Design Futures

MA

  • Entry year 2025
  • Duration Full time 1 year
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Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • World Top 50 Arts & Humanities THE World University Rankings 2024

  • World Top 100 Art & Design QS World University Subject Rankings 2024

  • Award-winning, purpose-built studios

What do our potential futures hold in store? How can we ensure that society is able to tackle the problems facing the next generations? This course takes creative processes developed by design and applies them to important present and future global challenges. You’ll develop the skills to draw stakeholders together and bring more-than-human and systemic forward thinking to any professional role.

Why Lancaster?

  • Work with cutting-edge researchers on live briefs in our award-winning research centre, Imagination Lancaster
  • Immerse yourself in future-led approaches to complex challenges by developing a creative and critical skillset that will stand out from the crowd
  • Network with visiting professionals from the international design industry, and hear their thinking on the industry-leading, design practices of tomorrow
  • Study futures focussed design theory and practice from different perspectives, and delve deeper into the areas that interest you the most
  • Take part in collaborative learning, engaging with students and academics from a range of professional and academic backgrounds

Re-designing Futures

The MA in Design Futures focuses on addressing significant emergent issues related to society, digitalisation, products, places and environments, using future-oriented, practice-based approaches.

You’ll explore innovative methods, theories and practices that can be applied to a range of unfolding design research challenges, such as:

  • Emerging technologies
  • Sustainability
  • Living environments
  • Speculative design for heath and well being
  • Workplaces
  • Transport Policy and governance
  • Service design in the age of AI

You may explore historical views of how people thought about the future and how those ideas influenced today’s reality, such as the Internet of Things for sustainability, service design in the age of AI, co-design for communities, and speculative design for health systems.

You could immerse yourself in experiential futures creating plausible design fiction objects brought back from an impending world you have designed.

You might be asked for example to explore the possibility of a Mars colony in 100 years. How would you design a way to live in that environment? How do we make products, services, and even policies for such a future?

Much of the course is done through studio practice using methods such as forecasting and speculative design, where you will challenge norms, push boundaries and explore what that means for societies going forward.

Imagination Lancaster

Imagination Lancaster is an open and exploratory, design-led research centre, and one of the largest in the world. Our academic researchers are leaders in the field of futures, and they include designers, architects, engineers, technologists and more. Imagination Lancaster fundamentally informs our design courses including the MA in Design Futures, allowing you to learn directly from current research within design.

During studio practice modules, you will utilise our Imagination Lab. This is a creative workshop space, where you can put your ideas into practice through products, spaces and systems, while collaborating with our experts. You will have access to dedicated studios, seminar spaces and group study areas that encourage collaboration, as well as an equipment store and a team of technicians to support your creative work.

Futureproof your Skills

Throughout the course you will be developing professional skills such as how to navigate complex ideas, integrate concepts, facilitate thinking and visualize the intangible.

This means that you will graduate with a comprehensive skillset combined with an understanding of the importance of forward-faced thinking within design. You’ll be equipped to put this into practice in roles that include research, prototyping, project management and strategy building.

Whether you have a background in practice-based design or you are moving on to this master’s from an undergraduate degree in a related subject, to get the most from the course you’ll need to bring curiosity, creativity and a collaborative mindset. You may want to move into a role in an emerging, innovative area of design, or gain skills and knowledge to open new avenues and advance your career in your chosen field. This course supports both pathways, and gives you the freedom to explore and build on your personal interests and skillset.

Careers

You will graduate from the MA Design Futures with the skills to create and lead thinking around design futures in your chosen field.

You will be equipped with skills in leadership, forecasting, product development, analytical thinking, design research and project management, and have a future focussed mindset - skills that will impress prospective employers.

You may be interested in the following careers:

  • Product developer
  • Futurist
  • Graphic Designer
  • Creative advertising executive
  • Teacher of higher education
  • Design strategist
  • Trend forecaster (WGSN, MINTEL)
  • Policy designer (Google, Facebook, Government)
  • Textiles engineer
  • UX Designer
  • Design manager/consultant

For those students who are interested in continuing with academic study beyond master’s level, there are exciting opportunities to stay at Lancaster to carry out PhD study.

Entry requirements

Academic Requirements

2:1 (UK Hons) degree or equivalent in Design, Architecture, or a related subject

Additional Requirements

As part of your application you may also need to:

  • Provide a portfolio if you have studied in a related subject. The portfolio should provide examples of your design work, which may be graphic design, product design, speculative design, co-design or similar.
  • Take part in an interview

Both portfolio and interview may take place online.

We may also consider non-standard applicants, please contact us for information.

If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.

English Language Requirements

We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.

We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 7.0, and a minimum of 6.5 in each element of the test. We also consider other English language qualifications.

If your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.

Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email pgadmissions@lancaster.ac.uk

Pre-master’s programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored pre-master’s pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University master’s degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Course structure

You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.

Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

Core

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Fees and funding

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General fees and funding information

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Scholarships and bursaries

You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status and course. You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.

Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.

If you're considering postgraduate research you should look at our funded PhD opportunities.

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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.

Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries.

Important Information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.

Why Lancaster?