraiture, practical studio lighting, and cinematography. You’ll develop a mastery of digital lighting and rendering software with a creative focus in areas such as CG animation, games, VR, and motion capture. Working primarily in the 3D software packages Houdini and Unreal, this course will focus on the fundamentals of telling a story through scene construction.

MDDN 422: Effects and Simulation - This course will teach you the skills relating to the creation of the creature, human, and mechanical puppet rigs for digital characters, as well as creating digital simulations of physical phenomena. The principal software for this course is Houdini.

In Trimester 3, you’ll study:

MDDN 541: Visual Effects Practicum - This course consists of a supervised practicum, working on design studio-based research and production. You’ll work in teams to produce a complete time-based short narrative work with the guidance of faculty and industry mentors.