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Postgraduate

MA Design Management

3 students installing an exhibition.
Exhibition shot 2019, MA Design Management, London College of Communication, UAL
College
London College of Communication
Start date
September 2024
Course length
12 months

MA Design Management is an interdisciplinary combination of creative and professional cultures. On this dynamic, project-led course, you’ll explore systems and team collaboration for positive social and technical change.

Re-approval

Please note this course is undergoing re-approval. This is the process by which we ensure the course continues to provide a high-quality academic experience. During re-approval there may be some changes to the course content displayed on this page. Please contact us if you have any questions about the course.

Applying for more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3. Find out more in the Apply Now section.

Why choose this course at London College of Communication

  • Our world-leading art and design institution has strong links to the creative industries. We actively engage with current and future-oriented perspectives in design management.
  • You’ll apply design thinking to real-world challenges by designing collaboratively, engaging critically and creatively with others, and learning from shared experiences.
  • With design and systems thinking at its core, MA Design Management is informed by theories drawn the fields of design, business and humanities, and delivered through projects, crits and collaborations.
  • You’ll gain insight into creative briefs, target audiences, brands and markets through design research, forecasting and collaboration, while also developing your leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
  • You’ll be able to progress to diverse potential employment routes including setting up your own business, in-house and external design leadership roles, cultural positions and agency management.

Open Evenings

The next Open Evening for this course will be announced soon.

Course overview

Design and innovation are key drivers of change generating commercial, social, cultural and ecological value. MA Design Management will give you a leading-edge insight, and the mindset and problem-solving skills needed to effectively work in a constantly evolving global environment.

What to expect

  • The course combines academic study with creative and professional practice in a project-led curriculum that draws on a range of interdisciplinary perspectives from business and the arts.
  • You’ll have the opportunity to pursue your own design research project; work on real-life business ideas and challenges and team up with fellow students and collaborators from design, business, marketing and IT backgrounds.
  • You’ll interrogate, through practical projects, a range of perspectives including design research methods; design thinking for the cultural and creative industries; branding; the role of creative interventions in brand communications; trend forecasting; strategies for the management of brand experiences; design for social needs and sustainability; project management; entrepreneurship and innovation; change management; and design leadership.
  • You will be equipped with a set of practical skills in project management, change management, enterprise, leadership, branding and critical writing and practice.
  • You will also have the opportunity to customise your studies through a major project according to your own particular design interests and career aspirations.

Industry experience and opportunities

The course is designed to support employability and employer engagement, by developing both transferable skills and a strategic perspective of design leadership and management as well as broader transferable skills. Throughout the course there will be regular contact with industry professionals and guest speakers through various channels and events.

You’ll develop research, analytical, communication, business, management and problem-solving capabilities that are directed towards careers within the cultural and creative industries.

The growth of design management

Academic and instructional writing on design management has significantly increased, with articles on the subject appearing in major publications such as The Economist, Harvard Business Review, Business Week and The New York Times. The continuing growth of the creative industries in the UK has created employment opportunities for design leaders, design managers and innovative thinkers in this burgeoning sector.

The strength of demand for design management skills in a range of enterprises and organisations is reflected in the career sections of professional networking and employment sites. Growing job opportunities, in turn, create a demand for educational courses such as MA Design Management, which prepares future design leaders and managers for work in both traditional and new economy models. The last decade has witnessed a growing emphasis by government on the economic value of culture, at the same time as business and management studies are increasingly recognising social and cultural issues. The course combines theory with practice, through projects which draw on perspectives from a range of disciplines across business and the arts; covering a breadth of topics from branding, design and innovation processes to anthropology, culture, history and meaning.

Design and cultural opportunities

Design managers oversee design teams and departments to create the optimum product presence, design or brand identity. They are responsible for the operation of corporate design functions and design agencies. Design managers create quality and consistency of studio output and are required to have strong project management and communication skills.

