If you enrolled before the 2026/2027 academic year, consult the list of Programmes and Regulations available on your School website.
MSc in Integrated Product Design
The Master's Degree in Integrated Product Design approaches product design from a systemic perspective identifying and integrating all aspects that, together with the product, contribute to generating value for users, businesses, and society.
Through an exploratory and research-based approach, the program aims to develop critical and strategic thinking, pushing students to use systemic criteria in the design process.
In the product-system, knowledge and technical skills are integrated with a strategic vision that connects market elements, cultural dimensions, technical qualities, environmental and social needs to critically, responsibly, and sustainably develop all communication, distribution, and service processes.
Beyond a solid technical preparation, the program provides knowledge, competencies, and capabilities to critically interpret social and cultural phenomena, to guide design solutions toward sustainable and responsible directions, and to develop the necessary skills for working in multidisciplinary and cross-functional teams.
Admission to the Master’s Degree programme in Integrated Product Design is reserved for candidates holding a first-level degree (EQF 6) or a comparable qualification in Class L-4, or in Classes L-3, L-8, L-9 or L-17, provided that they have obtained at least 36 ECTS credits in the Scientific Disciplinary Sectors CEAR-08/D (formerly ICAR/13) and 08/CEAR-10 (formerly ICAR/17).
Where the required curricular requirements are not met, the Committee will assess any additional educational and professional qualifications relevant to the field of Design and may specify supplementary ECTS credits to be obtained before the assessment of individual preparation.
Admission to the Master’s Degree programme is subject to assessment of individual preparation and placement in a merit ranking.
A minimum weighted average grade of 23/30 is required for Politecnico di Milano graduates, and 25/30 for graduates from other Italian universities.
English language proficiency must be certified when submitting the application, by achieving the minimum scores in tests recognised by the University.
For full details regarding eligible degree classes, evaluation criteria, and selection procedures, please refer to the course's Academic Regulations (section 6).
Admission to the Master’s Degree programme in Integrated Product Design is reserved for candidates holding a Bachelor’s Degree or an equivalent qualification consistent with the fields of product design, architecture or engineering, provided that the qualification is deemed suitable by the Programme Board. The Scientific Disciplinary Sectors and credits obtained in each sector must be identifiable for the Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent qualification. Where this is not possible, the applicant’s academic record will be assessed individually by the Programme Board.
Admission is subject to assessment of individual preparation and to possession of adequate English language proficiency, demonstrated by achieving the minimum scores in tests recognised by the University. International applicants must also demonstrate knowledge of Italian if they choose a track taught in Italian. The required level of Italian language proficiency is specified on the University website.
Procedures and deadlines are indicated in the "Eligibility and Admission Requirements" section of the University and School of Design websites.
The Master’s Degree in Integrated Product Design focuses its educational objectives on the processes and methods through which design generates innovation within socio-technical systems, envisioning sustainable development scenarios.
Specific educational objectives for graduates in Integrated Product Design include the development and consolidation of cultural references, conceptual and methodological tools, and technical skills that are central to design culture, with a strong orientation towards the exploration of innovative opportunities and the construction of a critical capacity to assess the impact of design on social, cultural, and economic contexts, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects strategically.
The design of artefacts, understood as objects, products, and goods, becomes the focal point where many of the urgencies of contemporary society converge and a reflection of our material civilization. Product design is entrusted with the capacity to activate large-scale processes of change capable of generating a different social, cultural, and environmental quality.
The design focus of the Master’s Degree is directed towards all modes and practices of design that make it possible to define and develop trajectories of innovation.
Among the various phases of the design and development process in which design contributes to innovation, particular attention is paid to the so-called “fuzzy front end” of innovation, where the conceptualization of the design problem is crucial, that is, the trained ability to structure in an original way the perception of a problem or a given condition, and where the tension between creativity and the capacity for systematization is especially strong.
Graduates of the Master’s Degree in Integrated Product Design have broad professional opportunities in all professional and business activities operating in the field of design and in design understood in its broadest sense, ranging from consumer goods to transportation, from furniture products to product-service systems.
These professionals typically enter the job market within companies’ technical, research, and development departments, or in professional design and consultancy firms. In particular, they may work as independent professionals, as employees in associated practices, or as professional collaborators and consultants in design firms; as project managers or project assistants in companies; as product design consultants for companies; as employees in technical departments with responsibility for product development; as design managers on behalf of companies; as employees with coordination responsibilities in product design and production activities; and as teachers in vocational and technical institutes. They may also find employment within public administration, institutions, and research bodies.
Graduates are able to work both in the small and medium-sized enterprises typical of the Italian tradition, with the task of contributing across the board to the renewal of industrial culture from product to market, and in highly innovative industrial manufacturing and service organizations, taking on specialist roles in the areas of design and research and development.
Finally, graduates may continue their academic and professional path by pursuing a PhD or by taking advantage of the wide range of second-level Master’s programmes available.
Study Programme Coordinator: Prof. Venanzio Arquilla;
Secretary of the Programme: Prof. Carlo Emilio Standoli;
Know more about the programme through a current student’s experience. Book your online one-to-one meeting through #Askastudent – Our voice for your choice project.