Product Design
Product Design
4 years (with placement year and/or overseas study)
Product designers build today’s world and dream about the next, shaping our future by dissolving the boundaries between technology, creativity and imagination. Product design surrounds us all, from phones and smart devices to bicycles and safety equipment, product designers quietly create the human world around us through play and experimentation, exploring people’s needs, solving problems and discovering new opportunities for innovative solutions that reimagine the consumer experience of products and services.
On this course you will learn how to be a designer of products that respond to emergent issues across society and culture, developing a sustainable design philosophy in creating products which are sensitive to the relationships between people and the places we inhabit. You will develop essential skills in visualising your design ideas, use creative methods to apply design research, make prototypes, and understand the use of different design strategies in the creation of new products. You will discover how to design products that embrace both traditional and contemporary approaches to production and manufacturing through exploring the use of materials, processes, and technologies.
The course fosters an active studio culture of shared learning, where student diversity is celebrated in an inclusive open environment. Opportunities for industry placement and overseas study can be pursued before the final year of study, supporting a range of personal and professional ambitions to be explored.
Connection to the design industry is an essential element of the course, providing a real-world focus to learning and professional development. You will take part in studio projects with local external partners, engage in design competitions and work with international partners from around the globe, enabling you to develop the creative and professional skills required to support a sustainable career within the product design sector and beyond.
Special Features
- Globally recognised: We are ranked in the top 100 schools for art and design in the world (QS World Rankings 2024).
- Diverse workshop facilities: This course is supported by a comprehensive range of workshops for hand and machine making in wood, plastics, metal, ceramics and glass, digital making facilities for CNC routing, 3D printing and laser cutting.
- Expert-led learning: You will be taught by a range of academic and technical experts across the School of Art who are practicing designers, makers and artists.
- Industry network: You will have regular industry-supported projects throughout the course, studio visits and guest speakers from a range of design practices.
- Study trips: You will have opportunities to undertake study trips to key design cities. Recent trips have including Berlin, Venice Architecture Biennale, Milan Design Week, Copenhagen and New York. Students have also participated in exchange visits to Australia, India and Europe.
Course Content
The BA (Hons) Product Design course at Manchester School of Art stands out for its dynamic blend of traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology, equipping you with a comprehensive skill set that spans hand sketching to advanced tools like virtual reality, AI, and rapid prototyping.
Product design is a diverse subject with an increasing reach across many sectors of society, as such this course supports your development through problem-based learning, work integrated learning, industry placements and opportunities for cultural exchange, including overseas study.
The course thrives on a diverse, inclusive studio learning culture, where individual student contexts are celebrated, fostering collaboration and confidence-building. The learning experience mirrors design practice, addressing contemporary issues which seek to embed a questioning and critical approach to the creative process within a sustainable design philosophy.
Strong connections with leading industry experts, and international partners ensures that real-world experience is at the heart of the curriculum. Our students are nationally recognised by the design industry, with their award-winning innovative designs informing the future of product design practice.
Year 1
Building core design skills and confidence is essential within your first year of study. You will develop sketching and design drawing skills alongside using CAD software and creating prototypes via taught skills sessions and workshop practice inductions. A dynamic spectrum of projects introduces essential principles and approaches which underpin the product design subject, including human factors, material processing, creative methods, cultural and contextual analysis.
Future X: Kinship
In this module, you will explore your creative field through questions of belonging, encouraging you to consider relationships with the planet, people and place. The module functions as a Speculative Laboratory where we embrace More-Than-Human perspectives and develop new disciplinary connections to create innovative and regenerative ways of living and interacting with the world. This is an opportunity to begin to explore how creativity can be a catalyst for meaningful change.
Investigation and Application
This module engages you in rapid response research enquiry that focuses on a defined area of investigation. The module will foster an understanding of how research can make a positive impact on the creative process, cultivating a questioning approach to original ‘innovative’ thinking and problem solving.
Year 2
Your second year of study will focus on developing a depth of specialist knowledge and the application of skills through increasingly complex projects. You will engage with industry professionals and multidisciplinary projects, providing a variety of opportunities to explore a diversity of design approaches, developing your knowledge and skills in applying research methods, systems thinking, user experience, manufacturing approaches, collaboration, communication and presentation.
Contexts for Design
This module supports the development of personal and professional practice, engaging you in the wider contextual application of your design skills. You will be required to create work in response to a range of contemporary design awards, residency programs, exhibitions or research projects, providing you an opportunity to explore a variety of approaches within the spectrum of product design practice.
Year 3
The final year of study focuses on building a professional and sustainable practice aligned to your career ambitions. You will develop skills in project management, conducting and synthesizing research towards the delivery of a major design project, further supporting the refinement of your design, prototyping and presentation skills. You will also develop a ‘design vision’ project which provides the opportunity for speculative and ambitious responses, exploring wider interdisciplinary and contextual perspectives surrounding the future of product design practice.
Future X: Re-worlding
In this module, you will explore the boundaries of where your discipline intersects with other fields of practice as a catalyst for innovation. You will use theory to contextualise thinking, moving beyond the silo of subject specialism, and engage in imaginative experiments to rethink traditional approaches and roles in 'the profession’. This module helps prepare you for your final year of study, setting the context for the year ahead.
