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Postgraduate

MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures

Hands holding up a piece of rough wood, against a blue sky and urban setting.
Pipi Yuan and Giulia Capasso, The Adventure in a Future of Rewilding 2120, 2020, MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures, London College of Communication, UAL.
College
London College of Communication Start date
September 2023 Course length
1 year 3 months full time (45 weeks across a four-term model)

MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures will connect you to others with a shared interest in eco-social justice and sustainability. Develop a more critical perspective while applying your design practice and radical imagination to some of our most complex eco-social challenges.

Applications closed 2023/24

We are no longer accepting applications for 2023/24 entry to this course. Applications for 2024/25 entry will open in Autumn 2023.

Why choose this course at London College of Communication

  • Expand your mind and practice: Through workshops, talks, visits and exhibitions, you'll consider existing approaches and theories while developing your own way of working and thinking.
  • Collaborations: You'll work with a diverse peer group from varied backgrounds, students from other courses, and exciting external partners such as community organisations, social enterprises and local councils.
  • Find your voice and agency: Joining a boundary-pushing community of practice, you’ll critically evaluate your position as a designer, explore your personal values, question what matters most, and consider your role in eco-social change.
  • Make a difference: Exploring interrelated issues, you’ll develop self-reflexive and critical approaches to creative change-making. You'll question common notions of progress and innovation, and consider how problems can be addressed responsibly.
  • Become a responsible creative practitioner: By developing pluriversal and intersectional approaches to design, you’ll gain transferable skills across design research, impact evaluation, participatory design, social entrepreneurship and critical analysis. You’ll work towards your professional future by adapting them into your own eco-social design practice.

Open Evenings

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

Course overview

MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures has been established as a collaborative, creative and generative studio for designers interested in working with complex global issues.

The course explores the future of design practice and its interdependence with eco-social concerns. Whether you are a graphic designer, systems designer, animator, filmmaker or architect, no matter your educational or professional background, you are invited to investigate and question your discipline in relation to the global systems you inhabit. Looking at the environment, materiality, empathy, ethics and justice within broad and dynamic socio-cultural, economic and political contexts, this is both a practical and thoughtful course with an emphasis on innovative practice, collective action, plurality and real-world change.

The MA will culminate in a final ‘Design in Action’, creating demonstrable eco-social impact.

What can you expect?

You will work fast. You will work slow. You will think deeply. You will make quickly. You might fail periodically. You might play intensely. You should learn continuously. You will learn with and from your peers. You will cultivate your distinct voice and creative confidence. You will critique, deconstruct and re-define the innovation and sustainability canon. You will design for justice.

You will delve deeply into research methodologies, prototyping and experimentation, diverse models of sustainable eco-social practice, systems design and speculative futures. 

Through various forms of collaboration inside and outside the University, you will learn to connect with stakeholders, frame your inquiry and re-imagine the present for more sustainable futures. You will be exposed to different theories in social innovation and sustainable practice. You will be invited to critique these and build your own knowledge.

You’ll be given opportunities to participate in a diverse range of experiences including workshops, presentations, exhibitions, symposia, knowledge exchange and skills sharing. The course has been designed to be designed. All students involved will be shape-shifting this course through their own critical and practical work.

The Design School at London College of Communication believes in ‘design as the site of action and agency to radically transform our world’. This course will be putting thinking into practice, giving you the chance to make real eco-social impact through a Design in Action final project.

Who is this course for? 

  • Students who care about the world they inhabit. Who make work with purpose and intent. Enthusiastic, collaborative and responsive designers who want to concentrate their practice on working as agents of positive change. 
  • Students curious about both the systemic power of design in shaping the future, and the limitations, ethics and critical dialogue around eco-social innovation practices.
  • Students with a creative background and with practical design experience. Able to take initiative, try things out, take risks, disrupt, put their values into practice, and lead through uncertainty.
  • Students who want to work with people who are not the same as them. Able to create productive ecosystems of collective action. Able to cross boundaries of discipline, experience, identity and beliefs.

Mode of Study

MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures is in full time mode which runs for 45 weeks over 15 months. You will access learning through a blended model of online and offline experiences. You will be expected to commit 40 hours per week to study.

Contact us

Register your interest to receive information and updates about studying at UAL.

Contact us to make an enquiry.

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.

Each course is divided into units, which are credit-rated. The minimum unit size is 20 credits. The MA course structure involves five units, totalling 180 credits.

Researching and framing for innovation (20 credits)

Understand the range of different design research methods and apply these to a real-world enquiry. Explore the ethics of research practice, the complexity of the global issues within our different personal and cultural contexts, and the importance of getting the question right.

