The Master of Design course at Auckland University of Technology supports students' creative research practices through the lens of a theoretical and practical approach.

School: Auckland University of Technology
Course: Master of Design
Location: Aukland, New Zealand
Course dates: February 2026 to June 2027
Application deadline: 28 January 2026

Auckland University of Technology (AUT) has been supporting creative practice-led postgraduate research for over thirty years.

AUT's Master of Design (MDes) supports craft-based skills with cutting-edge technologies through creative design outputs that push innovation and boundaries within design.

Professional practice and industry opportunities, such as collaborative design projects, exhibitions and design activations, are also encouraged as part of the study trajectory.

The Good Health Design Lab, AUT Virtual Creative Design Research Centre, Vā Moana Pacific Spaces, Textile Research Lab and collaborations with industry partners support interdisciplinary design research projects.

Students' individual creative research practices are supported across the design field, including interaction, animation, game, visual effects, communication, spatial, interior, product, fashion, textile design and virtual production.

The MDes enables students to progress through a self-determined postgraduate educational journey. Based in the studios, the first-semester courses are structured as intensive, practice-rich courses that provide ways to explore your developing proposal from a range of practical and theoretical perspectives.

The core courses Te Ao Mahora/Creative Practice Research Design and Contextual Review are 12 weeks long and are designed to support the development of reflective, methodological and contextual knowledge. The thesis year involves generating a design practice research project and engaging in a vibrant design community.

Applications to this course have now closed.

Top image: John Borras Tan, Master of Design Graduate Show. Memory Card Library, 2024.
Bottom image: Opening Night, Master of Design Graduate Show 2023, Te Wai Ngutu Kākā Gallery, AUT University.

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