Design for Development MA: Entry requirements

Here you'll find the entry requirements for this course. Please read them carefully as they are very important for your application.

• A good honours degree, or equivalent, in a design or design-related subject, and/or relevant professional experience;
• A portfolio of design / creative work – ideally showing thoughtful work across several fields or disciplines (strong and original ideas are more important than perfect realisation or execution);
• A convincing personal statement about why you want to study this course in particular, and what themes or topics most interest you;
• Evidence of additional real-world or professional experience that informs your choice and motivates you.

How to apply and portfolio requirements

For full details of how to apply and portfolio requirements, see the Apply for this course page.

Prior learning - AP(E)L

Applicants with prior qualifications and learning may be exempt from appropriate parts of a course in accordance with the University's policy for the assessment of prior learning and prior experiential learning. Contact the faculty office for further information.

The course attracts a truly international cohort, with students from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, France, Korea, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and USA.

All non-UK applicants must meet our English language requirements. For this course it is Academic IELTS of 6.5 overall, with special conditions in all elements. Please make sure you read our full guidance about English language requirements, which includes details of other qualifications we'll consider.

Applicants who do not meet the English language requirements may be eligible to join our pre-sessional English language course.

Applicants from one of the recognised Majority English Speaking Countries (MESCs) do not need to meet these requirements.