Why Study / Key Benefits

• The Bachelor of Design with Honours (BDes(Hons)) in Industrial Design is a four-year, research-led undergraduate design qualification at Massey University’s College of Creative Arts in Wellington. It combines studio practice, design thinking, technical development and a substantial fourth-year independent project.
• Industrial Design is particularly suited to students interested in designing, inventing and making three-dimensional products, objects and systems.
• The programme applies human-centred design to issues involving environment, sustainability, culture and society. Students develop skills in idea generation, materials and processes, human experience, ergonomics, visual communication, modelling and production.
• Students spend substantial time in studios, workshops and media labs and can collaborate across design, fine arts, music and media disciplines.
• The fourth year is strongly research-led and includes a significant independent body of work. Students can also engage with live briefs and external clients.
• Massey describes its Wellington School of Design as New Zealand's largest and most comprehensive design school.
• The qualification can provide a pathway into further study such as the Master of Design, MFA in Design or PhD study.

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The BDes(Hons) is a 480-credit, four-year qualification. Its structure progressively moves from broad design foundations to major-specific study and then advanced research and development.

Year One: Fundamental design skills and principles

Students undertake:

• 60 credits of studio courses across different design/art disciplines
• 30 credits of theory
• 30 credits of electives.

Industrial Design-related first-year study can include:

• 198157 Product and Industrial Design 1.1: Materialising Form
  • Sustainable product development
  • Materials exploration
  • Idea generation
  • Visualisation
  • Making
  • Critique
  • Form-giving
  • Problem-solving
  • User experience
  • Affective design
• 198158 Product and Industrial Design 1.2: Furniture Design
  • Three-dimensional design
  • Making and prototyping
  • Materiality
  • Ergonomics
  • User experience
  • Furniture development and production
  • One-off, batch and mass production.

Year Two: Major development

Students undertake 60 credits of major studio study plus theory/enterprise and electives.

Industrial Design courses include:

• 198263 Product and Industrial Design 2.1: Experiential Design
  • Design integration
  • Features and functions
  • User experience
  • Contextual issues
  • Design challenges
• 198264 Product and Industrial Design 2.2: Dynamic Workflows
  • Digital and physical 3D workflows
  • CAD modelling
  • Rendering
  • Concept development
  • Output methods
  • Presentation
• 198265 Product and Industrial Design 2.3: Empathy, Impact and Consequence
  • Critical inquiry
  • Responsible design
  • Contemporary Industrial Design issues
  • Consumer research
  • Global design contexts
• 198266 Product and Industrial Design 2.4: Product Manufacturing
  • Design for manufacture
  • Robust design
  • Design for recovery
  • Costing
  • Planning
  • Manufacturing standards
  • Design-and-build projects.

Other Industrial Design course options include:

• 198212 Product Design Visualisation
  • Drawing
  • Rendering
  • Concept development
  • Presentation
  • Digital and traditional media
• 198213 Furniture Design
  • Furniture design, development and production
  • One-off, batch and mass production
• 198315 Product Development
  • Product development from concept through manufacture
  • Individual and collaborative practice
• 198320 Open Design & Digital Fabrication
  • Open-design methodologies
  • Digital fabrication
  • Making
  • Open-design philosophy.

Year Three: Advanced Industrial Design practice

Students continue with 60 credits of studio study, theory/enterprise and electives.

Current Industrial Design options include:

• 198367 Product and Industrial Design 3.1: Navigating Complexity
  • Project scoping
  • Critical positioning
  • Individual and collaborative exploration
  • Advanced design concepts and processes
• 198368 Product and Industrial Design 3.2: Future Industries
  • Professional practice
  • Specialist Industrial Design skills
  • Professional and industry-facing environments
  • Transferable professional skills
• 198463 Industrial Design Digital Representation
  • Digital design processes
  • Integration of digital representation into design research.

