Master’s degree in Design Research

In a world marked by uncertainty and complexity, design plays a key role. BAU’s Master in Design Research guides students in understanding and questioning the present and encourage them to create transformative proposals with creativity and a critical spirit.

The master is a space for reflection in action. Using design research methods and experimental approaches, students will be invited to imagine, design, and materialize a better fairer and more sustainable world.

The curriculum offers a cross-disciplinary approach to the practice of design working on areas such as architecture, anthropology, political sciences and fine arts.  With a collaborative philosophy, the master’s degree proposes a method based on research as a creative practice and on material and technological experimentation. 

In addition, as it is an official degree, it is a route to a PhD programme, BAU’s Master in Design Research promotes the social role of design and its potential as a driving force for change to successfully face the challenges of the present. In addition, as an official degree, it is a route towards a PhD programme.

The master offers a customised learning journey based on a series of specializations for the TFM (Final Master Thesis), courses intended as spaces and tools for research and experimentation, and a variety of elective courses.

Through the Master Thesis students will be invited to choose among several specializations: Speculative and Critical Design: Design Thinking towards the Future / Experimental Design: Digital fabrication and material innovation / Socially Responsible Design: collaborative design and social impact / Design Pedagogy: design for education / Crosscutting Itinerary.

In addition, the program offers the possibility to undertake a Master Thesis with an external entity, be it an association, foundation, ONG, collective, research institution or private company. This will allow students to land their research into real contexts.

Programme
Fiction, Critical and Speculative Design / Social Innovation and Collaborative Design / Material Cultures and Design Ecologies / Design, Power and Society / Research in Art and Design / Manufacturing and Prototyping / Ethnographies and Design / Investigation with Data / Digital Design / Design and Numeric Control / Internship / Master’s Degree Final Thesis.

Professors
Cecilia De Marinis (coordinator), Alicia Kopf, Taller Estampa, Tim Cowlishaw, Rubén Martínez, Jaron Rowan, María Fernanda Moscoso, Carla Boserman, Marta Camps, Joan Maroto-Sales, Markel Cormenzana, Fran Díaz, Blanca Pujals, Camila René Maggi and Cris Noguer

Guest professors
Núria Alonso, Marcela Arreaga, Carles Baiges, Aurelio Castro, Tim Cowlishaw, Sara de Ubieta, Mariona Genís, Toni Mañach, Isaac Marrero-Guillamón, Lucrecia Masson, Antoni Miralda, Ariadna Parreu, Afra Quintanas and Roger Sansi.

The call for applications for the 2023 master’s degree in Design Research will be open until September 30. There are two scholarships available that offer a 50 percent reduction on the tuition fee (one for BAU alumni and one open to everyone).

Scholarship requirements:
–Motivation letter
–GPA of previous university level studies
–English level B2
–Portfolio (optional)

Scholarship application deadline: May 1, 2023. More information is available here.

Additional information and application
Take a view of the master in this video.  Get to know all the master programmes of BAU Arts and Design College of Barcelona: Critical Contemporary Theory, Graphic Design Communication, Digital Content Creation, Service Design, Creative Illustration,  Branding & Packaging Design, Motion Graphics Design, Stop-Motion Animation, Interior Design, Fashion Innovation and Technology, Fashion Creative Direction, among others. 

About studying at BAU Arts and Design College of Barcelona
BAU is linked with other universities and academies, all over the world. Ties with renowned schools and universities in Europe, the United States, and Asia provide an opportunity to study your subject from a different viewpoint and against a new cultural background. At the same time, BAU welcomes candidates from other universities and from abroad to study here in Barcelona. You will find more information here.