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Product Design
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MA (eca) Product Design - 1 Year (Full-time)
MFA Product Design - 2 Years (Full-time)
Information on fees & costs
Individual programme fees are linked above. For detailed information on fee status, policies, payment and funding opportunities see:
- Contact information
- ECA Graduate School
Phone: +44(0)131 651 5736
Email: ecapgtdegrees@ed.ac.uk
- Douglas Bryden (Programme Director)
Phone: +44(0)131 651 5728
Email: D.Bryden@ed.ac.uk
- Address: Edinburgh College of Art
The University of Edinburgh
Evolution House, Grassmarket
Edinburgh
EH1 2LE - Douglas Bryden (Programme Director)
Entry requirements
A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent. Any appropriate professional experience will also be considered.
This programme requires the submission of a portfolio and study proposal. Find out more about how to apply:
International students
All applicants must meet our general entry and language requirements. Detailed advice for international students is available here:
Programme description
Product design is about enriching the quality of life whether in the home, the workplace or in the public domain. Our MA and MFA programmes explore new methods of discovering unique, genuine problems and opportunities for the design of innovative, useful and sustainable products.
Our teaching embraces the generation of original and experimental ideas and the creation of product prototypes in response to environmental, social, physical, psychological or economic needs and opportunities discovered through research.
Our approach offers opportunities to experiment with materials and manufacturing processes in new ways, the opportunity to promote ethical debate through critically conceptual, speculative design and the opportunity to discover and to solve genuine problems with innovative, research-led solutions.
Our students are encouraged to determine their own area of interest, direction and identity within this broad discipline, producing tangible concepts that question and challenge current thinking.
Programme structure
We teach you advanced methods of research, analytical thinking, lateral thinking, idea generation techniques, critical thinking, design for manufacture, virtual and physical prototyping and user-testing, all within an intellectually stimulating environment.
We aim to encourage experimentation and cross-fertilisation between different approaches, whether traditional or emerging. Through a hands-on approach, we provide you with a professional understanding and confidence in crucial elements of the product development process, enabling you to design highly original, useful and thought-provoking products.
Students receive regular input from product design staff in the form of lectures, tutorials and seminar discussions and can draw from staff and peers from other subject areas across the University.
Career Opportunities
The professional skills and abilities developed on the programme will prepare you for a rewarding career path as a product designer, a designer maker, a design manager and for a variety of roles within the creative industries. Our alumni can be found working internationally and many have established successful design businesses.
As part of your postgraduate study, you will also gain valuable experience leading and managing undergraduate students working on a live project with a world leading international design-led product and furniture manufacturing brand such as Philips, NCR, Herman Miller, Salcomp and Franke.
Funding
Edinburgh College of Art are offering scholarships to applicants for postgraduate programmes in our five schools:
Please see Scholarships and Student Funding Services for other funding opportunities:
This article was published on Apr 25, 2013