Sustainable Design MA

International equivalencies

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Why study with us?

• Interdisciplinary approach to sustainable design that incorporates ideas from ecology, psychology and business with a balance of theory and practice

• Campus in one of Europe's most progressive and creative cities

• World-renowned staff, including sustainable design expert Professor Jonathan Chapman

• Guest lecturers from industry including Louis Joseph (head of global strategy at Puma), Richard Gilbert (director of The Agency for Design) and Oliver Heath (founder of OH Designs)

• Diverse student body with backgrounds in graphic design, illustration, architecture, fashion, education, politics and product design (introduce yourself on our Sustainable Design Facebook group)

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through our applicant portal.

Extensive workshops provide a key part of the student experience.

Areas of study

Sustainable Design: Present(s)

Semester one, 20 credits

You start with a foundation in sustainable design principles, theories and methodologies. Themes include cradle to cradle, low-carbon building and production, design for recycling, biodegradability, biomimicry, alternative energy, ecological thinking, permaculture, and disassembly.

Research Methods

Semester one, 20 credits

This module gives you an overview of design research methods and how they are used in professional practice. It enables you to construct the kind of research questions, hypotheses and methodologies that underpin innovative design, as you develop a more autonomous position in the process of critical inquiry.

Studio

Semesters one and two, 60 credits

The Studio module spans two projects – ‘Behaviours’ and ’Matters’. The Behaviours project takes place in semester one and provides you with a theoretical context for the studio-based investigation, analysis and generation of essential design criteria that shape patterns of consumption.

In semester two, you undertake the Matters project, a studio-based experience that places emphasis on materiality and the nature of physical experience as mediated through the design, production and physical manifestation of things.

Sustainable Design: Future(s)

Semester two, 20 credits

This module takes the form of a series of seminars, workshops and discussion groups where specialist practitioners, writers, researchers, manufacturers and theorists present their work on sustainability. It covers themes including consumer motivation, behaviour, phenomenology, deep ecology, temporality, consciousness, emotional durability, materiality, defuturing and experience-authoring.

Master

Semester three, 60 credits

The Master project represents the culmination of your work throughout the course. It allows you to apply all of the experiences and skills that you have accumulated, as you choose an area of sustainable design that you want to pursue in detail.

You work is structured by an individually defined 'statement of intent' that provides the framework through which you will be assessed. This process enables you to explore distinctive areas of expertise with a unique approach to the ubiquitous issues of sustainability and design.

The final body of master work must be developed through practices relevant to you and your statement of intent. These might include the development and production of design proposals, a written thesis, a documentary, an ad campaign, an article for a leading publication, a touring exhibition or a combination of the above.

Our studio

From 2016, students will work in the new Masters Centre, which provides studio, seminar and tutorial space for all postgraduate students in the School of Architecture and Design.

Students on MA Sustainable Design will have dedicated studio space with access to workshop and digital model making facilities. More specialised materials and making requirements can be supported on an individual basis with colleagues in engineering, crafts and arts.

Staff profile

Dr Tom Ainsworth, course leader

Dr Tom Ainsworth became course leader for the Sustainable Design MA in 2015. He is a design theorist specialising in design research, health and wellbeing and behavioural insights. He teaches in areas of sustainable design, design research and research ethics. He has extensive experience of large-scale research projects covering themes of sustainability, design innovation and interdisciplinary education.

He has had work published in international journals including: the International Journal for Art and Design Education, BMC Medical Education and the International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development. He is a regular reviewer for international publishers Routledge and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts and Manufactures (FRSA).

Read Tom's full profile.

Find out about our other staff Nick Gant, Dr Damon Taylor and Duncan Baker-Brown.

Student views

Gabriel Wulff

"The multi-disciplinary nature of the Sustainable Design MA course makes it a very diverse and exciting space. My classmates included economists, graphic designers, school teachers, industrial designers, architects and artists, representing just a few of the disciplines that come together to tackle one of the most important challenges of our era: sustainability.

"The course structure allowed the freedom to explore my personal research while delivering a solid background on sustainable design, its origins, evolution and current tendencies. The diversity of speakers invited to the course and the variety of subjects delivered, coupled with the different academic and cultural backgrounds of the students, offers an exceptional environment in which to explore sustainable approaches."

Rodrigo Bautista Medina

"The university continued to provide contact with industry, advice for job interviews, programs to enhance my CV and frequent communication even after I graduated. Professor Chapman is a good friend of mine and I maintain contact with Nick Gant and the Dean, Anne Boddington."

Raquel Sereno

"I´m forever grateful to the University of Brighton, my tutors and fellow pupils. It was a remarkable time in my life when I got to open up my outlook and ideals. I particularly enjoyed the interdisciplinary courses and the fact that the MA was very much self taught, a learning curve of research and experimentation – trial and error. At masters level, the feedback of ideas between tutors and pupils was always very enriching. I met the most remarkable and lovely people and we have kept a strong bond." 

Student work

The MA gives you plenty of opportunities to make an active contribution to sustainable design. Many of our students have begun projects at university that they have carried over into their working life.

• Jewellery designer Holly Budge launched the 96 Elephants a Day campaign, which aims to promote awareness of the illegal elephant ivory trade. Her showpiece was an 'infographic necklace' that displayed 96 mini-elephants in the shape of Africa (96 being the continent's daily poaching rate).

• Manjul Rathee led a team of classmates in the Share the Rain project, which won the AIGI's Cause/Effect competition. The idea was a social network for the unemployed that encouraged its users to try something new and develop their skillset.

Location

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Moulsecoomb campus map