Innovation Design Engineering
Go beyond boundaries to create impact. A programme for fiercely curious changemakers.
Go beyond boundaries to create impact. A programme for fiercely curious changemakers
Be part of a vibrant community of creative brilliance and pioneering technology at the Royal College of Art and Imperial
Develop world class innovation skills in opportunity finding, building and testing ideas, and value creation
Course key facts
Qualification
MA/MSc
Duration
2 years
Start date
September 2026
Study mode
Full-time
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Fees
Set by RCA Home
Set by RCA Overseas
Delivered by
Location
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Royal College of Art (Battersea)
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South Kensington
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Minimum entry standard
2:1 (or equivalent) in any subject. Applicants must show creative and technical aptitude, and motivation to drive change through design and engineering innovation.
Course overview
In partnership with the Royal College of Art for over 40 years, this unique double Master’s programme continually evolves to equip you with the skills to integrate design and engineering with science and enterprise.
Renowned for shaping world class innovation design engineers who have gone on to thrive at companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung, as well as disruptors such as Nothing and Notpla, and numerous start-ups.
The programme aims to create a new type of innovator capable of tackling the complex challenges faced by society and the planet. By the time you graduate, you’ll not only have the necessary technical skills but also be fiercely curious, open-minded, empathic, and analytical.
Structure
This page is updated regularly to reflect the latest version of the curriculum. However, this information is subject to change.
Find out more about potential course changes.
Please note: it may not always be possible to take specific combinations of modules due to timetabling conflicts. For confirmation, please check with the relevant department.
In the first year, you’ll embark on a range of taught modules, workshops and masterclasses to develop skills and experience.
Year 1
Build your confidence through project-based learning in the key differentiating IDE concepts.
Critically explore how skills, mindsets, knowledge and practices from different disciplines can be combined to form new holistic practices that enhance innovation.
Learn how physical computing, connected systems, data science and machine learning can tackle complex problems. A foundational course building knowledge in areas such as mechanical design, control & feedback systems, electronics and coding.
Embark on a ambitious interdisciplinary RCA College-wide unit that supports how you respond to the challenges of complex, uncertain and changing physical and digital worlds through engagement in global creative networks that draws on expertise within and beyond the institution and seeks to provoke critical reflection of students' creative practice.
Learn how to develop creatively driven and innovative solutions to a new and emerging major global issue (a Grand Challenge) through working in interdisciplinary creative teams across the Royal College of Art School of Design.
Delve into materials and their materiality in terms of their behaviours, capabilities and environmental impact through critical analysis and experimentation.
Explore and evaluate how context (cultural, geographic, social and economic) can frame and highlight opportunities for innovation and impact through collaborative contextual study projects with external stakeholders.
Build skills in systems level approaches to innovation and transitioning products, services and systems to circular and regenerative outcomes, including developing capabilities in utilising expert networks for transdisciplinary practice.
Develop agency and vision in scoping, planning and design in an area of individual interest and focus together with a design concept with associated emergent specialist skills to high levels of practical resolution including testing and validation.
Undergo a process of development and consolidation of external experience relating to professional pathways in organisations, own ventures or research fields.
Develop personal-professional agency to define and plan individual and team-based directions to commence the second year of study.
The second year programme of work sees you working independently, developing your individual and professional agency.
Year 2
Learn to create innovation design engineering value with validated potential impact through effective team working in a defined area of contextual need or opportunity.
Self-directed project: identify and investigate a context for study through a process of planning, primary and secondary research to discover important issues and opportunities for innovation design engineering.
Self-directed project: build on the issues and opportunities uncovered in ‘Context Exploration’ with a focus on synthesis and evaluation of innovation design engineering opportunities, followed by iterative creation and evaluation of a range of ideas, concepts and embodiments with key stakeholders in terms of their potential impact from social, cultural, economic, ethical and environmental perspectives.
Self-directed project: build on the insights gained from the ‘Iterative Development’ with a focus on the iterative design, development and evaluation of the proposed innovation with key stakeholders for validation, communication and diffusion.
A range of Elective modules drawn from across the Dyson School of Design Engineering – more details to follow.
Optional modules
This module provides engineering students with the platform needed to solve future industry challenges, get the most out of 3D printing technology and optimise designs.
This module aims to provide overall knowledge and understanding of the human visual system, and the technology available for design engineers to acquire, analyse, interpret and exploit visual information gathered with modern electronic components.
