The MA in Service Design equips students with the expertise to craft innovative and user-centric experiences. Rooted in the principles of people, products, partners, and processes, this course encourages a socially driven approach to design, aimed at improving user interactions across various contexts.
You will explore co-design and collaborative methods to tackle complex problems, employing design thinking frameworks to create systematic and creative solutions. You will develop research methodologies through user research, journey mapping, and service blueprints, fostering an inventive and stakeholder-engaged approach to hypothesis testing and solution implementation.
In a rapidly evolving world shaped by advanced technologies, climate change, and societal shifts, our Service Design course stands at the forefront of addressing these uncertainties. It integrates a design mindset with collaborative, innovative, and pragmatic methods to navigate and influence change. Our project-based learning approach involves collaborations with commercial, public, and social organisations, guiding students through deep research, concept generation, prototyping and user testing. This prepares graduates to confidently apply current thinking and conceptual insight to make meaningful impacts across diverse industries, from healthcare to finance, and beyond.
Why study with us
Co-design and collaborative methods
Develop your skills in co-design and collaboration by working with stakeholders to address complex problems and create inclusive services.
Design thinking frameworks
Engage with design thinking practices that challenge you to innovate systematically and creatively while designing user-centred services.
Interdisciplinary collaboration
Benefit from shared taught delivery with other postgraduate courses, fostering a collaborative environment that encourages knowledge-sharing and interdisciplinary interaction.
Access to professional-level resources
Utilise a wide range of professional resources, including contemporary technology, media labs, 2D & 3D studios, high-specification PCs, and licensed specialist software.
Emphasis on ethical and inclusive research
Adopt an ethical approach to user research, focusing on accessibility, equality, diversity, and sustainability within various contexts.
Development of a professional portfolio
By the end of the course, you will have created a professional body of work that reflects your interests and prepares you for industry, enhancing your ability to communicate research visually.
Coursedetails
This programme is a one-year course, including 30 weeks of direct teaching time and a 15-week final project. You will need to complete five units and one 60-credit major project (180 credits in total). All units on the course are compulsory and must be passed in order to complete the award. If you study part-time your modules will be split across two years. Full course details, including aims and assessment criteria, will be provided in the course specification upon validation.
Core practice and context in Service Design (60 credits)
This unit launches your master’s study experience at Norwich, encouraging you to explore leading practices and emerging research within and around service design. Engaging with core design research methods will enhance your critical understanding and knowledge of service design methodologies. This unit focuses on applying these methods to societal and business challenges, aiming to improve services in both the public and private sectors, and develop strategies for collaboration with partners, stakeholders, and experts across multiple disciplines. You will adopt iterative, qualitative, and participatory practices to address complex challenges through in-depth critique and analysis. Continuous experimentation and critical reflection will strengthen your methods within broader conceptual frameworks and ethical considerations.
Advanced technical skills in Service Design (20 credits)
This unit focuses on developing advanced technical skills essential for idea generation, problem-solving, and practical development in design practice. Through project-based learning, you will engage and experiment in various media and processes, enhancing your ability to design digital products and services. The unit takes an expanded approach to the discipline, encouraging you to challenge technical expectations in contemporary design practices to generate advanced creative solutions. The unit will cover coding, physical computing, user experience, agile working, design thinking, systems thinking, data analysis, and emerging technologies (AR/VR/AI). Through continuous technical experimentation and practical application, you will enhance your practical skills and working methods, ensuring you are well-prepared to tackle real-world challenges and able to develop innovative and effective design solutions.
Dialogue, debate, and domain knowledge in Service Design (10 credits)
This unit explores leading practices and emerging research in digital design through reflective analysis and interactive sessions. You’ll gain a critical understanding of your discipline within socio-economic, political, ethical, and cultural contexts, covering key themes such as design history, identity, human/computer interaction, visual language, aesthetics, semiotics, Gestalt psychology, design psychology, wicked problems, globalisation, and consumption. You will develop a range of research approaches, using discursive interaction to inform your inquiry and push your creative boundaries to inspire new perspectives between digital design disciplines. Research-led projects will enhance your ability to synthesise conceptual and practical problem-solving to extend and explore your chosen area of expertise.
