About Design Management MA in Coventry University

In today’s competitive and rapidly evolving commercial world, businesses are looking to harness the power of creativity to develop innovation and new designs that leverage significant competitive advantage.

This Design Management course has a professional and practical focus. It has been developed in collaboration with leading professional design managers from companies including Imagination Ltd, Xerox (HCL), Cyber-Duck and Knight Design Innovation. They need leaders who understand the value of design and manage creative processes to achieve successful business outcomes.

From our 19th century origins as a design school focused on industry and manufacturing, we have produced design leaders and innovators in their fields; our graduates work in design consultancies and manufacturing industries worldwide. A recognised centre of excellence, the department of Industrial Design was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education in 2008 and the Sir Misha Black Award for Innovation in Design Education in 2007.

Why Coventry University?

An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.

Course information

Managing creatives and the creative process in collaboration with other functional teams requires a broad skillset, including technical know-how and leadership characteristics.

Established techniques of leadership and management will be taught alongside access to the Faculty’s wide range of creative activities. Creative practitioners are increasingly being regarded as multi-disciplinary within the design industry. The course focuses on challenges and creative culture, as well as a deeper understanding of design processes, evaluation and expectations.

This course will involve a mix of creative design, management and leadership processes to equip you with the skills and expertise to lead effective creative design of commercial value within industrial, retail or service sectors. It is structured around the three themes of communication, collaboration and creativity.

Career prospects

Professionals capable of managing creative teams who can produce innovative new product solutions are increasingly sought after in the UK, Europe, the USA and particularly in the major developing economies.

Knowledge of both creative design and management processes is designed to prepare you for leadership and decision-making positions within product design agencies, manufacturing companies, design consultancies, research and development departments, research institutions and government bodies. Specific careers might include acting as a design team leader, design project manager, design researcher and design policy maker.

Professional enhancement is central to our ethos: there is a strong emphasis on the development of evidence-based decision making, high level leadership and communication skills. This is the reason we also encourage collaboration with industry practitioners and work on ‘live’ project briefs.

Our Creative Futures employment team is on hand to offer tailored career and enterprise support if you wish to gain employment or take advantage of professional practice opportunities within course specific industries. It provides specialist careers information, advice and guidance to all our students from their first year through to final year and beyond graduation, helping them achieve their desired career outcome. Our dedicated enterprise officers also offer valuable assistance on how to begin as a freelancer/entrepreneur.

Coventry University is committed to preparing you for your future career and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The University's Careers and Employability team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your career.

Where our graduates work

Our graduates can be found working with top UK and international design-led companies: DCA in Warwick; Cambridge Consultants; PDD and Seymour Powell in London; Kinneir Dufort Design Ltd in Bristol; Princess Yachts; GE; Dyson; VAX; Ryobi; WPP; Lego; JMDA; Jaguar Land Rover and many other household names.

English as a Foreign Language This course requires IELTS of 6.5 overall, with no component lower than 5.5. Pre-sessional English is available if required.

Our International Student Hub offers information on entry requirements for your country, as well as contact details for agents and representatives should you need more advice.

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