The COOP Design Research Master of Science course at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Anhalt) provides students with a combination of design and research training to prepare for doctoral study.

The one-year COOP Design Research MSc integrates design and research as transdisciplinary fields between design anthropology, material culture studies, history and theory of architecture and design.

The programme situates critical research and learning at the vantage point of the Bauhaus building in Dessau as the main study location.

This offers a space for reflecting and diffracting theoretical and practical frameworks of design, hegemonic ideologies of industrial modernity and the radical epistemological shifts affecting designers and architects, as well as the planetary environment.

Offered in cooperation by the architecture and design departments at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, with Humboldt University Berlin (Research Cluster Matters of Activity), the course draws on knowledge assembled within the Bauhaus and everyday urban spaces and ecologies of the city and the region.

It engages with this rich and complex cultural landscape of industrial and "post-industrial" transformation where different temporalities of progress, innovation and ruination co-exist, manifesting and contextualising the knowledge cultures and agency of designers and architects.

With an emphasis on collaborative learning and research, the programme fosters research practice, criticality, writing and communication skills.

It opens pathways in academic research and teaching and provides a foundation for potential doctoral studies. Equally, it charts avenues towards reflexive architectural and design practice, as well as curatorial work and cultural production.

School: Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Anhalt)
Course: COOP Design Research Master of Science
Type: Postgraduate
Location: Dessau-Rosslau, Germany
Course dates: 1 June to 10 July 2026
Application deadline: 15 May 2026

Find out more about the course and apply ›

What will I learn during this course?

– Architectural design skills with a focus on transformation, small-scale interventions and socially oriented spatial concepts
– Analyse existing environments
– Respond to climate and contextual conditions
– Understand architecture as a cultural and collective practice
– Critical thinking, research and experimentation
– Collaboration and communication skills
– Historical awareness linked to Bauhaus traditions
– German language skills that support their professional and academic development

What are the requirements?

– Successfully completed the second year of a Bachelor's programme
– English proficiency at a minimum level of B1

What facilities and resources are available?

– On-site, studio-based architecture
– Well-equipped design studios, workshops and fabrication facilities
– Plotters and laser cutters for model making and production
– Seminar spaces
– Art workshops
– German language classes
– Excursions and a collaborative workshop format with the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation

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