Industrial Design BA MDes

Design at Brunel is ranked 3^rd in London by the Complete University Guide 2023, and 8^th in the UK by QS World University Rankings by subject 2022. Our graduates are high earners - Government figures on Employment Outcomes show that Brunel Design graduates rank no 1 for graduate earnings in the UK.*

Design at Brunel is all about realising fantastic ideas in the real world. Our Industrial Design BA/MDes Degree suits creative and practical thinkers who prefer to learn through building and evaluating project-based challenges, with a technological understanding and less theory and quantitative analysis. The programme is available as a 3 year BA or a four year MDes, which is a Master’s degree.

There is a lot of project-based learning to test your skills on all aspects of the design process, from contextual design ideas to realising your concept in the form of a product prototype. This means you’ll be able to build a great portfolio of your best-quality projects, academic and industry briefs, and case studies, during your studies.

You’ll have workshop training and will use industry-standard equipment and software to develop quality hands-on skills to become a maker. You'll have access to modern facilities that include dedicated design studios, digital sketching, extensive prototyping workshops, as well as electronics and digital fabrication labs. The practical knowledge you gain is transferable to industry and provides a head start for your future career as a creative designer and design communicator in the modern world.

Watch this video to find out more about the course. 

This course can be studied 3 years full-time (or 4 years full-time for MDes) or 4 years full-time with placement (5 years full-time with placement for MDes), starting in September. The placement year helps you to prepare for the world of work and you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience when you graduate. Our students have worked in both small innovation start-ups and multinational organisations such as Chanel, Dior, Disney, Dyson and Lego. 

Our students have the opportunity to study abroad. You could spend a term or a year in one of our partner universities via our exchange programme: Politecnico di Milano in Italy; Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, San Francisco State University in the USA and Institut Superieur de Design, ISD Bubika in France. New exchange opportunities are being developed with India, Canada and China.

Made in Brunel is a unique, student-led initiative that showcases our design talent at its finest. Each year our students run a series of industry and community events leading up to the Made in Brunel exhibition. This annual showcase is a highlight of the London design calendar and promotes the incredible work our students produce to the creative community, and is a great way for our students to network with key design professionals.

If you are interested in turning a product or technology idea into a business after you graduate, we are in partnership with the Central Research Laboratory (CRL), a design incubator for start-ups. You’ll have access to meeting rooms and workspace as well as prototyping facilities. A team of in-house professionals will guide and support you at each stage and a number of our previous entrepreneurial students have successfully commercialised their products.

* Longitudinal Employment Outcomes (LEO) 2022

You’ll gain a sound grounding in technical and creative subjects before you move on to more specialised areas with a strong technological and humanistic focus. In your final year, you’ll learn advanced design innovation. Your major project is likely to include an aesthetic model and a functional prototype. The MDes year features further specialisation and research-led design.

This course can be studied 3 years full-time, 4 years full-time with placement, 4 years full-time or 5 years full-time with placement, starting in September.

To help you prepare for the world of work, we’ll encourage you to take the placement option, incorporating a year spent in industry. This means you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience and networks when you graduate. Our students have worked on placement for both small innovation start-ups and multinational organisations.

Our graduate designers are highly valued in the industry, working around the world for organisations where excellence in design is crucial to the brand, including Apple, Audi, British Airways, Dyson, Habitat International, Lego, Microsoft, Philips, Procter & Gamble, and Virgin Atlantic.

• GCE A Level ABB (General Studies not accepted).
• BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DDM.
• BTEC Level 3 Diploma DD in any subject with an A Level at grade B
• BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma D in any subject with A Levels grade BB.
• International Baccalaureate Diploma 31 points. GCSE English equivalent SL 5 or HL 4 and Mathematics SL 4 or HL 4.
• Obtain a minimum of 128 UCAS tariff points in the Access to HE Diploma course with 45 credits at Level 3.
• T levels : Merit overall

• Five GCSEs at grade C or grade 4 and above are also required, to include Maths and English Language.

  Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants as well as our full GCSE requirements and accepted equivalencies in place of GCSEs.

  All applicants are required to attend an interview including a portfolio review as part of the selection process before a formal offer is made.

• IELTS: 6 (min 5.5 in all areas)
• Pearson: 59 (59 in all sub scores)
• BrunELT: 58% (min 55% in all areas)
• TOEFL: 77 (min R18, L17, S20, W17) 

Your progress will be assessed via assignments, coursework, presentations, individual and group design projects, lab reports and case studies, exams, and the final year major design project.

Marked work and feedback will be returned to students within three weeks of submission.