Unitec New Zealand | Experience Real World Learning
Master of Design image

This practice-based programme helps design, fine art and craft practitioners become acquainted with current theories, refine their design skills and critically advance their practice.


[MDes]

9, 240

Full-time for 18 months to three years or part-time for two-and-a-half  to four years

Starts March

8 places

Applications will be considered in the date order received.

CA2303

Mt Albert campus

NZ$ 5500

International fees
Programme summary
Career opportunities
Courses and timetables
Admission requirements
Portfolio requirements

Programme summary

Are you a professional designer, fine artist or craftsperson wanting to refine your design skills and update your knowledge of current design theories and research techniques? Undertake a design project based on an aspect of your design practice to date, and collaborate with other design professionals to critically substantiate and advance your practice.

Do you work as a professional designer, fine artist or craftsperson and want to critically advance your practice? The Master of Design is a multi-disciplinary programme that gives you the opportunity to sharpen your skills in collaboration with other professional practitioners. Challenging and stimulating, it will invigorate your interest in your discipline through completion of a design project, collaboration with your peers and regular workshops with international and local experts. While it is open to bachelors degree graduates, the programme has been specifically developed to allow practising design and art professionals to upskill while studying part-time.

You will undertake design-based research that is framed within appropriate contemporary theory, and supported by two supervisors, as well as a peer group of fellow research-by-design candidates.

In the first semester you present your draft project proposal and rationale at a workshop and receive feedback from your colleagues, tutors and invited guests who are experts in their fields. Guests are chosen for their innovative approach to design and come from a diverse range of countries and professional backgrounds. After this, your proposal is submitted for candidature and, if confirmed, you embark on a series of workshops where you present your developing project to a forum for critique. These regular workshops aim to stimulate and challenge you to move beyond current models, trends and perceptions.

Real-world learning
The degree is “by project” – you undertake a design project based on an aspect of your professional practice to date. There is no coursework, and the programme's focus on practice is supported by a strong contemporary theoretical framework.

The Master of Design, together with the Master of Architecture and the Master of Landscape Architecture, is part of a suite of design programmes at Unitec. Students come together in theory seminars and workshops, to foster cross-disciplinary fertilisation, new ideas and original approaches to interdisciplinary practice.

Fexible study options

To help you combine study with the other demands of your life, you can also study the Master of Design on a part-time basis.

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Career opportunities

  • Art and design educator
  • Director working within collaborative and multi-disciplinary environments
  • Director working within design-led enterprise
  • Independent practitioner of design, fine art or craft

 

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Courses and timetables

To view the list of courses and timetables for this programme for 2010, please click here.

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Admission requirements

To be eligible for admission, applicants must meet either the general admission requirements or the special admission requirements. Applicants must also meet the English language requirements.

Invited applicants will be required to present a portfolio of their design work to an interview panel.

General admission

Applicants must:

  • Have a recognised bachelors degree with an average grade of B- or higher in all level 7 courses, in a discipline appropriate to the proposed project; or
  • Hold a recognised postgraduate diploma in a discipline appropriate to the proposed project, with a B- average; and
  • Have a significant portfolio of professional work sufficient to enable critical reflection on their practice at the beginning of the programme.

Special admission

Applicants may be considered for special admission if they:

  • Have a significant portfolio of professional work; and
  • Can demonstrate competencies equivalent to a bachelors-level graduate in a discipline appropriate to the proposed project; or
  • Hold a professional qualification in a relevant discipline, recognised as being equivalent to at least a three-year bachelors degree.

Applicants applying for special admission may be required to undertake additional related studies.

English language

Applicants must:

  • Have a minimum of eight NCEA credits in English at level 2, of which four must be in Reading and four in Writing, or equivalent; or
  • Have successfully completed tertiary studies at level 5 or higher in an English medium; or
  • Have a grade of 5 or better in New Zealand Sixth Form Certificate English, or equivalent; or 
  • Have an overall IELTS band score (Academic) of no less than 6.5 (with no band score lower than 6.0 in Writing), or a TOEFL score of no less than 575, or equivalent; or
  • Have an appropriate Unitec English language qualification, such as the Diploma in English (Advanced), or equivalent.
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Portfolio requirements 

If you are invited for an interview, you will be asked to present a portfolio of your design work.

You should be ready to discuss your professional history, the ideas within your work, your interests and the area of research by design that you are considering.

You should have a significant portfolio of professional work that will enable you to reflect critically on your practice.

Need a little more help with your portfolio?

Follow our portfolio hints and tips on what to include, what not to include and how to lay it all out.

 



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