MA Design Management Entrepreneurship MA Design Management and Entrepreneurship

This course is aimed at entrepreneurs in the design industry with ambitions to apply their creative and analytical skills to business and social contexts. Your studies will explore and analyse business models, spanning from small and local to multinational corporations and social enterprises, preparing you to respond to the demands and contemporary challenges of the global design industry. The course is designed for students with a good working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite applications, such as Photoshop, Acrobat and InDesign, and will develop these technical skills to an advanced level.

Our extensive choice of optional modules mean that this course can be tailored to suit you. Explore areas ranging from communication and commerce in global fashion markets, to the display, interpretation, and conservation aspects of museum and exhibition design.

With us, you will discover design management and design thinking, and gain a thorough understanding of brand management. We will teach you to examine the role of design in service industries, and develop your business planning skills with an awareness of international markets. You can also further your understanding of marketing, web presence and in-store retail design and explore creative solutions to the major sustainability issues within the industry.

Throughout the course we will empower and support you to challenge conventions, experiment boldly, and take risks. We will help you to develop new ways of thinking about design, and prepare you to embrace a high level of executive responsibility in any design, creative or digital media technology business. 

You should have the equivalent or above of a 2:2 UK bachelor’s honours degree in a related subject. If you have other professional qualifications and industry experience, we will consider your application on an individual basis.

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band, or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English Language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Placements

During this course you will have the option to undertake a year-long work placement, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice. This insight into the professional world will build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career. Placements will normally take place between semester two and three. 

Our careers programme DMU Works can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement.

DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons, helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.   

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK-based activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.  

While overseas DMU Global opportunities are not currently possible, DMU will continue to review government advice and if travel is permitted, we hope to offer a small number of extra-curricular opportunities in the summer of 2021. 

Graduate careers

Many of our graduates pursue careers as project managers in varied sectors of the design industry. Previous graduates have secured roles with companies such as multinational retailer Next, creative design agency mark-making* and bespoke lighting manufacturer JPR Lighting Limited. Others have gone on to run their own creative businesses with the support from the university’s Enterprise team. 

The focus on research and developing your skills as an independent learner will also be an excellent stepping stone to study at PhD level.   

Graduate Zakera Kali Haq, owner of the award-winning online boutique Peace & Blessings, brings together traditional craftsmanship with the latest production techniques to create an all-inclusive stationary line which celebrates cultural and religious events. She said: “The university’s ethos of inclusivity and sustainability has definitely had an influence on my work and designs.”