Masters In Design

Those who pursue a career in design do so because they have a certain amount of visual flair and have an interest in combining the aesthetic with the functional. Design both impacts and is impacted upon by the environment - as such is subject to a certain amount of flux. This is good news for those in the design field as a constantly changing environment is always throwing up new design challenges meaning that a designer's job always remains fresh.

There will be a stage within any designer's career where they'll need to ask themselves if they should improve their career lot by obtaining some advanced academic qualifications. Whilst a bachelor's or associate degree in usually a pre-requisite to getting a start in most design fields, the question as to whether one should go on and do a masters in design degree is not as clear cut. Of course it never hurts to have advanced academic qualifications but it should never be viewed as a substitute for experience in the field. It can be said however, that a Masters degree will almost certainly be required by anyone who's interested in teaching their particular discipline at a University or College.

What follows is a look at the various design disciplines and the applicability of a Master's degree within that field:

Graphic Design
Whilst an undergraduate degree is aimed at establishing a basic core of skills and knowledge a masters degree in graphic design will examine more thoroughly areas such as design history, theory, criticism and will seek to identify and anticipate research issues that will shape the profession in the future. Upon completion of a Masters degree, the student may enter professional practice as a designer (albeit on a higher pay scale than someone with a Bachelors or Associate degree) or undertake a role in design education.

Web Design
Postgraduate courses in web design are available from a number of web design schools but a graduate really should first ask themselves first why they're interested in pursuing a Masters in Web Design. Employers looking to take on web designers are more likely to be interested in their experience than they are in advanced qualifications. However if you're looking to teach web design at a University or college then you can almost be rest assured that the school in question will require you to have a Masters' degree.

Fashion Design
Whilst there are a number of schools in the U.S. that will offer a Bachelors of Fashion Design, it is harder to find schools that offer a Masters in Fashion Design. Graduate programs in Fashion Design tend to focus more closely on the theoretical study of design philosophy, as well as the more technical aspects of sewing and crafting. To pursue a Fashion Design Masters you will most likely have to apply to a school in Europe.

Industrial Design
Graduate programs in Industrial Design tend to focus on the technical aspects of the items on which they are working but will also address issues such as ergonomics, safety and manufacturing economics. Graduates with a masters degree in industrial design can enter careers as multimedia designers, industrial design specialists, chief designers and more. Industrial design masters programs will usually be 2 years in length (assuming the student already has a bachelor's degree in art design field or similar. There are some institutions that will offer 3 year courses for students from disciplines other than art or design which are intended to provide a pre-requisite year of basic design skills, concepts and competencies which will then allow students to go on and complete the 2 year Masters In Industrial Design program.

Interior Design
A masters degree in interior design is considered to be a post-professional degree. If you're looking to apply for direct entry with any given school you should fist have an undergraduate degree in interior design or a substantially equivalent field. Programs can be open to individuals who hold a previous bachelor's degree in another discipline however you may be expected to complete some preparatory coursework (could be up to 40 hours), in addition to requirements for the chosen graduate degree. You will of course need to check with the school that you're interested in, to see what their program pre-requisites are.

Landscape Design
As a general rule, those completing a Landscape design master's degree program will go onto careers as landscape designers specializing in residential and smaller scale projects. A lot of schools have structured their post graduate programs so that professionals can complete the course requirements during weekday evenings and on Saturdays, therefore causing minimum disruption to their work life. It will vary from school to school, but students could generally expect that a post graduate course would cover the following areas: Gardening and landscape design history; plant materials; technical elements such as drafting, graphic representation and landscape construction, as well as an internship.

A student should already have a bachelor's degree in the field in which they wish to pursue post graduate studies (or at least in a substantially related field) although there are some schools that will offer foundation courses with the aim of bringing a student up to speed before he/she enrolls in the masters program.

Design masters programs will take 1-2 years to complete if being pursued full time and obviously longer if being studied part time. Most post graduate courses have been developed in such a way that professionals can pursue their studies at night and on weekends.

There are an increasing number of schools that are now offering an online design degree via the Distance Education Network. The curricula on offer via online postgraduate programs are not substantially different than those on offer to those attending a campus. An online degree obviously gives a graduate greater flexibility in how they go about pursuing their studies and indeed a greater choice of schools.