Design leaders strategically champion design across an organisation as a means of innovation and differentiation. They stimulate and facilitate a culture of innovation, collaboration and enterprise within and across disciplines, cultures, companies and industries. Professional roles that encompass design management skills include design managers, creative directors, heads of design, design strategists and researchers, in addition to executives with responsibility for making decisions about design and innovation.

Career opportunities that emerge from the study of design business and management are further strengthened by exposure to cultural and critical studies. The latter is a diverse area that draws on sociology, anthropology, philosophy, politics, history and feminist theory and develops a discursive capacity for critical analysis and debate.

MA Design Management combines an understanding of management and organisation from perspectives drawn from business, the arts and humanities. The curriculum has a professional focus with a strong emphasis on the development of leadership, management, communication and analytical skills.

Mode of study

MA Design Management is in Full Time mode which runs for 45 weeks over 12 months. You will be expected to commit 40 hours per week to study.

Course units

We are committed to ensuring that your skills are set within an ethical framework, and we have worked to embed UAL’s Principles for Climate, Racial and Social Justice Principles into the curriculum and in everything we do.

As part of this initiative, we’ve shaped our courses around social and environmental sustainability principles that ensure learning outcomes reflect the urgent need to equip you with the understanding, skills, and values to foster a more sustainable planet.  Our aim is to change the way our students think, and to empower you to work towards a sustainable future.  

Design, Society and Cultures (20 credits) 
Design Research Methods and Critical Practice (40 credits) 

You will critically engage with design thinking, design concepts and principals of design management and innovation. As you learn how to define research problems and develop effective research skills.

Design Leadership (20 credits) 
​Collaborative Unit (20 credits) 

You’ll undertake the Collaborative Unit, which is common to all courses at Master's-level.

This is a group-based unit and may involve working a live brief along with external and or internal collaborators from the creative industries, cultural sector, public sector or commercial sector.

You’ll experiment with a range of interdisciplinary research methods while developing your understanding of leadership and management roles, and the various ways in which design engages and interacts with stakeholders across various sectors and cultural contexts.

Global Design Futures (20 credits) 
Final Major Project: Proposal, Project Report and Reflection (60 credits)    

You'll consider how design management can bring about transformation within a global context.

You will apply your design research skills to speculate around design and investigate key drivers behind the creation of social, political and cultural meaning, along with the impact both of and on design.

You'll take the knowledge, skills and experience from units studied to date on the course and bring these together in the production of a proposal for your self-directed Major Project.

You will then be assigned a tutor and develop this project which will culminate in a written report, reflective analysis and an end-of-year show in.

If you are unable to continue or decide to exit the course, there are two possible exit awards.

A Postgraduate Certificate will be awarded on successful completion of the first 60 credits and a Postgraduate Diploma will be awarded on successful completion of the first 120 credits.

Learning and teaching methods

  • Independent learning/self-directed study
  • Personal tutorials
  • Group tutorials
  • Projects
  • Group project work
  • Live and simulated projects
  • Sketchbooks
  • Online presence
  • Portfolio/body of work
  • Self-initiated projects
  • Seminars
  • Lectures
  • Workshops
  • Study visits
  • Academic Support
  • Moodle

Online Open Day

(Recorded March 2023)

Course Leader, Sara Ekenger, gives an overview of what it's like to study  MA Design Management at London College of Communication.

Graduate Showcase

Explore work by our recent students on the UAL Showcase

Student voices

Maanushi Goel

Student voices

Maanushi tells us about exploring AI in her final year work.

Srishti Arora

Student voices

Srishti's final project looks at artificial intelligence in the fashion and beauty industries.

Ikenna Mirembe

Student voices

Ikenna talks to us about his project that aims to bridge the soft skills gap in secondary education.

Vincent Dore

Student voices

Vincent Dore, a graduating student from MA Design Management talks us through his project, The Pinterest Effect.

