Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
At Te Herenga Waka, Design is about innovation. While developing the skills and knowledge that industry currently demands, you’ll also be pushing the limits and forging the future of design practice.
Undergraduate:
The Bachelor of Design Innovation (BDI) is a three-year undergraduate degree designed to prepare you for a career in one of the many expanding design-related industries. During studio classes and seminars your teachers will show you how to take an experimental approach to design that encourages creative and thoughtful design solutions. You’ll major in one of eight areas—Animation and Visual Effects, Communication Design, Design for Social Innovation, Fashion Design Technology, Game Design, Industrial Design, Interaction Design or Media Design. A feature of this degree is that it’s cross-disciplinary, meaning you’ll be encouraged to study and work with subject areas outside Design. This will make sure you gain a thorough grounding in design and its connections with the real world.
Postgraduate:
Master of Design (MDes): Advance your knowledge in the area of design that interests you, and enhance your theoretical and practical design expertise. Master of Design is a research degree for students who already have a solid understanding of design research methodology.
Master of Design Innovation (MDI): Expand on your Bachelor’s degree and get a head start in your career with advanced study and research in design. Master of Design Innovation is ideal for students interested in independent research—in the form of a research portfolio—and some coursework, that aims to change the status quo of design through disruptive or breakthrough innovation. Students can choose the area of research and design from our list of available disiplines so you can choose the area of research and design that interests you.
Master of Design Technology (MDT): Become an expert in digital technologies so you can tell stories with visual effects (VFX), gaming, animation, or extended reality (XR). Master of Design Technology is an intensive coursework-based programme and ideal for students holding a Bachelor’s degree in design who are looking to up-skill with advanced techniques and high-tech professional practice.
Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practice) in Design Visual Narrative (MFA CP): Master the art of visual storytelling and explore the expressive possibilities of narrative through design. The MFA(CP) in Design Visual Narrative is ideal for those passionate about comics, hybrid literature, narrative games, concept art, production design, and tabletop role-playing games. This programme combines coursework and creative practice, developing your storytelling chops in the visual medium of your choice. Collaborate with students from film, theatre, music, or animation and visual effects. Author a final creative work with the help of award-winning faculty staff. The MFA(CP) in Design Visual Narrative is your portal to envisioning the stories of tomorrow.
Master of User Experience Design (MUXD): Boost your skills in how people interact and experience products and services. These experiences could be on a screen, like a website or an app, or in a physical space, like wayfinding in a museum. The Master of User Experience Design is a conversion degree with some coursework. It is aimed at industry professionals and recent graduates, you don’t have to have an undergraduate Design degree to apply.
PhD in Design: The Doctor of Philosophy at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design Innovation focuses on a thesis that produces an original body of research that expands the design discipline. Students work closely with two supervisors on largely independently driven work. Typically on-site, the PhD may be studied by distance in suitable cases.
