Master of Design and Production

University of Melbourne

Australia, Melbourne

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University of Melbourne

Australia , Melbourne

Key Facts

Program Level

Master by Course Work

Study Type

Full Time

Delivery

On Campus

Course Code

103430K

Application Fee

AUD 154

Campuses

Southbank

Program Language

English

Start & Deadlines

Next Intake Deadlines

Apply to this program

Go to the official application for the university

Duration 2 year(s)

Tuition Fee

AUD 42,976 / year

Master of Design and Production

About

Overview

Online information session: Meet your future Academics (Thursday 26 June)
Join us for our online information session to gain further insight into the post-graduate programs available in your area of interest. You will have the chance to meet, interact and ask questions with our academics and immerse yourself in the world of the VCA.

Register

The Master of Design and Production prepares you to turn thought into form through a specialisation in stage, screen or graphic design.

The Master of Design and Production offers you the skills, knowledge and hands-on experience necessary to successfully take on an array of contemporary design and production roles across the stage, screen or graphic design industries. It achieves this by honing and expanding your craft skills, by broadening your conceptual capabilities and by encouraging experimentation and collaboration with your peers.

This structured coursework program provides you with an enriched and comprehensive pathway into professional design and production roles. In addition to theory, the course encompasses workshops and studio-based learning where you will explore the role of graphic design, stage design or production design for screen.

Guest lecturers from the industry and staff who are also experienced practitioners ensure the training is professionally relevant and current. Through placements on productions mounted within the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), students in the stage and screen specialisations will gain practical experience and develop a portfolio of work that may include film, theatre, dance, and opera. In the graphic design specialisation, students will work on live briefs with partners in the Melbourne arts precinct, and may participate in a student-led design studio. Industry placements allow you to test your skills in professional contexts, where you will gain insight and experience to guide you towards career pathways and contacts. You also have the option of undertaking a thesis, providing a pathway towards PhD research in your specialised area of study.

A core principle of the program is collaboration. In developing this skill, you will interact with other creative practitioners at VCA. As such this course provides a unique opportunity to develop creative partnerships that can lead to future professional collaborations.

The Master of Design and Production offers three distinct specialisations:

Production Design for Screen

Production Designers build the worlds where screen stories take place. This specialisation equips students with the skills needed to take on a variety of art department roles, including production design, art direction, set decoration and graphic and set design for screen.

Students in the Production Design for Screen specialisation develop a portfolio of work including production design and art direction for graduating VCA film projects, and complete industry placements on film and television productions to expand their professional experience and industry contacts.

Learn more about specialising in production design for screen

Stage Design

Set and costume designers are responsible for developing the visual language of live performance. Students learn key skills to successfully conceptualise and document their designs for a variety of live performance artforms, including theatre, dance and opera.

Through placements on productions mounted within VCA, students in the Stage Design specialisation gain practical experience and develop a portfolio of realised works. Industry placements allow them to engage with professional designers and productions with leading arts companies.

Learn more about stage design

Graphic Design

Graphic designers plan and present ideas and experiences with visual and textual content across a wide range of media. With a focus on applied skills and the encouragement of an experimental practice, students discover and articulate their own graphic voice, challenging the conventional and discovering new approaches and visual languages.

Students collaborate with renowned cultural institutions nestled in the vibrant heart of Melbourne's Arts Precinct. Engaging with live briefs and public-facing projects, these opportunities allow students to develop an expanded graphic design practice, transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries. Students partake in projects that are culturally situated, socially engaged, and experimental in form. This hands-on experience enables students to produce industry-relevant work that challenges and extends the boundaries of creativity as a graphic designer.

Learn more about the graphic design specialisation

Who is this course for?

The Master of Design and Production is for those who want to develop their creative practice in a range of collaborative artforms.

It provides intensive training in design specialisations to a cohort from diverse backgrounds of training or practice, which may include architecture, visual art, graphic design, interior design, film or drama studies.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Admission criteria

To be considered for entry into this course, you must have:

A bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in a relevant discipline, OR
At least six years of documented relevant professional work experience.