Year Four: Design research and development

The fourth year is the key distinction of the honours route. The structure comprises:

• 75 credits of studio
• 15 credits of an externally focused course
• 30 credits of electives.

Disciplines / Specialisations

The selected major is:

• Industrial Design

Massey describes Industrial Design as a field concerned with creating products, objects and systems that improve people's lives. The current programme information highlights:

• Human-centred design
• Product design
• Three-dimensional design
• Furniture
• Materials and processes
• Ergonomics
• User experience
• Visual communication
• CAD and digital modelling
• Physical prototyping
• Manufacturing
• Sustainability
• Digital fabrication
• Professional design practice.

Other BDes(Hons) majors include:

• Concept Design
• Fashion Design
• Integrated Design
• Photography
• Spatial Design
• Textile Design
• Visual Communication Design
• Matauranga Toi Maori can also be paired with Design specialisations.

Programme Highlights

• 480-credit BDes(Hons).
• NZQF Level 8.
• Four years full-time.
• Wellington campus.
• February and July intakes.
• Research-led fourth year.
• Studio, workshop and media-lab learning.
• Industrial Design major with substantial product-development and manufacturing content.
• Access to workshops and digital fabrication facilities, including the Fab Lab highlighted by Massey's College of Creative Arts.
• Opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration across the College of Creative Arts.
• Live briefs and external-client opportunities in advanced study.
• Massey currently reports that 94% of its design graduates are employed in relevant industries within six months of completing their degree. This is a design-graduate outcome statistic, not a guarantee for Industrial Design graduates.
• Massey's College of Creative Arts currently ranks in the global top 200 for Art & Design in the QS World University Rankings.
• Massey reports a 2025 Red Dot Design Ranking position of 2nd in Asia Pacific and states that it has been in the Asia Pacific top three for 11 consecutive years. These are College of Creative Arts/design-school rankings, not rankings of the individual Industrial Design qualification.

Career Outcomes

The qualification is designed to produce graduates with:

• A portfolio of creative design work
• Technical and analytical skills
• A strong research ethos
• Professional networks.

Industrial Design graduates can work across areas such as:

• Industrial design
• Product design
• Product development
• Furniture design
• Design consultancy
• Manufacturing-related design
• Consumer-product development
• Digital product development
• Design research
• Design strategy
• Sustainable product design
• Design entrepreneurship

Latest Updates / Special Requirements

• The current BDes(Hons) is 480 credits and four years full-time.
• Industrial Design is based at Wellington.
• February and July intakes are currently listed.
• Current application due dates published by the College of Creative Arts are 5 February for February entry and 19 June for July entry.
• There are no specific admission requirements beyond university entrance requirements.
• A compulsory portfolio for admission is not specified.
• Creative Review is optional and intended to provide guidance after applying/enrolling.
• Students enrol in the honours qualification initially and, towards the end of their third year, decide whether to continue with the honours route or move to the non-honours Bachelor of Design pathway.
• The honours fourth year is strongly research-led, whereas the non-honours route provides more elective flexibility.
• Course prerequisites and restrictions apply, so students need to plan their course sequence carefully.
• Massey recommends international students apply sufficiently early to allow time for admission processing, visa arrangements and travel planning.

International Student Visa Requirements

Because the Industrial Design BDes(Hons) is an on-campus Wellington programme and is explicitly open to international students studying on campus in New Zealand, an international student normally needs an appropriate New Zealand student visa.

For a self-funded international student, the relevant visa is generally the Fee Paying Student Visa.

Immigration New Zealand currently requires applicants to have, among other things:

• An offer of place from an approved education provider.
• Sufficient funds to pay tuition fees, or an applicable scholarship.
• Sufficient funds for living expenses or an acceptable sponsor.
• Acceptable medical and travel insurance.
• Good health and character.
• Genuine reasons for coming to New Zealand to study.
• Evidence that they can leave New Zealand at the end of their stay.