Master of Design (Advanced)

The Master of Design (Advanced) at Torrens University Australia is a two-year postgraduate degree for people who want to work at the senior end of design practice, research or strategy. It sits in the information technology subject area, which tells you the coursework leans towards digital product work, interaction and experience design, and the systems and tools that support them. You will spend your time on studio-based projects, design research methods, critique sessions and written analysis rather than purely technical coding, though digital production skills are part of the mix.

How the degree is structured

Australian master's degrees are usually one to two years full time, and this one runs for two. Study is organised into units of study, each worth a set number of credit points, delivered across trimesters or semesters depending on the campus and intake. You accumulate credit points unit by unit until you meet the course requirements. The 'Advanced' stream typically means a longer, research-heavy path than a standard master's, with a substantial capstone project or minor thesis in the later stages. That final project is where you pull together everything you have learned into a single piece of work you can show employers or a doctoral supervisor.

Teaching mixes lectures and seminars with studio time, and assessment is mostly project-based. You will present work, take feedback, revise it and present again, which mirrors how design teams actually operate. Where the field uses it, work-integrated learning or industry placement can form part of the course, giving you contact with professional studios, agencies or in-house design teams. Confirm the exact unit list, placement options and capstone format on the official course page, because offerings vary by campus and intake.

Skills you build

By the end you should be able to run a design project from brief to delivery: scoping the problem, doing user and market research, prototyping, testing, and arguing for your decisions in writing and in person. You will also build research literacy, enough to read and critique academic and industry literature, design a study and report findings. Teamwork, client communication and project management are threaded through because that is how design work gets done in practice.

Who it suits

This suits design graduates who want to go deeper, career-changers with a portfolio and a clear reason for the switch, and mid-career professionals moving into design leadership or research. It also works as a pathway toward a doctorate if you do well in the research components. If you are an international student, you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, and the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream may be available after you finish, depending on your circumstances. English requirements are set out on the official page; IELTS Academic 6.0 to 6.5 overall is the common coursework-postgraduate standard, with equivalents accepted, and the Department of Home Affairs applies a separate English threshold for the Student visa itself. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register. Always check the official Torrens University Australia page and CRICOS entry for current details.

• Senior designer or design lead in digital agencies, consultancies and in-house product teams across Australia.
• UX or service designer in banking, insurance, telecommunications, government digital services and health technology.
• Design researcher or strategist working on customer insight, policy design and innovation programs.
• Product or project manager in technology companies where design and delivery overlap.
• Studio founder or freelancer serving Australian small business, retail and cultural organisations.
• Design academic or researcher after further study, in universities and research centres.