Eco-Social innovation and impact (40 credits)

Explore an expansive range of theories, models, and literature around the subject of social innovation and sustainability. Dive into examples of practice and take a critical look at the past, present and future.

Collaborative unit (20 credits)

A chance to do a real project with other people across the university and beyond. Put your knowledge, thinking, and ideas into practice.

Co-design for sustainable futures (40 credits)

Speculate, imagine, and make more plural, collaborative and sustainable futures.

Design in action: major project (60 credits)

A chance for you start your own piece of work in direct reaction to a situation or issue in the world that you want to change. 

Learning and teaching methods

  • Collaborative learning
  • Peer-to-peer exchange
  • Hands on workshops
  • Reading groups
  • Peer-led seminar learning
  • Individual and group tutorials
  • Self-directed learning
  • Visiting practitioners
  • Study trips
  • Formative and summative assessment

Online Open Day

Acting Course Leader, Emily Briselden-Waters, gives an overview of studying MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures.

Graduate Showcase

Explore work by our recent students on the UAL Graduate Showcase

Student work

  • pipi-yuan-giulia-capasso-the-adventure-in-a-future-of-rewilding-2120-9.jpg
    Pipi Yan and Giulia Capasso, The Adventure in a Future of Rewilding, 2020.
  • student-rrun-sessions.jpg
  • working-from-home-ma-dsfsf.jpg
    MA Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures cohort working collaboratively from home.
  • workshop-gallery-design-innovation-2.jpg
  • Rebecca-Ghim-_-Decolonising-Futures_1.jpg
    Rebecca Ghim, Decolonising Sadaejuui in Korean History Through Speculative Letter from the Future
  • Haneen-Jamal-and-Muneera-al-barrak-cleair.jpg
    Haneen Jamal and Muneera al Barrak, Cle/Air
  • PiPi-Yuan-and-Giulia-Capasso_The-adventure-in-a-future-of-rewilding-2120-13.jpg

Student voices

Michael Wright

Michael’s project, ‘The Museum of Alternative Education’, is a pop-up museum that facilitates workshops for children to create their own curriculum, challenging traditional education.

Marie Vodickova

Marie's project is a proposal for Nike for a more sustainable Internet.

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.

  • A tutor in the process of producing a print.
    Image © Lewis Bush

    Printmaking

    Have a look around the places and spaces that make up LCC and get an idea of what it's like to be here.

  • The Digital Space, London College of Communication.
    Image © Ana Escobar

    The Digital Space

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

Staff

Acting Course Leader

Emily Briselden-Waters

Fees and funding

Home fee

£12,700

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 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.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£25,970

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 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.

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Entry requirements

The MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures course welcomes applicants who are keen to explore design in terms of its human-centred and strategic approach, its collaborative potential, and as a leading force for driving meaningful and contextually relevant societal and ecological transformation.

Applicants may come from a range of design disciplines or related creative industry experiences with a 2:1 or above Honours degree course, or have other equivalent qualifications.

The course team also welcomes students with relevant technical/ practical background experience who have worked in creative industries and who show a commitment to design and experiential learning, being keen to explore their practice as a place of sustainable action and social transformation.

The teaching team is looking for applicants who value critical thinking and socially and environmentally focused design, and are looking to question the relationship of design industry and the global systems it inhabits.

Educational level may be demonstrated by:

  • Honours degree at 2:1 or first-class
  • Possession of equivalent qualifications;
  • Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required;
  • Or a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

Language requirements

All classes are conducted in English. If English is not your first language, we strongly recommend you let us know your English language test score in your application.

If you have booked a test or are awaiting your results, please indicate this in your application. When asked to upload a CV as part of your application, please include any information about your English test score.

  • IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) is required, with a minimum of 6.0 in speaking and reading, and 5.5 in writing and listening.
  • If your first language is not English, you can check you have achieved the correct IELTS level in English on the Language Requirements page.

For further details regarding international admissions and advice please visit the International Applications page.

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 design for social innovation
  • A willingness to work as a team player, excellent language skills in speaking, reading and writing, the ability to work independently/be self-motivated and work collaboratively.
  • A proactive team attitude, with strong communication skills and the ability to work both collaboratively and independently.
  • Critical knowledge of and enthusiasm for design as place of social transformation and capacity for research-led design, intellectual inquiry and reflective thought through: contextual awareness (professional, cultural, social, historical, environmental); evidence of investigation, analysis, development and evaluation (from previous academic study and/or employment) and a grounded understanding of the world of design cultures and be able to engage in and contribute to critical discussion.
  • Via the ‘Personal Statement’ – a curiosity to explore responsible and ethical design practice in order to transform society and enable sustainable futures.
  • Via the ‘Portfolio’ – creative and research-based projects, that show problem-solving, experimentation and making processes.

