Service Management and Design MSc, PgDip (ICL), PgCert

An interdisciplinary degree with Edinburgh Futures Institute

Services – and how they are designed and managed across the public, third, and private sectors – are vital to the future of economies and societies across the globe. This innovative new Masters programme uniquely integrates service management and service design in the context of a data-driven society, and is taught by academic experts from management, design and data-related fields.

It is intended for those who plan to build careers in service-related areas across the private, public and third sectors. It supports you to develop the critical, creative and data skills that are essential to your success.

Unlike other programmes, this distinctive programme considers service management and service design as part of an integrated whole. We cannot design services without understanding how they are to be delivered and managed, and we cannot manage services without understanding how and why they have been designed. Working from this perspective, you will develop an engaged and critical understanding of service management and service design that will underpin your career development.

Developing core data skills, both analogue and digital, and an advanced understanding of the implications of service design and management, you will:

• explore the core characteristics of ‘service’ and ‘services,' understanding how they can be designed, managed and delivered to add value to their consumers and users
• look at the implications of the data-driven society for the service sector, and what this means for the management and design of services

The programme will also give you a deep understanding of how value is defined, created and embedded in service delivery.

Postgraduate study at the Edinburgh Futures Institute

This programme is part of an interconnected portfolio of postgraduate study opportunities at Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI).

The Futures Institute supports interdisciplinary teaching, learning and research that is focused on complex global and social challenges. Our programmes are taught by academic experts from many different subject areas.

As a Futures Institute student, you should be proactive and motivated. You will be supported to develop creative, critical, and data-informed thinking that cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries. You will have the space to think deeply about questions linked to your own passions and professional goals and will develop a project based on an issue that you care about.

As well as knowledge specific to your area of study, studying at Edinburgh Futures Institute will give you the skills and understanding you need to become a creative, confident, and critical citizen in a fast-changing world.

These skills include:

• the ability to interrogate issues of global scope using perspectives from across disciplines
• creative and analytic approaches to knowledge
• core data skills
• data ethics

You can join us regardless of whether you already have experience or practical skills in the use and application of digital data.

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in any discipline.

We will also consider your application if you have other professional qualifications or experience; please contact us to check before you apply.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 65 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 7 in each component.

Unless you are a national of a majority English speaking country, your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start of the month in which the programme you are applying to study begins. If you are using an IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL, Trinity ISE, or Oxford ELLT test, it must be no more than two years old on the first of the month in which the programme begins, regardless of your nationality. (Revised 14 January 2025 to include Oxford ELLT.)

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

The programme is intended for applicants who are either already working in, or are in interested in, a career in service management and/or service design – in the public, private and third sectors. The service sector comprises around 75% of developed economies globally and 35-50% of developing economies – and is growing fast.

Consequently, it is a major source of employment and career enhancement opportunities. Careers in service management and service design can be found in the public, private and third sectors. We expect that graduates from the programme will aspire to operational and strategic management posts across the fields of service design and delivery. These career opportunities can include roles such as:

• heads of service areas
• chief designers
• sector leads or directors

Potential fields of employment include:

• financial services and banking
• tourism, leisure and sport
• public services and health services
• education
• business services
• creative industries
• retail and fashion
• IT and information services

The core elements of the programme address the data and higher-order skills we know are important for the future of work, confident and critical citizenship, and a thriving, just society.