Postgraduate study in Design

Design adds value to organisations by supporting the delivery of innovative products, services and systems, enhancing competitive advantage and delivering transformational change.

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Felicity Bonham

What can you study in Design?

The Design Programme offers a Postgraduate Certificate, Master of Design and a PhD in Design. Postgraduate study in Design suits people with a background in design or those coming from other industries such as health, engineering, science or finance.

Advanced study in Design empowers students to think critically, explore and customise methodologies, experiment with creative solutions and strengthen a design practice that is strategic, viable and sustainable. No matter which industry you're working in, design skills could be what takes you and your organisation to the next level.

Our postgraduate programmes centre around the critical values of social responsiveness, interdisciplinarity and entrepreneurship while exploring the methodologies and practices associated with contemporary design. Advanced tools and technologies associated with machine learning, gaming, automation, mixed realities and smart devices are explored to develop a refined design practice that is relevant across all sectors of industry and community.

Research methods and models include:

  • Case study analysis
  • Human-centred design
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Design ethics
  • Design cognition, creativity and design thinking
  • Speculative design and design futures 
  • Analysis of design impacts and metrics
  • Co-design
  • Service design 
  • Gamification
  • Systems thinking
  • Prototyping
  • Testing and evaluation

Our postgraduate programmes will prepare you as a future design leader able to adjust and contribute to constantly changing local and international contexts.

Courses

Explore the courses you can take in Design.

Scholarships and awards

Help and advice

Enrolment support

Our friendly staff will provide you with advice on planning your degree and enrolling in your courses. Contact our Student Hubs.

If you would like to find out more about studying Design, you can contact a Postgraduate Adviser:

Adviser for Postgraduate Certificate in Design, Master of Design

Aaron Fry
Email: aaron.fry@auckland.ac.nz

Adviser for Doctoral Study (PhD in Design)

Dr Diana Albarrán González
Email: d.albarran@auckland.ac.nz