Apply now

Home International

We are no longer accepting applications for 2023/24 entry to this course. Applications for 2024/25 entry will open in Autumn 2023.

All applications will be reviewed by the course team who will consider key elements when making a decision on your suitability to join the course:

  • First, they will look at your qualifications and transcript (or projected results)
  • Secondly, they will review your personal statement and portfolio
  • There is no requirement for an academic or professional reference.

Required information for all postgraduate course applications

Before you apply, please take time to read the guidance below. You will be asked to provide the following items and upload documents when completing the online application form:

  • Personal details (including full name; date of birth; nationality; permanent address and English language level)
  • Current and/or previous education and qualification details
  • Employment history
  • CV
  • Personal statement

Extra information required for applications to this course

  • Portfolio
  • Video task

Deferring your place

This course accepts requests from offer holders to defer their place for one academic year. Deferral requests are granted on a first-come, first served basis until all deferral places are filled, or a deadline has been reached, whichever is sooner.

Read our Admissions Policy for details, and request your deferral by contacting us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

External Student Transfer Policy

If you are currently studying at another institution and have successfully completed 60 credits in the equivalent units/modules on your current PG course and wish to continue your studies at London College of Communication, you can apply to transfer.

The Admissions Tutor will consider applications on a case by case basis, subject to places being available. You must apply directly to the course via the course webpage as early as possible.

Further information about the external student transfer policy can be found on the Office for Students Information page.

CV

Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If English is not your first language it is important that you also include in your CV details of your most recent English language test score.

Personal statement advice

Your statement should be 500 words.

Please say why you are applying for this course, in particular giving examples of your enthusiasm for, and inquiry into, ‘design as an agent of transformative change’.

Your personal statement should also outline relevant prior experience (design or otherwise) demonstrating current knowledge of social innovation and socially focused design developments and discourses.

Ensure that your personal statement is well written, clear and free of any spelling mistakes.

It is your chance to impress the course team by showing a strong interest in the subject, demonstrating what you feel you would bring to the course, your appreciation of what the course can offer you and how you feel it might help you in the future. This can be demonstrated through work experience, previous studies and your personal experience.

Application deadline

19 December 2022 and 3 April 2023

Our equal consideration deadlines have now passed. This course will remain open to applications for 2023 entry until places have been filled. Please be aware that courses can close without notice.

We recommend you submit your application as early as possible to allow the Admissions team to resolve any initial queries about your application as quickly as possible.

When you'll hear from us

If this course requires a digital portfolio as part of the application process, you will be invited to submit this through UAL’s online submission tool, PebblePad. We will request this separately after initial processing of your application is complete. Once we request your portfolio, you will have 7 days to submit it.

Once you’ve sent in your application, this will be sent through to our course teams for review. Find out more about what happens after you apply.

We are no longer accepting applications for 2023/24 entry to this course. Applications for 2024/25 entry will open in Autumn 2023.

All applications will be reviewed by the course team who will consider key elements when making a decision on your suitability to join the course:

  • First, they will look at your qualifications and transcript (or projected results)
  • Secondly, they will review your personal statement and portfolio\
  • There is no requirement for an academic or professional reference.

Required information for all postgraduate course applications

Before you apply, please take time to read the guidance below. You will be asked to provide the following items and upload documents when completing the online application form:

  • Personal details (including full name; date of birth; nationality; permanent address and English language level)
  • Current and/or previous education and qualification details
  • Employment history
  • CV
  • Personal statement

Please note: we will ask you for copies of certain documents (for example, English language qualification/certificate and copies of any previous UK study visas).

For further advice on how to apply please visit the UAL International Application page. International applicants can alternatively apply through one of our official representatives in your country.

Extra information required for applications to this course

  • Portfolio

Start your application now

There are 2 ways international students can apply to a postgraduate course:

The application form can be saved as you fill it out, so you do not need to complete it all at once. You will also have the chance to review all the information and make any necessary amendments before you submit the application form.

Deferring your place

This course accepts requests from offer holders to defer their place for one academic year. Deferral requests are granted on a first-come, first served basis until all deferral places are filled, or a deadline has been reached, whichever is sooner.

Read our Admissions Policy for details, and request your deferral by contacting us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

External Student Transfer Policy

If you are currently studying at another institution and have successfully completed 60 credits in the equivalent units/modules on your current PG course and wish to continue your studies at London College of Communication, you can apply to transfer.

