Design Informatics MSc

Overview of the degree

Our Design Informatics programmes are advanced, full-time courses for professionals and recent graduates. They are extremely hands-on, progressive and designed with industry and reserach at their heart. As a student, you’ll combine cutting-edge design with data science, programming and information hacking to develop products and services that will transform lives. The MSc programmes are primarily for learners from a computer science, social science or more technical background, with an aspiration to learn about design practices and methodologies. You will learn design methods, working alongside designers in the MA programme, and apply your computational skills to cutting edge creative projects.

Compulsory Courses

The following courses are compulsory:

• Case Studies in Design Informatics 1: Analysing Design Informatics case studies and learning design research methodologies
• Data Science for Design: Introduction to data wrangling, data visualisation and Python programming from a design perspective
• Design with Data: Creating interactive prototypes in small groups, working with an external organisation’s data
• Histories and Futures of Technology: Cultural and technical context for Design Informatics. Covers Digital Media, Critical Perspectives, and Introduction to Arduino
• Informatics Project Proposal 20: Writing a research proposal as a starting point for the summer MSc project

Optional courses

In 2025/26 you can select 20 points worth of electives in semester 2.  Electives can be chosen from across the University, typical choices include and are not limited to: 

• Analysing Qualitative Data PGSP11110
• The Human Factor: Working with Users INFR11141
• Case Studies in AI Ethics INFR11206
• Usable Security and Privacy INFR11158
• Digital Playgrounds for the Online Public DESI11190
• Body, Identity and Technology DESI11176

Advice on Choosing Courses : MSc Design Informatics

The Design Informatics MSc is very heavily structured. We recommend that you take electives that will help you develop the skills you need for the future career you envisage.  Courses are offered in a large range of areas of potential interest including machine learning, data science, technology and entrepreneurship, digital media, games, art, crafting or product design.  We encourage you to look across the colleges for courses of interest to you. 

Make sure to look for the course requirements to see if a course is for you.  We do not recommend taking the courses Machine Learning Practical or Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition, unless you are certain that you have the required pre-requisites. Both courses are extremely demanding and typically require excellent mathematical and programming skills.

Courses that are not provided by the School of Informatics are often capped. You will need the Course Organiser's permission to enrol in them.

Degree Programme Table

Path programme builder