Nicola Acquisto

Student voices

Graduating student Nicola Aquisto talks us through her final year project, looking at social and environmental advertising campaigns.

Course stories

Facilities

  • Red light indicating recording is taking place.
    Image © Vladimir Molico

    Lens-Based and Audio-Visual

    Find out about the workspaces and studios that support Lens-Based and Audio-Visual practice.

  • Student using the Screen Printing facility
    Libo Li working in Screen Printing Workshop, Postgraduate Diploma Design for Visual Communication. London College of Communication, UAL. Photograph: Alys Tomlinson

    Printing and Finishing

    Discover our printing techniques, from Lithographic Printing to Print Finishing and Bookbinding.

  • Student reading a book in between two bookshelves in the Library
    Students in the Digital Space. London College of Communication, UAL. Photograph: Alys Tomlinson

    The Digital Space

    The Digital Space is an open-plan, creative hub with computers set up with specialist software.

Staff

Fees and funding

Home fee

£13,330

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£28,570

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

Scholarship search

Entry requirements

The team recognise that applicants come from a broad spectrum of backgrounds from across the world. We are actively seeking open-minded graduates from diverse academic and industry/professional backgrounds who want to explore design management at a high level.

A key characteristic of our candidates will be their desire to work across disciplines and professional boundaries, to explore the future changes of design management. Educational level may be demonstrated by:

  • Honours degree at 2.1;
  • Possession of equivalent qualifications;
  • Prior experiential learning or professional training, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required;
  • Or a combination of formal qualifications and professional training which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

APEL - Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning

If you do not meet these entry requirements but your application demonstrates additional strengths and alternative relevant experience, you may still be considered. This could include:

  • Related academic or work experience
  • The quality of the personal statement
  • A strong academic or other professional reference
  • OR a combination of these factors

Each application will be considered on its own merit. We cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

English language requirements

  • IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) is required, with a minimum of 5.5 in each of the four skills.

All classes are taught in English. If English isn’t your first language, you will need to show evidence of your English language ability when you enrol. For further guidance, please check our English language requirements.

Selection criteria

Offers will be made based on the following selection criteria, which applicants are expected to demonstrate:

  • Sufficient prior knowledge and experience of and/or potential in a specialist subject area to be able to successfully complete the programme of study and have an academic or professional background in a relevant subject
  • Also to show a willingness to work as a team player, good language skills in reading, writing and speaking, the ability to work independently and be self-motivated
  • Critical knowledge of and enthusiasm for the subject area and capacity for research-led design, intellectual inquiry and reflective thought through: contextual awareness (professional, cultural, social, historical); evidence of research, analysis, development and evaluation (from previous academic study and employment) and a grounded understanding of the world of sonic, visual and networked culture and be able to engage in and contribute to critical discussion
  • In the project proposal a description of the area of interest, field of study and the particular focus of their intended project. This should include an overview of how you intend to go about producing the project and the methodology
  • The portfolio should be conceptual and research based, you must show your thinking and making process and a curious nature to explore, test and experiment.

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Digital portfolio and video task deadline

Round 1:

16 January 2024

Round 2:

16 April 2024

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Digital portfolio and video task deadline
16 January 2024
16 April 2024
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Digital portfolio and video task deadline

Round 1:

16 January 2024

Round 2:

16 April 2024

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Digital portfolio and video task deadline
16 January 2024
16 April 2024
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

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Find your representative

How to apply

Follow this step-by-step guide to apply for this course

Step 1: Initial application

You will need to submit an initial application including your personal statement, CV and study proposal.

Personal statement advice

Your personal statement should be maximum 500 words and include:

  • your reasons for choosing the course
  • your current creative practice and how this course will help you achieve your future plans
  • any relevant education and experience, especially if you do not have any formal academic qualifications.

Visit our personal statement page for more advice.

CV advice

Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If you have any web projects or other media that you would like to share, please include links in your CV. If English is not your first language, please also include your most recent English language test score.