The Admissions Tutor will consider applications on a case by case basis, subject to places being available. You must apply directly to the course via the course webpage as early as possible.

Further information about the external student transfer policy can be found on the Office for Students Information page.

Immigration history check

Whether you are applying through a UAL representative or direct application you will need to complete an Immigration History check. If you do not complete the Immigration History Check we will not be able to proceed with your application.

CV

Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If English is not your first language it is important that you also include in your CV details of your most recent English language test score.

Personal statement advice

Your statement should be 500 words.

Please say why you are applying for this course, in particular giving examples of your enthusiasm for, and inquiry into, ‘design as an agent of transformative change’.

Your personal statement should also outline relevant prior experience (design or otherwise) demonstrating current knowledge of social innovation and socially focused design developments and discourses.

Ensure that your personal statement is well written, clear and free of any spelling mistakes.

It is your chance to impress the course team by showing a strong interest in the subject, demonstrating what you feel you would bring to the course, your appreciation of what the course can offer you and how you feel it might help you in the future. This can be demonstrated through work experience, previous studies and your personal experience.

Application deadline

19 December 2022 and 3 April 2023

Our equal consideration deadlines have now passed. This course will remain open to applications for 2023 entry until places have been filled. Please be aware that courses can close without notice.

We recommend you submit your application as early as possible to allow the Admissions team to resolve any initial queries about your application as quickly as possible.

When you'll hear from us

This course receives a high volume of applications. We need to make sure that we give all applications equal consideration, so the course team will review them in two rounds. This means that offers won’t be sent to successful applicants until after the relevant application deadline date. Outcomes for Round 1 will be released by 31 March 2022 and outcomes for Round 2 will be released by 30 June 2022.

Remember to check the outcome of your application in the UAL Portal. If you apply in Round 1 and don’t hear back from us, we will consider your application within Round 2.

Find out more about what happens after you apply.

After you apply

Communicating with you

After you have successfully submitted your application online, you will receive an email confirming your application and providing your login details for the UAL Applicant Portal. Please add @arts.ac.uk to your contacts to ensure that you do not miss any important updates re: your application to UAL.

Please log into the portal, as this is where we will send you important updates and requests, and you can contact us with any questions you may have about your application.

What happens next

Portfolio and interview information

All applicants will be expected to submit an electronic portfolio of work, which includes maximum of six projects (10-20 images) with supporting material – demonstrating creativity, research and working process as well as the final outcome.

  • Examples of creative work (visual and written).
  • Evidence of developmental research and process competencies.
  • Evidence of personal areas of interest in the field of sustainability and social innovation.

If you have links to web projects or other media, please note these in your CV.

Applicants are usually interviewed by the course team before a place can be offered. Interviews will be held online, and details will be sent via the UAL Portal.

Video task

  • We'd like you to submit a 2-3 minute video to help us learn more about you.
  • Please speak clearly in English and face the camera.
  • Your video task is submitted along with your portfolio via PebblePad. Read our guidance for more information about how to submit your video task and the file types we accept.

As part of your video task please respond to the following direction:

We would like you to identify one project from your portfolio which challenged you and your understanding of Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures. Explain how this experience has inspired you to apply to MA Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures at London College of Communication.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

You will receive the outcome of your application through the UAL Applicant Portal.

Requesting feedback

This course receives a high number of applications. Unfortunately, we can’t provide feedback to everyone who is unsuccessful. We can only provide feedback after you’ve had an interview.

We are only able to provide feedback to you directly, or to someone you have told us in writing can receive it on your behalf. If you would like to request feedback  please contact us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

Successful applicants will be guided through the rest of our admissions stages and towards enrolment on the course.

Careers

Careers paths

Demand in the public, private and third sectors for professionals with this knowledge-set and experience means that career options are diverse. Therefore, graduates might join/work with:

  • Creative practices and strategic design companies.
  • Corporate social responsibility departments.
  • Ethical businesses or social enterprises.
  • Government, policy-makers and government agencies/advisors.
  • Charities, NGOs and Not for Profits.

By combining strong practice-based learning and strategic thinking with an innovative and enterprising mind-set, students will also have the knowledge, confidence and competitive edge to:

  • Set up their own agencies, start-ups or incubators.
  • Become eco-social entrepreneurs, researchers and educators.
  • Act as ethical/sustainable consultants or advisors to business, organisations and enterprises.

Alumni

London College of Communication

Contact

Telephone

+44 (0)20 7514 6500
Address
Elephant & Castle

London
SE1 6SB