Why Study / Key Benefits

• Spatial Design focuses on how people experience and interact with physical, digital and temporary spaces rather than only designing buildings.
• The discipline intersects with architecture, interior design, landscape design, urban design and environmental design.
• Students explore spaces for living, working, playing, performing, gathering, learning, healing and other human activities.
• Studio learning covers private, public, retail, event, work, game, furnishing, experience, display, interface and performance spaces.
• Students learn to design at different scales, from broader urban and spatial planning through to materials and construction details.
• The programme combines creative practice with technical, analytical and research skills.
• Massey describes its Bachelor of Design as a studio-focused qualification where students work in studios, workshops and media labs and can collaborate across design disciplines.
• Massey's spatial and industrial design subject area includes 3D modelling, CAD, rendering, visualisation, human-centred design, lighting, projection, physical and digital prototyping, sustainability, materials and visual storytelling. 

Programme Structure and Subjects / Topics

The Bachelor of Design is structured across three years. Massey describes the general structure as follows:

Year One:

• 60 credits of studio courses across design/art disciplines
• 30 credits of theory
• 30 credits of electives
• Total: 120 credits

Year Two:

• 60 credits of studio courses in the chosen major
• 30 credits of theory/enterprise
• 30 credits of electives
• Total: 120 credits

Year Three:

• 60 credits of studio
• 30 credits of theory/enterprise
• 30 credits of electives
• Total: 120 credits

For Spatial Design specifically, the major consists of 135 credits.

Current Spatial Design courses include:

Part One

• 224157 Spatial Design 1.1: An Introduction – 15 credits
  Introduces physical, temporal and digital spatial environments, with emphasis on site, time, light and movement, alongside creative thinking and visualisation.
• 224158 Spatial Design 1.2: Immersive Experiences – 15 credits
  Explores performance, inhabitation, rituals, people, places and objects, using moving image, lighting, sound and material-making to create immersive spatial experiences.

Students choose at least 15 credits from this first-year Spatial Design course group.

Part Two

• 224263 Spatial Design 2.1: Place and Community – 15 credits
  Focuses on community spaces, adaptive reuse, community engagement, co-design, public places, drawing, mapping, site analysis and 3D visualisation.
• 224264 Spatial Design 2.2: Producing Atmospheres – 15 credits
  Examines sensory perception, bodies, space and light, with physical and digital modalities and immersive technologies.
• 224265 Spatial Design 2.3: Adaptive Interiors – 15 credits
  Covers adaptive reuse, spatial planning, digital and physical modelling, interior architectural mixed-use spaces, building materials, structures, codes and architectural drawings.
• 224266 Spatial Design 2.4: Material Matters – 15 credits
  Explores materials and light, spatial experiences, material specification, detailing, finishes, lighting codes, acoustics and architectural communication.

Part Three

• 224358 Spatial Design 3.3: Advanced Spatial Practices – 30 credits
  Develops advanced spatial practices and spatial ecologies and requires students to consolidate their individual practice into a comprehensive spatial design proposition.
• 224367 Spatial Design 3.1: Regenerative Practices – 15 credits
  Examines spatial ecologies and regenerative practices and the relationship between communities, built environments and landscapes.
• 224368 Spatial Design 3.2: Spatial Agency – 15 credits
  Explores spatial ecologies, agency and cultural, social and historical issues in spatial design practice.

Disciplines / Specialisations

The selected specialisation is:

• Spatial Design

Within Spatial Design, students can develop knowledge and practice relating to:

• Interior architecture
• Interior and adaptive spaces
• Urban design
• Landscape-related spatial practice
• Exhibition and experience design
• Performance and event spaces
• Digital and virtual environments
• Immersive experiences
• Public and community spaces
• Spatial installations
• Materials and lighting
• Regenerative spatial practice
• Human-centred spatial design.

Programme Highlights

• 360-credit Bachelor of Design.
• NZQF Level 7.
• Three years full-time.
• Wellington campus.
• International students accepted on campus.
• Spatial Design major worth 135 credits.
• Studio-based learning with workshops and media labs.
• Combines physical, digital and immersive spatial design.
• Covers interior, public, exhibition, performance, event, urban and virtual spaces.
• Strong emphasis on creative practice, technical skills and visualisation.
• Opportunities for interdisciplinary study and electives.
• Optional minor of at least 60 credits.
• Further study can include the Bachelor of Design with Honours or Master of Design.

Career Outcomes

Massey states that Spatial Design graduates commonly work in:

• Architectural design practices
• Interior design practices
• Urban planning
• Landscape design
• Web and digital environments
• Performance design
• Exhibition design
• Advertising
• Theatre
• Installation design
• Event design
• Government departments.

Massey's wider spatial-design information also identifies roles such as:

• Interior designer or interior architect
• Experience designer
• Exhibition designer
• Designer for film, stage or television
• Spatial designer.

Latest Updates / Special Requirements

• The current Bachelor of Design is 360 credits and three years full-time.
• Spatial Design is currently offered at the Wellington campus.
• There are no additional specific admission requirements for the qualification beyond Massey's university entrance regulations.
• A compulsory portfolio is not specified for admission, but Massey encourages students to undertake a Creative Review after applying and enrolling.
• Spatial Design courses have prerequisites and course restrictions that must be followed when progressing between Parts One, Two and Three.
• The major is 135 credits within the 360-credit Bachelor of Design.
• International students should normally apply at least three months before their intended start date so there is sufficient time for admission processing, visa arrangements and travel.
• The 2027 standard international application deadline for Semester One is 31 October 2026.
• The 2027 International Creative Excellence Undergraduate Scholarship closes earlier, on 15 October 2026.

International Student Visa Requirements

Spatial Design is an on-campus qualification in Wellington, so an international student travelling to New Zealand to undertake the degree will generally need an appropriate New Zealand student visa.

The relevant visa is generally the Fee Paying Student Visa.

Current Immigration New Zealand requirements include:

• An offer of place from an approved education provider.
• Evidence of sufficient funds to pay tuition fees, or an eligible scholarship.
• Evidence of sufficient living funds or an acceptable sponsor.
• Acceptable medical and travel insurance.
• Meeting applicable health requirements.
• Meeting character requirements where applicable.
• Demonstrating a genuine intention to study in New Zealand.
• Evidence that the student can leave New Zealand at the end of the stay.