Master of Culture and Arts | Design for the Planet | online studies

A master's degree in creating sustainable futures through design thinking

Design thinking provides a means to search for opportunities and create improvements toward sustainable futures. The interdisciplinary Master’s Degree Programme in Design for the Planet is based on the principles of ​meaningful, sufficiency, and place-based design. It emphasizes creative design thinking processes with human empathy for each other around real-world problems.

Understanding the main challenges of the state of the planet

In this programme the students learn how to critically form and analyze evidence-based arguments and design activities that nudge forward meaningful and feasible environmentally and socially sustainable organizational transitions. They learn how to apply design thinking and systems thinking as frameworks and methods for this development. The studies equip the students to lead engaging customer, user, and employee-based co-design research processes. The aim is to design situated, contextual, and enabling processes, activity models, services, and/or product service systems for sustainable and fair transitions.

The programme emphasizes design thinking, systems design, and visualizations as means to tackle ambiguous, interconnected, and complex sustainability challenges. The basis for development is understanding the main challenges of the state of the planet and how to follow the evolving sustainability rules, regulations, and reporting requirements. 

Get your master's degree with flexible online learning

The degree programme is conducted online and as a part-time learning opportunity. The studies include teacher-led online sessions, project-based online work in student teams, and independent student work. Virtual sessions are conducted approximately every two weeks during the autumn and spring semesters for the compulsory core and central complementary studies. 

Stucture of studies

The programme is divided into core competence and complementary competence studies. The compulsory core competence studies equip the students for the development methods typical in systems and evidence-based design thinking and for the basis of issues necessary for sustainable solutions with an impact. The complementary competence studies consist of two optional study modules, allowing you to extend your expertise and specialize in an area of interest. Although the studies are generally conducted online, the complementary studies can also provide onsite contact possibilities.

Duration and scope of studies: 2 years, 60 ects including 30 ects thesis work.

CORE COMPETENCE 20 ects
COMPLEMENTARY COMPETENCE 10 ects
MASTER'S THESIS 30 ects

The duration of these master studies is only 60 ects because the eligibility requirements include 2 years of work experience. No practical trainee period is included in the studies.