Master's Degree Programme in Product Design – Design in Complexity Programme description

Our master's programme provides you with a strategic, interdisciplinary foundation to explore design’s changing role across the private and public sectors within product, service, and systems design, as well as design research. It equips you with essential skills to address complex challenges and foster innovation through a blend of theory and practical experience.

To design for the shift towards sustainable societies, digitisation of professional, social, and private life, professional designers need to constantly adapt and learn. Through the integration of Product, Service, Systems, Experience, Interaction, and Social Design, our programme prepares designers to lead meaningful change across industries, social sectors, and policy.

Upon successful completion of this master's programme, students are able to critically design for complex contexts. The complexity relates to the social/political, environmental, economic, and technological contexts in which the designer, as well as the products and services that they create, will perform and influence.

This education is for those who want to contribute to society with a unique blend of creativity, technical skills, and strategic thinking. Whether you are interested in national and international design research projects, product design, systems design, or design for health and well-being, the knowledge and skills gained during this degree can significantly impact personal growth and professional opportunities.

During the study, you will be involved in design processes that encompass creativity and strategic problem-solving. Throughout the course, we encourage our students to consider sustainable and ethical practices in creating products, systems, and services.

Upon successful completion of this programme, students are able to design for a wide variety of contexts. Their individual approach to the studies opens up diverse career paths in various industries.

This programme sets out to admit applicants from the fields of design, architecture, engineering, fine arts, graphic design, game design, and more. The programme considers design to explore complex issues faced by individuals, industries, and society. The Master’s Degree Programme in Product Design offers the tools and methods to provoke new thought, initiate social and cultural change, and address environmental issues.

Admission Requirements

To apply for this programme, you must have:

• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent, including at least 80 ECTS within the field of design. This may include product design, industrial design, service design, interaction design, furniture and interior design, design-oriented anthropology, universal design, inclusive design, medical/health design, game design, material culture and experimentation, or consumption and consumer behaviour, architecture, or design engineering.
• An average grade of at least C (according to the ECTS grading scale) on your bachelor’s degree.
• A portfolio consisting of documented design works related to products, systems, or services and a letter of motivation. The portfolio must demonstrate skills in visualisation and form development in a creative design process, the ability to define and analyse a design problem, general competence in using design methodology and design thinking, and the ability to demonstrate different holistic design solutions to a problem.

English Language Requirements

You also need one of the following:

• English from a Norwegian or Nordic upper secondary school and a bachelor’s degree from Norway or the Nordic countries.
• At least 4 in English from upper secondary school.
• Proof of your English proficiency.

Upon successful completion of this programme, you will have attained the following knowledge, skills, and general competence at an advanced level.

Knowledge

The candidate…

• has advanced knowledge within the field of design and a particular understanding of performing, evaluating, and adjusting their own design processes in complex contexts.
• has thorough knowledge of the practice- and scientific-based methods applied to complex design processes.
• can critically analyse and apply relevant theory and research methods from other disciplines in design contexts.
• can critically analyse and evaluate communication, sustainability, culture, and aesthetics as part of design contexts.
• can analyse design issues based on the history, traditions, distinctive character, and place in society of the academic field.

Skills

The candidate…

• can analyse and deal critically with various sources of information and use them to structure and formulate necessary interventions for a design process.
• can analyse existing theories, methods, and interpretations in the field of design and work independently on design projects.
• can use relevant design methods for research and design work in an independent manner.
• can carry out an independent design process and develop innovative design solutions for society by applying accumulated knowledge from research, theory, experiments, and practice under supervision.
• can conduct interdisciplinary processes with other professionals as well as laypeople.
• can undertake a limited research or development project under supervision and in accordance with applicable norms for research ethics.

General Competence

The candidate…

• can communicate, facilitate, and manage design processes in complex contexts.
• can critically reflect on the role of design in society and its implications for ethical problems.
• can apply their knowledge and skills through performing and evaluating their own design processes in relation to communication, culture, and aesthetics in complex contexts.
• can communicate extensive independent work and master the language and terminology of the academic field.
• can communicate about academic issues, analyses, and conclusions in the field, both with specialists and the general public.
• can contribute to new thinking and innovation processes.

The programme builds on the foundation that design can bridge individual and collective interests. It is a challenging programme that focuses on developing design solutions centred around human beings and their environment.

During the two-year degree programme, you will be challenged both in design practice and in the discussion of design and its role in societies.

The Master's Degree in Product Design runs for two years as a full-time study and is divided into several courses. All courses, except for the Master's Project (30 ECTS), have a value between 10 and 20 ECTS. All other courses are compulsory in order to complete the Master Programme in Product Design.

The different courses expose you to several design methodologies that help enhance and expand your individual design expression. Each course offers you the possibility to develop your own design projects within a set theme or methodology. This helps you in defining your personal value system and working methods. Particularly, the second-semester internship course or the third-semester exchange offers you the possibility to connect to relevant networks within design, craft, and industry in Norway or abroad.

Throughout the two years, the course encourages you to consider and develop design solutions that meet current and future societal challenges.

This programme offers you the opportunity to meet and work with people from backgrounds other than product design, including architecture, engineering, fine arts, graphic design, and more. They share a passion for critical thinking, design, and a desire to pursue graduate-level research and production.

The programme is organised with learning activities in a two-year full-time study in an international environment with students and teaching staff from across the world. The master's students work in shared studio spaces with full access to workshops, which include facilities for wood, metal, textiles, ceramics, digital manufacturing lab (DML), and virtual reality (VR).