You must also submit a supplementary application:

A portfolio; AND
A set creative task (shortlisted applicants only)

Shortlisted applicants must also attend an interview.

Meeting the published entry requirements for this course does not guarantee selection.

English language requirements

All applicants to the University of Melbourne must satisfy the English language requirements. This may be achieved in a number of ways, including recognised previous study taught and assessed entirely in English or an approved English language test. If you are from a non-English speaking background, the required standard of English for this degree is one of the following English proficiency test scores:

English language test score requirements
If you need to undertake an English language test, you must meet one of the scores* below:

IELTS

6.5

with no band less than 6.0
TOEFL

79+

with writing 21; speaking 18; reading 13; listening 13
PEARSON

64+

with no communicative skill below 60
CAMBRIDGE

176+

with no skill less than 169
*Accepted tests: IELTS (Academic English Only); TOEFL Internet-based test; Pearson Test of English Academic; Cambridge English: Advanced/Certificate of Advanced English (CAE). If a test displays N/A, it means it is not accepted for this course.

About selection

When assessing applications, the Selection Committee will consider your previous studies and academic performance.

The Selection Committee may request additional information to clarify any aspect of an application, according to the University’s Academic Board rules regarding selection instruments.

Meeting the published entry requirements for this course does not guarantee selection.

As part of the supplementary application, the Selection Committee will also assess your portfolio and, if relevant to your application, your professional history.

Your portfolio must be uploaded to the supplementary application via the SlideRoom form as follows:

a 500-800 word written statement explaining all of the following:
- reasons for wishing to undertake the Master of Design and Production
- previous experience in design and/or related fields
- interest and motivation for undertaking the course
- For the Stage or Screen specialisation, an analysis of design for a film or live performance production (live or recorded) you have seen recently
- For the Graphic Design specialisation, a critical analysis of a piece of graphic design that you have recently seen that interests you. Identify whether your interest lies in its form, its use, or its intersections with other disciplines or areas of interest.

curriculum vitae (CV)
Two referees, AND
a folio of work that demonstrates your creative and/or technical abilities.

Within your folio, each item should be clearly labelled with the name of the work and the date of creation. If the work is the result of collaboration and not wholly your own original work, please explain your specific contribution.

If your application is shortlisted, you will be assigned a creative task and invited to an interview, both of which will also be used to assess your application. Learn more.

English Program Requirements

English language test score requirements

If you need to undertake an English language test, you must meet one of the scores* below:

IELTS

6.5

with no band less than 6.0

TOEFL

79+

with writing 21; speaking 18; reading 13; listening 13

PEARSON

64+

with no communicative skill below 60

CAMBRIDGE

176+

with no skill less than 169

*Accepted tests: IELTS (Academic English Only); TOEFL Internet-based test; Pearson Test of English Academic; Cambridge English: Advanced/Certificate of Advanced English (CAE). If a test displays N/A, it means it is not accepted for this course.

Career

Hear from four alum of the Master of Design & Production

Graduate attributes

The focus of the Master of Design and Production is the practice of design for creative arts productions, with majors in stage design, production design for screen or graphic design. The degree provides graduates with design skills and understandings that will equip them to engage and make a meaningful contribution to the development of work in the creative arts.

Those skills or understandings are:

a grounding in design history, theory and technology enabling them to develop innovative, complex and responsive designs relevant to time, place, people and culture;
the ability to manage a design practice and work collaboratively as leaders of and within teams to realise designs in a creative arts context;
highly developed creative, critical and reflexive thinking, promoting an ability to situate themselves and their practice within broader contexts and solve problems with ingenuity and agility;
the ability to employ resources, materials and technologies to produce responsible and sustainable designs.

Become a creative player in the arts and cultural sector

With the skills gained from your Masters, you can take on a variety of graphic design and artistic projects, performance styles and art department roles. Professional roles may include Graphic Designer, Production Designer, Art Director, Costume Designer, Set Designer, Set Decorator or Props Master.