Product Design Practice
This module will focus on developing, refining and resolving a major design project. The module enables you to pursue areas of personal interest aligned to professional practice ambitions. As such, it draws together all the skills, knowledge and understanding that has been built through the first two years of study. This project may engage external partners, collaborators and key industry contacts to support the development of design projects resolved to a professional practice standard.
Assessment Weightings & Contact Hours
10 credits equates to 100 hours of study, which is a combination of lectures, seminars and practical sessions, and independent study. A three year degree qualification typically comprises 360 credits (120 credits per year). The exact composition of your study time and assessments for the course will vary according to your option choices and style of learning, but it could be—
Study
- Year 1 30% lectures, seminars or similar; 70% independent study
- Year 2 30% lectures, seminars or similar; 70% independent study
- Year 3 100% placement (optional)
- Year 4 25% lectures, seminars or similar; 75% independent study
Assessment
- Year 1 100% coursework
- Year 2 100% coursework
- Year 3 100% placement (optional)
- Year 4 100% coursework
Student Work
Our Degree Show online galleries show work by final year Product Design and Three Dimensional Design students, the previous name of the course
Staff
- Jon Spruce
Programme Leader
— - Kirsteen Aubrey
Education Lead: Design Department
— - Paul Micklethwaite
Reader in Design Innovation
— - Sarah Moriarty
Senior Lecturer in Product Design
— - Callum Nash
Lecturer
— - Claire Norcross
Senior Lecturer
—
Winners of the annual Department of Design student awards announced at the Degree Show.
Winners of student awards announced
Graduates
Graduates of this course progress onto careers within the product design industry including roles in furniture and lighting design, service and user experience design, retail and installation, design strategy and management, design consultancy, research and teaching.
Graduates have also developed their own creative businesses as self-employed practitioners, facilitators and business owners.
Making an Application
How to Apply
Apply through UCAS.
We will ask you to provide a Digital Portfolio to support your application.
You will be notified of our decision through UCAS.
Entry Requirements
| UCAS Tariff Points/Grades Required | 104-112. GCE A levels - grades BCC or equivalent Pearson BTEC National Extended Diploma - grade DMM Access to HE Diploma - Pass overall with a minimum 106 UCAS Tariff points UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma - grade of Merit overall OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma - grade DMM T level - We welcome applications from students undertaking T level qualifications. Eligible applicants will be asked to achieve a minimum overall grade of Merit as a condition of offer IB Diploma - Pass overall with a minimum overall score of 26 or minimum 104 UCAS Tariff points from three Higher Level subjects Other Level 3 qualifications equivalent to GCE A level are also considered. A maximum of three A level-equivalent qualifications will be accepted towards meeting the UCAS tariff requirement. AS levels, or qualifications equivalent to AS level, are not accepted. The Extended Project qualification (EPQ) may be accepted towards entry, in conjunction with two A-level equivalent qualifications. Please contact the University directly if you are unsure whether you meet the minimum entry requirements for the course. |
|---|---|
| Specific GCSE Requirements | GCSE grade C/4 in English Language or equivalent, e.g. Pass in Level 2 Functional Skills English |
| International Baccalaureate | IB Diploma with minimum 26 points overall or 104 UCAS Tariff points from three Higher Level subjects. If you plan to meet the Level 2 course requirements through your IB Diploma you will need to achieve Higher Level 4 or Standard Level 5 in English Points |
International Students
A minimum IELTS score of 6.0 overall with no individual element below 5.5 is required.
There’s further information for international students on our international website if you’re applying with non-UK qualifications.
Tuition Fees 2026 Entry
The fees for 2026 entry are still to be confirmed.
See Funding your studies for further information and advice.
Additional Costs
Specialist Costs
Optional £100* —A ‘studio toolkit’ of basic design equipment including items such as pens, sketch pads, erasers, scissors and adhesives. Costs ranging from £30 - £100 per year.
Professional Costs
Student membership fees are available across all disciplines. You will be made aware of these however, they are not mandatory.
Other Costs
Study trips
Optional national and/or international study trips, typically during year one and two. These are mostly funded by students.
Costings are sourced from university-approved agents and will vary in-line with the current market and student numbers.
Laptop
Indicative cost PC Laptop: £600 -£1,000 (dependent on screen size) Indicative cost MacBook Pro: £1,500 - £2,200 (dependent on screen size)
Loan laptops and iMac/PC workstations are also available across the campus.
Workshop and Materials
Materials are provided for workshop inductions, further materials used when developing individual student work are available for purchase at cost from workshop stores. Costs are dependent on the specifics of student project ambitions.
Print Costs
You may be required to print work for assessment presentations through years one - three. A range of printing outcomes can be achieved at low cost using Man Met / School of Art printing facilities.
In year three, there could be an approximate additional amount of £100, towards printing cost for the degree show exhibition.
Indicative print / binding costs for the degree show – £100- £200 depending on individual projects.
* All amounts shown are estimates.