Master of Arts - Regenerative Design
- 2 years
- Duration
- 15,875 GBP/year
- Price
- September
- Start
- June
- Deadline
- Master
- Degree
- Online
- Format
- London / United Kingdom
- Location
Program description
The MA Regenerative Design programme critically addresses the climate and biodiversity emergency by moving beyond sustainable design to a regenerative approach that actively restores ecosystems and communities. It integrates principles of deep ecology, living systems thinking, circular design, and indigenous knowledge to develop creative propositions that repair the biosphere and empower local contexts.
The course engages an online community of designers from diverse disciplines - fashion, textiles, architecture, craft - to revisit their practice through a regenerative lens, whether in urban or rural settings. It poses fundamental questions about designing for a more-than-human world, translating permaculture principles into life-enhancing proposals, and integrating indigenous knowledge into the design agenda.
Ultimately, the programme aims to enable designers to adopt living systems principles, fostering holistic proposals that restore biodiversity, support decarbonisation and decolonisation, and protect endangered crafts, positioning regenerative design as a pivotal agent of systemic change.
Program structure
Unit 1: Design for Life
- A Living Systems Approach to Design
This foundational unit deconstructs prior learning to facilitate a paradigm shift, integrating deep ecology, living systems thinking, and regenerative cultures to place biodiversity, climate equity, and indigenous wisdom at the heart of design. Through lectures, workshops, and short design exercises informed by planetary boundaries, permaculture, and decolonisation, students build the foundations for holistic regenerative practice, culminating in an annotated portfolio, bibliography, and oral presentation.
Unit 2: The Collaborative Unit
- Building collaborative practices to address planetary challenges
This unit fosters interdisciplinary research and cross-course collaboration to address global challenges through collective, creative practices. It equips you with collaborative and practice-led skills to build communities of practice, question norms, and reflect on ethical dimensions, with the aim of creating positive impact for shared well-being in specific human and non-human communities.
Through cross-course group teaching and self-directed project work, you will collectively explore, debate, and redefine your practice to produce agreed outcomes, supported by regular independent meetings and peer critique.
Unit 3: Design For And With Your Biosphere
- Place-based action research
In this unit, students develop an individual regenerative design brief through action research, using living systems thinking to frame a research question, build a collaborator network, and conduct ecological and cultural surveys. Supported by lectures on research tools and regular tutorials, they create a situated practice aimed at reciprocal eco-cultural abundance.
The unit culminates in a presentation of the research proposal, methodology, and stakeholder mapping, with final assessment through an annotated portfolio including the brief, fieldwork, prototypes, bibliography, legacy forecast, and an oral presentation.
Unit 4: Design for Regenerative Futures
- Regenerative design development and conclusions, critical evaluation and legacy forecast
In this final unit, students develop a resolved regenerative design project based on prior research, starting with a workshop to explore diverse project directions. They will use foresight techniques to create a situated legacy forecast, evaluating the project's holistic impact and regenerative potential for bio-cultural abundance and reciprocity.
The unit concludes with the submission of a design portfolio, critical report, short film, and a presentation at an online public symposium that includes a legacy roadmap and project video.
Price
Tuition fee:
- 15,875 GBP per year*
*Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.
You may need to cover additional costs which are not included in your tuition fees, such as materials and equipment specific to your course.
Requirements for applicants
The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:
- An honours degree in a relevant design subject area
- Or an equivalent EU/international qualification
- And normally at least one year of professional experience.
Exceptionally applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered.
The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
- Related academic or work experience
- The quality of the personal statement
- A strong academic or other professional reference
- Or a combination of these factors.
Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.
English language requirements
- IELTS level 6.5 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking
About the university
The University of the Arts London (UAL) produces and encourages the creativity essential for a better future. Its colleges have been at the forefront of innovative education since 1842, creating work with a lasting impact on people and the planet, driven by curiosity, imagination, and purpose.
London is fundamental to UAL's identity, providing a vital context where the university connects and exchanges ideas with individuals from all walks of life. Globally, its creative network influences education, culture, business, and society.
Through innovative research and creative instruction, UAL's faculty and staff bring fresh perspectives to education. The university enables students to build the careers they desire by working with them at every level - from pre-degree to postgraduate, and from short courses to online learning.
UAL's colleges
Ranked second in the world for art and design, UAL comprises six distinct colleges:
- Camberwell College of Arts
- Central Saint Martins
- Chelsea College of Arts
- London College of Communication
- London College of Fashion
- Wimbledon College of Arts
Together, they form a community of creatives, innovators, trailblazers, and storytellers, united in their mission to reimagine the future.
Courses in the visual arts, animation, screen, communication, fashion, media, and performance are available at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
