Light and Lighting MSc

About this degree

From gas lamps to LEDs, as technology has progressed the lighting industry has become increasingly specialist. UCL's Light and Lighting MSc is designed to give you a comprehensive package of knowledge and skills for a career in the lighting profession. As a student on the programme you'll gain in-depth expertise on the science of light, lamp and luminaire technologies, alongside the impact of light on architectural form and the human response. This will give you the vision to design beautiful lit environments that promotes the wellbeing of their users, and the skills to ensure that they are successfully engineered.

You will learn:

• The fundamentals of lighting, including natural day light, lighting technologies, design calculations, and the human response
• Mathematical models and physical concepts for illumination, applied to the reality of the lit environment
• Computational design tools used in the lighting and architectural industry such as Rhino 3D, Grasshopper, Ladybug/Radiance and DIALux
• Advanced design techniques to produce conceptual and detailed lighting designs and luminaire product designs
• How to design a lighting control system that meets people’s needs in different environments
• The evolution of lighting design and innovation over time, giving the historical context for lighting design practice in the present day
• Essential lighting practice, regulations and standards required for lighting designers
• About current research in the area of lighting, sustainability, health and wellbeing

UCL offers one of the world's most comprehensive master’s degrees in Light and Lighting. We bring together the technical and creative sides of lighting design, to offer an extensive package of knowledge and skills that are employed across the lighting industry and built environment. You will learn to design lighting as an integrated component of architecture, utilising exciting advances in science and technology whilst taking into consideration human responses to the lit environment.

The normal minimum qualifications are a second-class Bachelor's degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

We have a rich network of alumni who have progressed or made a career in the lighting industry. Our graduates now work in global engineering consultancies, such as Arup, Buro Happold, Hoare Lea and Mott MacDonald. Others work in lighting design practices, architecture offices and luminaire manufacturers. A number of students have also used the MSc as a foundation for MPhil/PhD research. You can read about their experiences in our alumni profiles.