Integrated Masters - Master of Design (MDes) - Industrial Design (Placement Year) (W247)

Design at Brunel is all about realising fantastic ideas in the real world. The 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.

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

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

The placement year helps students to prepare for the world of work and they will have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience when they graduate. In the past, students have worked in both small innovation start-ups and multinational organisations such as Chanel, Dior, Disney, Dyson and Lego. Alternatively, students have the opportunity to add another dimension to their university experience by spending a term or a year in one of Brunel's partner universities via the university's exchange program: 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 the university's design talent at its finest. Each year 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 students produce to the creative community, and is a great way for students to network with key design professionals.

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

The British Industrial Design Association graduate employability survey ranks Brunel second for creating the ‘most employable graduates'. Brunel Design School has been recognised as one of the best places in the world to research and study design by the 2021 QS World University Ranking by subject (art and design).