Degree Programme

Studying design at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences

The Design & Product Management Bachelor trains graduates in cross-departmental skills that, because of their generalist qualification profile, fulfil on the job market the needs of medium and small businesses, as well as of industry and retail.

On the other hand, the course creates the basis for the consecutive-genuine model of the ensuing Master’s degree in Design & Product Management. While the three-year Bachelor focuses on career-specific basic skills, the management content of the Master’s degree is consolidated.

Thus the demand for strategically-minded designers and creative managers is thus met. After all, designers and product managers have a key role in the company. They are strategists and visionaries in the innovation process and thus key persons in the company's future success. The entire implementation of a product idea from its realization to its production right up to its marketing is a multi-faceted process within the company and requires the skills of various experts.

Design & Product Management provides the skills and knowledge to be active in these areas. Graduates of the Master's degree programme coordinate the activities of individual specialists and optimize the overall result of the design and product management process within the company. The complexity of this task requires the acknowledgment of correlations as well as the coordination of the design, economic and technical aspects.

How visions become successful

• The first two semesters are the same as a basic study for all.
   
• In the 3^rd and 4^th semester of the Bachelor programme the students decide to choose between the differentiations furniture, industrial or interior design. At the end of the 4^th semester an 8-week internship will start.
   
• From the 5^th semester onwards, specific computer programmes as well as Marketing topics are the focus areas. Also the first thesis is completed in the 5^th semester.
   
• The resulting small groups guarantee a high degree of attention and high quality project work.
   
• In the 6^th semester, the second thesis will be completed as well as the final exam.
   
• The internship in a relevant specialist company can be completed at home or abroad.

In addition to the English language, which is compulsory, the following are scheduled as required elective subjects, from which one must be chosen:

• Italian
• Spanish
• French
• Swedish
• Russian