MSc Systems Design Management
- MSc
Overview
MSc Systems Design Management is an interdisciplinary programme which sits at the interface of business, design, and engineering, which will provide you with the necessary skills to design and develop optimal and sustainable solutions for organisational and societal problems.
The programme focuses on managing design strategy, processes, and implementation, applying the thinking and practices of designers to organisational challenges. We welcome graduates from varied backgrounds and offers opportunities to apply design management skills while engaging with diverse perspectives.
You will be based in a vibrant city well-renowned for its business (for example, PWC, Hargreaves Lansdown), engineering (for example, Airbus, Babcock, Frazer-Nash, GKN, OVO Energy, and Rolls-Royce) and the arts (for example, BBC, Wallace and Gromit, Glastonbury, and Banksy).
The MSc Systems Design Management is built on the integration of business, design and engineering. Unlike most programmes that connect only two of these fields, it brings all three together in a genuinely interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the combined expertise of the Business School, the School of Arts, and the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
At the start of your programme, you will choose one of the following pathways:
- Design for Advanced Manufacturing
- Design for Sustainability
- Design for Creativity
The curriculum is designed to ensure that you do not only learn fundamental principles of business, design, and engineering (such as, systems thinking, design thinking, creativity, and sustainable business models), but also learn to identify, evaluate and apply these skills in various organisational scenarios where interdisciplinary teams are involved.
The interdisciplinary approach will enable you to connect business and management knowledge with design and engineering, promoting an understanding of how organisations can develop optimal and sustainable solutions to the world's global challenges.
You will work on industry-linked projects, group assignments, presentations, and applications of design and systems thinking to real organisational and societal challenges. A systems approach maps the interaction of social, economic, environmental, and technological factors, fostering collaboration across disciplines, sectors and stakeholders. These experiences develop leadership, communication and teamwork, while the emphasis on hands-on learning ensures you are ready to apply your knowledge in practice.
We feel our programme is unique because:
- Unlike most programmes that link only two disciplines such as business and design, design and engineering, or business and engineering, MSc Systems Design Management integrates all three: business, design, and engineering.
- It is taught across two Faculties and four Schools, with units co-designed and delivered by academics and practitioners from multiple disciplines.
- It offers three pathways: advanced manufacturing, sustainability, and design for creativity, selected to match industry demand, future trends, and global needs, enabling students to tailor their studies while gaining strategic insight.
- Its curriculum combines business and management, creativity and design thinking, engineering design and manufacture, and systems thinking.
- It offers knowledge and skills in Business and Management, Creativity and Design thinking, Engineering Design and Manufacture, and Systems Thinking.
- You'll experience a high degree of industry engagement from conception through to delivery.
- The Business School and parts of the Faculty of Science and Engineering are co-locating in the new University of Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, a state-of the art, interdisciplinary facility with industry presence.
Programme structure
The MSc Systems Design Management offers an interdisciplinary curriculum which combines business, design, and engineering. The curriculum includes topics such as design thinking, systems thinking, creative methods and industries, innovation and creativity paradoxes, ambidexterity, Engineering Design, advanced manufacturing, and sustainable design.
Students will gain appreciation and understanding of the different perspectives, languages and priorities at play across the disciplines. The programme consists of two core 20-credit units, one for TB1 and one for TB2 and three disciplinary perspectives:
- Pathway 1 – Design for Advanced Manufacturing
- Pathway 2 – Design for Sustainability
- Pathway 3 – Design for Creativity. Students choose their pathway at the beginning of their studies.
In addition, students choose two 20-credit units from a suite of three units in TB1 (one of them is an essential unit based on their chosen pathway, and the other is an optional unit).
In TB2, besides the core unit, students also take two 20-credit essential units – the units are determined based on the student's chosen pathway.
In TB3, 60 credits are assigned to the group Applied Project or individual Dissertation which is interdisciplinary and supervised by the Business School with extra support (consulting) provided by staff from the three other schools at three specific time intervals.
Visit our programme catalogue for full details of the structure and unit content.
Entry requirements
You will typically need an upper second-class honours degree or an international equivalent in any subject.
Applicants from Social Science, Arts and Humanities backgrounds will need to demonstrate maths ability with one quantitative module, at undergraduate level, graded 2:1 (and international equivalent) or higher.
We will consider your application if your interim grades are currently slightly lower than the programme's entry requirements and may make you an aspirational offer. This offer would be at the standard level, so you would need to achieve the standard entry requirements by the end of your degree.
If your achieved grade is lower than our entry requirements, your application may be more likely to receive an offer if you have additional relevant work experience or qualifications. If you have at least one of the following, please include your CV (curriculum vitae / résumé) when you apply, showing:
- evidence of relevant work experience in Business and Corporate Management, Finance and Accounting, Marketing and Sales, Operations and Logistics, Public Sector or Nonprofit Administration, Human Resources, Project Management, Data and Analytics, Engineering, Technology, Design, Creative industries, Innovation related roles.
- a relevant postgraduate qualification.
See international equivalent qualifications on the International Office website.
Read the programme admissions statement for important information on entry requirements, the application process and supporting documents required.
If English is not your first language, you will need to reach the requirements outlined in our profile level B.
Further information about English language requirements and profile levels.
Fees and funding
- Home: full-time
- £18,500 per year
- Overseas: full-time
- £33,900 per year
Fees are subject to an annual review. For programmes that last longer than one year, please budget for up to an 8% increase in fees each year.
More about tuition fees, living costs and financial support.
Alumni discount
University of Bristol students and graduates can benefit from a 25% reduction in tuition fees for postgraduate study. Check your eligibility for an alumni discount.
Funding and scholarships
The Business School is offering a range of scholarships for master's students starting in 2026.
Scholarships for International Students include Think Big Scholarships and Think Big Career Accelerator Scholarships.
Scholarships for Home (UK) Students include the Business School Advance Scholarship.
Further information on funding for prospective UK and international postgraduate students.
Career prospects
The programme prepares you for careers in Design Management across advanced manufacturing, sustainability, and creativity, combining practical experience with industry-relevant skills.
Graduates of the MSc Systems Design Management programme will be equipped to lead and manage the design process across a wide range of business and organisational contexts. With a curriculum that blends technical fluency and strategic insight, students will be well-positioned for roles such as:
- Design Manager
- Sustainability Manager
- Product Designer
- Project Manager for Advanced Manufacturing Solutions
- Design Innovation Specialist
Due to strong industry engagement and practical components such as group consultancy projects, graduates will be prepared for impactful careers across private enterprises, public sector organisations, non-profits, or research institutions. The interdisciplinary grounding also supports further study at doctoral level, particularly in design management.
Contact us
- Contact
- Enquiries Team
- Phone
- +44 (0) 117 394 1649
- choosebristol-pg@bristol.ac.uk