Professional technical skills in Service Design (20 credits)
This unit encourages your exploration of a range of professional-level technical skills essential for human-centred design and interaction. You will experiment across a range of media, building on the skills and techniques covered in the ‘advanced technical skills’ unit. You will learn the importance of aligning theoretical and conceptual aspects of digital design ideation and prototyping. Through individual and group projects, you will refine technical processes and explore innovative solutions to expand your problem-solving capabilities. Emphasis is placed on creating effective solutions for contemporary and emerging media platforms, supported by practice-based research projects. The unit integrates digital and analogue techniques and various formats, such as coding, prototyping, user flows, and emerging technologies like AR/VR/AI. A research-led approach will empower you to utilise contemporary techniques, blending theoretical ideation with technical knowledge to create complex creative outcomes.
Advanced critical context in Service Design (10 credits)
This unit is designed to enhance your knowledge of leading practices and emerging research in digital design. By developing effective research and reflective strategies, you will enhance your critical understanding of key methodologies and gain insights into creative thinking within socio-economic, political, ethical, and cultural contexts. Building on the ‘dialogue, debate, and domain knowledge’ unit, you will explore themes such as design history, identity and representation, human/computer interaction, aesthetics, Gestalt psychology, design psychology, wicked problems, semiotics, globalisation, and consumption. Research-led projects will help you to develop your overall creative persona and assist in developing strategies for conceptual and practical problem-solving, positioning you as a critically engaged and reflective practitioner.
Major project (60 credits)
This unit represents the culmination of your master’s study, integrating everything you’ve learned on your studies. You will identify a research question and create a viable project to test your hypotheses, aiming for original outcomes supported by feedback from tutors and industry professionals. Throughout this unit, you will continue to deepen your understanding of the historical, theoretical, cultural, technical, and economic contexts, addressing social and environmental sustainability challenges. You will examine challenges related to social and environmental sustainability and identify relevant industries, audiences, and stakeholders. Research-led practice will enhance your ability to synthesise experiments into complex creative outcomes that reflect your chosen pathway and express an original personal and professional identity.
Learning and teaching
The course is delivered through a variety of engaging learning and teaching methods.
Lectures
Seminars
Tutorials
Technical labs
Independent and group work
Assessment
Our assessment methods will vary based on the unit you choose and provide a comprehensive measure of your learning and progress. These methods may include:
Critically reflective essay
Course work
Presentations
Learning journal
Reflective evaluation
Body of creative work
Reflective research report
Team project evaluation
Major project
Supporting documentation
Real world problem-solving
This course is part of our suite of Master’s in UX, Interaction and Service Design, offering a collaborative framework across various specialisations, including MA User Experience Design, MA Interaction Design and MA Service Design. This provides students with opportunities to engage with peers from different disciplines while working on individual assignments. Such collaboration mirrors the professional dynamics in the creative industries today, allowing students to gain valuable experience in interdisciplinary teamwork and real world problem-solving.
Typical career paths
Across industries, there’s a growing demand for critical and creative thinkers with the knowledge to translate customer needs into effective and deliverable social and commercial services. Our MA in Service Design will equip you with the specialist mindset and skills required to innovate and improve services and advance the field of service design. You’ll graduate ready for service design roles in industry, government and the charity sector, or you could set up as an independent consultant.
This course prepares you for a career in a variety of disciplines related to service design, including:
User experience designer
User experience researcher
Design researcher
Service designer
Digital product designer
Interaction designer
Strategic designer
The UK’s creative sector is thriving, contributing £111.7 billion annually to the economy and offering over 2 million jobs.
Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS)
Entry Requirements
We typically require an honours degree of 2:1 or above in a science, technology, computing, maths, physics, engineering, data sciences or data analytics degree, or a professional qualification recognised as equivalent to an honours degree in a technology-related or engineering discipline.
Those with industry experience or relevant skills from non-traditional backgrounds are encouraged to apply, including individuals currently employed. If you’re unsure about your eligibility, please contact us for guidance before applying.
English language requirements (International/EU)
If English is not your first language, IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) is required, with a minimum of 5.5 in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. we also accept other English language qualifications.
International Qualifications
We accept a wide range of qualifications from all over the world.
For information on entry requirements from your country, see our international pages.
Portfolio requirement
A portfolio is not required to apply for this course.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year:
Full time: £10,600
The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you’re classed as a UK
(home) or international student. Check your fee status.
Fees for subsequent years
The rules for inflation on fees in subsequent years depend on the type of fee status and level
For Home and overseas postgraduate degree students starting in 2025, fees will remain the same for each year of your course.
Funding your study
Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for a bursary, scholarship or loan to help fund your study and enhance your learning experience. Find out more about scholarships and funding.
Additional costs
Your tuition fee covers the full cost of tuition. Accommodation, cost of materials, and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees
Tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year will be:
Full time: £24,000
The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you’re classed as a UK
(home) or international student. Check your fee status.
Fees for subsequent years
The rules for inflation on fees in subsequent years depend on the type of fee status and level
For home and overseas postgraduate degree students starting in 2025, fees will remain the same for each year of your course.
Funding your study
We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries for international students. To find out more and see if you’re eligible, please visit the scholarships for international students page.
Additional costs
Your tuition fee covers the full cost of tuition. Accommodation, cost of materials, and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees
Postgraduate applicants can only apply directly by completing the below online application form or emailing the downloadable form to ioadmissions@norwichuni.ac.uk
International students requiring a visa should apply as soon as possible in the year they wish to start. Email our International Team for more information.
Toby Hills Wins Prestigious Papin Prize at HETS 2025
Alumni •
Toby Hills, Senior Technician – Immersive & Virtual Production at Norwich University of the Arts, has been named Best Newcomer and awarded a prestigious Papin Prize during the UK Higher Education Technicians Summit (HETS) 2025 held this week.
Celebrating award-winning student work at our Undergrad Festival – and beyond
BA Animation •
This summer saw the launch of the University’s new Sustainability Awards, alongside nominations for Norwich students for a range of high-profile industry awards.
Norwich students win at D&AD New Blood Awards 2025
BA Graphic Communication •
Norwich students were awarded a total of five pencils at this year’s D&AD New Blood Awards, which showcase recent graduate work across design, advertising and craft.
Norwich lecturer celebrates world premiere of new film Chicken Town
Alumni •
Richard Bracewell, Lecturer for BA (Hons) Film and Moving Image Production, worked with Norwich students and graduates to produce the Fens-based comedy.
Norwich University of the Arts moves up 25 places in The Complete University Guide
Alumni •
Norwich University of the Arts has been ranked among the UK's top two specialist creative arts universities — and the highest outside London — in the 2026 edition of The Complete University Guide
We are delighted to offer two opportunities to join the University as an East Gallery Fellow – Creative Practice, for twelve months from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026
Norwich University of the Arts Hosts AHRC in Celebrating Creative Technology Research
Research •
Norwich University of the Arts recently hosted a collaborative event showcasing projects funded by AHRC's Creative Research Capability fund, at its cutting-edge Immersive Visualisation and Simulation Lab (IVSL).
Shape Shift: Reflections on Art in Mental Health Settings
Research •
A groundbreaking new exhibition, Shape Shift: Reflections on Art in Mental Health Settings, created in partnership with Norwich University of the Arts, will open at The Fitzrovia Chapel on Thursday, 13 March 2025.