Study proposal advice

Please provide a summary of your study proposal (1500 words).

It should:

Please note, your proposal serves to inform your application and we understand that your ideas will develop and change throughout your studies.

Step 2: Video task and digital portfolio

We will review your initial application. If you have met the standard entry requirements, we will ask you to submit a video task and digital portfolio.

You’ll need to submit these via PebblePad, our digital submission tool. Please submit your video task on the first page followed by your portfolio.

Video task advice

We’d like you to submit a 2-3 minute video to help us learn more about you. When recording your task, please face the camera and speak in English.

What to include in your video task

  • Choose 1 project from your portfolio and explain how it challenged you and your understanding of design management
  • Tell us how this experience inspired you to apply to MA Design Management at London College of Communication.

Read our guidance for how to submit your video task and which file types we accept.

Digital portfolio advice

Your portfolio should consist of recent work that reflects your creative strengths.

It should:

  • include a maximum of 20 pages from across 6 projects, including supporting material and annotations to explain your creative process
  • be conceptual and research based
  • demonstrate your thinking and making process as well as your curiosity to explore, test and experiment
  • illustrate your interest and enthusiasm for design management and cultures
  • include a variety of work such as visual work, cross-platform moving image work, reports, reviews, essays, creative projects etc.

For more support, see our Portfolio advice and PebblePad advice.

Step 3: Interview

You may be invited to an interview following our review of your application. All interviews are held online and last 15 to 20 minutes.

For top tips, see our Interview advice.

You also need to know

Communicating with you

Once you have submitted your initial application, we will email you with your login details for our Applicant portal.

Requests for supplementary documents like qualifications and English language tests will be made through the applicant portal. You can also use it to ask questions regarding your application. Visit our After you apply page for more information.

Applying to more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3 courses. You need to tailor your application, supporting documents and portfolio to each course, so applying for many different courses could risk the overall quality of your application. If you receive offers for multiple courses, you'll only be able to accept 1 offer. UAL doesn't accept repeat applications to the same course in the same academic year.

Visas and immigration history check

All non-UK nationals must complete an immigration history check. Your application may be considered by our course teams before this check takes place. This means that we may request your portfolio and/or video task before we identify any issues arising from your immigration history check. Sometimes your history may mean that we are not able to continue considering your application. Visit our Immigration and visas advice page for more information.

External student transfer policy

UAL accepts transfers from other institutions on a case-by-case basis. Read our Student transfer policy for more information.

Alternative offers

If your application is really strong, but we believe your strengths and skillset are better suited to a different course, we may make you an alternative offer. This means you will be offered a place on a different course or at a different UAL College.

Deferring your place

We do not accept any deferral requests for our postgraduate courses. This means that you must apply in the year that you plan to start your course and you will not be able to defer your place to start at a later date.

Application deadlines

For postgraduate courses at UAL there are 2 equal consideration deadlines to ensure fairness for all our applicants. If you apply ahead of either of these deadlines, your application will be considered on an equal basis with all other applications in that round. If there are places available after the second deadline, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Careers

Graduates of MA Design Management will be equipped to make a contribution to both private and public sectors in areas such as private enterprise, public sector service provision and the voluntary sector.

They will leave with an in-depth understanding of design business and management with the skills of critical analysis and debate usually associated with the humanities and social sciences. 

Career opportunities include setting up your own business, managing design projects, strategic leadership in a variety of industries, forecasting, consultancy, research and entrepreneurship.

You could take up a career within a wide range of creative industries or organisations such as museums, galleries, auction houses, publishing, arts administration, Public Relations, marketing, forecasting consultancies, design and branding agencies, advertising and retail. Alternatively, they may go on to work as editors, design critics, journalists, event and exhibition curators or educators. 

There are also opportunities to study for further professional qualifications or research degrees such as a PhD or MPhil at LCC/UAL.