About this programme
Master in Design for People is a Master's Degree programme at Kolding School of Design in Kolding, taught in English. It runs for 2 years. The register gives Kolding as the campus town. It lists the degree as Master (2 years). Kolding School of Design is an arts academy in Southern Denmark.
How it compares
Master in Design for People is one of 12 English-taught Industrial Design programmes at Master's Degree level in the register, offered by 5 institutions. 10 of them list an annual fee for students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, from EUR 6,700 to EUR 9,000; this programme lists EUR 8,000 a year. 10 are recorded as free for EU, EEA and Swiss students.
What you will study
Design for People is a two-year Master's programme at Kolding School of Design, taught in English. It is for designers who want to work with social agendas and use design to address human, social and societal challenges.
What you study
The programme teaches design theory, process and methods to help you develop projects that solve human, social and societal challenges. You learn to use stakeholder involvement as a foundation for better design solutions, master complexity when designing within these challenges, and design relations for improved living conditions.
You work within domains where design can have a social impact, through thematic approaches such as empathic design, critical design, speculative design, participatory design, co-design and transformative design. The focus is on design, users, stakeholders, creativity, empathy, ethics, complex problem solving and critical thinking.
Courses include Foundations of Social Design, Empathy & Equity, Critical Framing, Exploring Design Profession, Empowering Change, Design Methodology, Design Practice and Prototyping, and Exploring Design Perspectives. These cover user observation and involvement, participatory methods, critical design theory, process facilitation with companies, historic and contemporary design methodology, and prototyping.
How the programme is organised
The instruction is a mix of lectures, seminars, workshops and individual and group-based project work. You are taught by Danish and international teachers from academia and practice. The programme collaborates with municipalities, NGOs, companies and institutions. The curriculum includes design of products, services, methods, processes, systems and experiences that suggest improvements or challenge existing solutions.
Projects take point of departure in people's needs and behaviour. You must be willing to conduct different types of real-life user studies to qualify your design project. The programme is 120 ECTS over two years, starting in August or September.
Who it suits
Design for People is aimed at students who are professionally bold, have a social and societal awareness, and wish to adopt an exploratory, critical and open-minded approach. You should want to focus your design practice on social agendas in an interdisciplinary forum.
Students from all four of the school's own bachelor's programmes are accepted, as well as students from other disciplines who meet the admission criteria by showing a design understanding equivalent to the level of a bachelor's degree in design. You must be able to master a design process and activate design methods to develop design projects within Industrial Design, Communication Design, Fashion Design, Textile Design or Accessory Design under the theme of the MA People programme.
Admission, language and next steps
The deadline for admission is 1 March at 12.00 PM (CET). The instruction language is English. The degree title is Master of Arts. The programme is located at Kolding School of Design in Kolding.
Applications for master's programmes go directly to the institution. You can find the application form and detailed admission requirements on the school's website. The page also offers downloads of course descriptions and curriculum documents.
Job opportunities after graduating
- Designer working with social design
- Designer in the space between people and technology
- Designer in municipalities, NGOs, companies or institutions
- Designer developing products, services, methods, processes, systems or experiences
- Designer using participatory and co-design methods
- Designer focusing on sustainability, co-creation or play
Before you apply
Master’s applications go straight to Kolding School of Design, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.
Facts on this page come from the Study in Denmark register, the official portal of the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science. Fees are in euros as the institution lists them. "Not recorded" means the register has no figure, not that the programme is free. Always confirm requirements, fees and deadlines with the institution.
Quick answers
Is Master in Design for People taught in English?
Yes. The Study in Denmark register lists it as an English-taught programme at Kolding School of Design. Only English-taught degree programmes are in the register.
How long does it take?
The register records 2 years of study. Confirm the study load in ECTS credits with Kolding School of Design.
Where is it taught?
The register lists Kolding as the campus town for this programme at Kolding School of Design.
How do I apply?
Master’s applications go straight to the institution, not through optagelse.dk. Kolding School of Design sets its own deadline.
What does it cost?
Students from outside the EU, the EEA and Switzerland pay EUR 8,000 a year, as Kolding School of Design lists it. For students from the EU, the EEA and Switzerland the record shows no tuition fee. Fees are in euros as the institution lists them.
Is this programme officially listed?
It comes from the Study in Denmark register, the official portal of the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science at studyindenmark.dk. The programme page at Kolding School of Design is linked from this page so you can compare.
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