The Masters in Design Innovation & Citizenship explores the relationship between design practice and contemporary society. It encourages a design-led critique of the present and of possible futures. The programme invites designers to move beyond traditional professional roles and consider how design can be applied more broadly to imagine, shape, and support social change.

By questioning the purpose, methods, and ambitions of current design practice, you will identify opportunities for new forms of design activity. You will explore innovative ways of working with citizens to respond to emerging political, social, cultural, and ecological challenges. Citizenship is understood as being part of a community with the power and capacity to bring about change.

The programme examines how design can support people to take greater control over the conditions that shape everyday life, using “thinking through design” as both a practical and critical tool. It also moves beyond human-centred perspectives to consider the impact of design on other living beings and ecological systems, recognising their “citizenship” within a broader ecological understanding of society.

Graduates apply their creative skills beyond consultancy or in-house design roles, working across public policy, private enterprise, public services, social enterprise, citizen advocacy, and the voluntary sector.

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