As master's students, you are expected to show independence, motivation, and competence in developing your work within the courses offered in the programme. You can look forward to a variety of learning experiences such as discussions, lectures, group work, field trips, and collaborations with other design schools and businesses.

Thesis Project

In your thesis project, you will be able to build on the methods and themes you have been exposed to throughout the two years while developing your unique project. For an entire semester, you can explore your experimental creativity, advanced problem-solving skills, and critical inquiry and excel in areas where you strive to make a difference.

Thesis topics cover a broad range of fields, from product and furniture explorations, apps and services all the way to systemic design approaches for industry or government and medical applications

During the second semester, students will be required to complete practical training. This training is valued at 20 ECTS credits and is designed to give students real work experience in private businesses or the public sector. Students will acquire knowledge of relevant organisational models, decision-making mechanisms, and gain experience of the methods used in the organisation. The goal is for students to further develop their skills in the design environment.

Individual cooperation agreements are entered into between the university and relevant businesses, municipalities, and other institutions regarding the practical organisation of specific student assignments, which can be completed at the cooperation partner's location within a period of three months. The assignments will typically involve research and development tasks at the cooperation partner's location. Practice in the public sector may involve students being assigned to ongoing research projects within the institution. The student is assigned a contact person with the cooperation partner or the research project for the agreed time period. Guidance will come from both the staff working at the place of practical training as well as the university teaching staff.

The location of the practical training within the study programme has been arranged so that students may extend their practical placement into the summer months. Placements that exceed three months are a voluntary option and are not part of the formal study programme. Practical training that extends beyond three months does not account for additional ECTS credits.

Since the design subject itself focuses on and evolves within an international context, the programme also includes activities with international lecturers, teachers, researchers, and companies.

It is possible to undertake an exchange with foreign universities and university colleges in the third semester. We advise you to choose one of the institutions with whom we have established agreements. It is possible to study abroad for one semester as part of the master's education (30 ECTS credits).

Coursework assignments

Coursework assignments are defined in the individual course descriptions and further requirements are described in the work and teaching plan for the course. Assignments are carried out individually and in groups.

Coursework assignments are given the assessment Approved/Not approved. In courses with coursework assignments, the students must receive an approved on the coursework assignments in order to be able to take examinations and be given a final assessment of the course.

Not approved coursework requirements

Legitimate absence based on e.g. a medical certificate, does not exempt students from meeting the coursework requirements. Students, who due to illness or any other documented legitimate absence, who do not meet the coursework requirements within the appointed deadline, should as far as possible, be given a new attempt to meet the requirements, before the relevant examination.

Provisions governing examinations are laid down in the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet . The form of assessments will be approved/not approved for compulsory assignments, and Pass/Fail for the exam in the MAPD Practical Placement or in the other exams a graded scale from A (highest) to F (lowest) where A to E is a pass grade and F is a fail grade. The grade achieved in each course will be stated on the diploma.

Assessment methods vary between courses. They include written reports, oral presentations, physical models, prototypes, videos, portfolio assessments and oral examinations.

A portfolio assessment provides an overall assessment awarding one grade for the whole portfolio. Students may only appeal against the determination of the examination grade awarded for the whole portfolio.

If the portfolio consists of elements such as an oral presentation, practical work etc., the examination result cannot be appealed against. The right to appeal is stated in the individual course descriptions.

If the examination in a course consists of more than one part, all parts of the examination must be passed in order to pass the course.

A portfolio assessment provides an overall assessment awarding one grade for the whole portfolio. Students may only appeal against the determination of the examination grade awarded for the whole portfolio.

If the portfolio consists of elements such as an oral presentation, practical work etc., the examination result cannot be appealed against. The right to appeal is stated in the individual course descriptions.

If the examination in a course consists of more than one part, all parts of the examination must be passed in order to pass the course.

If the portfolio consists of elements such as an oral presentation, practical work etc., the examination result cannot be appealed against. The right to appeal is stated in the individual course descriptions.

Normally each course has two internal examiners to assess students' work. Each semester one course will be chosen to include an external examiner, thus the students' work will be assessed by one external and one internal examiner.

The Master's thesis is assessed by the one external examiner and one internal examiner, the supervisor is not a part of the grade setting in the master thesis. Guildeline for master's theses at the Faculty can be found here: Retningslinjer for masteroppgaver ved Fakultet for teknologi, kunst og design - Student - minside (oslomet.no)

The purpose of the Quality Assurance System at OsloMet is to strengthen the students learning outcome and development by increasing the quality throughout. OsloMet wants to cooperate with its students and their participation in the Quality Assurance System is crucial. Some of the overall goals of the Quality Assurance System are:

• Ensuring that the educational institution, including practical training, learning and study environment keep a high quality
• Ensuring the relevance of the study programmes for the professional field
• Ensuring a continuously improving quality development

Student evaluations:

• Course evaluations
• Annual student survey among the students at OsloMet

For more information about the Quality Assurance System, please see our website (available in Norwegian only): https://student.oslomet.no/regelverk#etablering-studium-evaluering-kvalitetssystem

External programme supervisors

External programme supervisors are a part of ensuring the quality of the individual study programmes. An external programme supervisor is not an examiner, but someone who supervises the quality of the study programmes. All study programmes at OsloMet shall be supervised by an external programme supervisor. However, how the external programme supervisors are used may vary. Reference is made to Guidelines for Appointment and Use of Examiners at OsloMet: https://student.oslomet.no/retningslinjer-sensorer