Master of Design

Studying our Master of Design is a transformative experience – we help a wide range of professionals become the most promising designers of a generation. The full-time programme is tailored to your unique needs and creative challenges, and you’ll receive one-to-one professional mentoring from industry thought leaders. Spanning 30 weeks, it’s ideal for people pursuing their own ideas and a specialist career in design, focused on the latest technologies and approaches. Apply to step things up today.

What is a Master of Design?

A Master of Design is a postgraduate course for design professionals who want to take their creative careers to the next level. The course is tailored to each student’s individual needs and creative challenges, where they have the freedom to develop their specialist skills, knowledge, and qualifications in the design field of their choice.

Masters students complete TWO 30 credit components at Level 8, PLUS, ONE 15 credit and ONE 45 credit components at Level 9. There are SIX 30 credit (non-sequential) Level 8 components. At NZQF Level 9, there is ONE 15 credit component and ONE 45 credit component. These two components are sequential.

Entry Requirements

• In order to be admitted to the Master of Design an applicant must have completed the following or equivalent:

• An Honours degree that is of relevance to design (such as Design - Graphic, Industrial, Product, Fine Arts, Cognitive Science/Psychology, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering); or

• An appropriate international equivalent design or allied professional qualification requiring at least three years full-time tertiary study at an appropriate level as approved by the Academic Board; or

• Relevant professional experience (considered to be equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree ~ six plus years experience in a design related field showing career progression and increasing responsibility) as approved by the Academic Board.

Domestic

• A New Zealand Bachelor's degree or Graduate Diploma from a recognised tertiary institution with an average grade of B- (65%) is required for entry into the Postgraduate Certificate in Design and the Postgraduate Diploma in Design.

• A New Zealand Honours degree from a recognised tertiary institution with an average grade of B- (65%) is required for entry to the Master of Design.

• Professional experience may be considered for entry to the Postgraduate Certificate in Design programme (see Recognition of prior learning).

International

• Qualifications awarded outside New Zealand can also be used for admission, but equivalencies and entry requirements are determined based on the country, institution and qualification.

• You'll need to prove you have sufficient English language skills in order to complete this course. We'll be looking for Academic IELTS overall score of 6.5 (minimum) with no band less than 6.0, or equivalent qualification if English is not your first language.

Application Materials

Media Design School requires the following items for an application to be considered:

• Completed application form
• Statement of intent
• Curriculum Vitae
• Digital Portfolio of relevant work from area(s) of expertise
• Two letters of recommendation
• Official undergraduate and graduate transcripts
• For non-native English speakers, IELTS 6.5 (with no score lower than 6) or a minimum TOEFL score of 100 with minimum sub-scores of 25.

Applicants are required to attend a selection interview (in person or via video call). Eligibility for admission does not guarantee an offer of a place.

Before you begin your study with us, you will need to have a suitable device that has the functionality to run the programmes required for your course.

Follow this link to find course-specific requirements and recommendations, along with links to more information about hardware specifications. We have prepared these recommendations to help our students equip for flexible, blended learning.