This module aims to provide an understanding of the tools and techniques available to implement sustainable design and provide knowledge of the methods a company can employ to reduce environmental impacts, promote sustainable practices and build resilient propositions.
TBC
This module provides the opportunity to further develop industrial design skills and knowledge to a high professional level alongside gaining an understanding of significant emerging themes and methodologies within the field.
This module is an introduction to audio technology and perception, which includes acoustics, psychoacoustics, digital signal processing, audio recording techniques, audio reproduction techniques, 3D sound synthesis and reproduction and other selected topics.
This module will develop your competence in scoping, analysing and developing creative interventions for behaviour change. Possible interventions include wearables to improve health, products for more sustainable consumption and policy to improve tech-enabled business models.
The module focuses on core principles in micro-economics, accounting, finance, uncertainty modelling, and decision-making needed to assess the economic performance of engineering systems and products.
This module aims at giving relevant basics to the students to analyse interaction within systems as games. It introduces the principles to describe agents and the type of games they are involved in.
Teaching and assessment
Teaching and learning methods
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Personal and group tutorials
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Seminars
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Lectures
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Workshops
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Formal reviews
Balance of assessment
This is an example of how assessments are usually divided, based on a typical pathway through the course. The actual breakdown may vary depending on the modules you choose.
Key
- Group project
- Solo project
- 33% Title 1 goes here
- 67% Title 2 goes here
Assessment methods
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Individual and group coursework
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Written reports and portfolios
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Movies
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Practicals and demonstrations
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Oral presentation
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Oral exam
Entry requirements
We consider all applicants on an individual basis, welcoming students from all over the world.
How to apply
Apply online
You apply directly to the Royal College of Art (RCA) who jointly deliver this course.
We advise that you apply as soon as possible. Find out about application deadlines to avoid disappointment.
Visit the RCA website to read more about how to apply.
Entrance exam part 1: Candidates must submit a portfolio of work. See the RCA's website for guidance on the portfolio.
Entrance exam part 2: Selected applicants are invited for an interview (by MS Teams, Zoom and/or accessibility positive options) with staff and a student representative and to participate in a creative exercise.
An ATAS certificate is not required for students applying for this course.
Fees and funding
Home fee
2026 entry
Set by RCA
The tuition fees for this course are set and charged by the RCA.
You should expect and budget for your fees to increase each year.
Your fee is based on the year you enter the university, not your year of study. This means that if you repeat a year or resume your studies after an interruption, your fees will only increase by the amount linked to inflation.
Find out more about our tuition fees payment terms, including how inflationary increases are applied to your tuition fees in subsequent years of study.
Whether you pay the Home or Overseas fee depends on your fee status. This is assessed based on UK Government legislation and includes things like where you live and your nationality or residency status. Find out how we assess your fee status.
If you're a UK national, or EU national with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you may be able to apply for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan from the UK government, if you meet certain criteria.
The maximum value of the loan is £12,858 for courses starting on or after 1 August 2025.
The loan is not means-tested and you can choose whether to put it towards your tuition fees or living costs.
Please note:
- The loan is only available if you’re studying a full Master’s course from the start.
- If you start on a Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) or Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) and later move on to the Master’s, you won’t be eligible for this loan.
Overseas fee
2026 entry
Set by RCA
The tuition fees for this course are set and charged by the RCA.
You should expect and budget for your fees to increase each year.
Your fee is based on the year you enter the university, not your year of study. This means that if you repeat a year or resume your studies after an interruption, your fees will only increase by the amount linked to inflation.
Find out more about our tuition fees payment terms, including how inflationary increases are applied to your tuition fees in subsequent years of study.
Whether you pay the Home or Overseas fee depends on your fee status. This is assessed based on UK Government legislation and includes things like where you live and your nationality or residency status. Find out how we assess your fee status.
How will studying at Imperial help my career?
Integrate Imperial's science, technology and engineering expertise with Royal College of Art's creative design skills.
We have been offering this degree programme for over 40 years.
Graduates of Innovation Design Engineering are thought leaders on an international scale.
Many end up in creative, design, or engineering directorships.
On leaving the programme, many graduates start their own businesses.
Further links
Contact the department
- Telephone: +44 (0)20 7594 8888
- Email: design.engineering@imperial.ac.uk
Course Director: Andrew Brand.
Visit the Dyson School of Design Engineering and the Royal College of Art websites.
Request info
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Events, tasters and talks
Meet us and find out more about studying at Imperial.
Terms and conditions
There are some important pieces of information you should be aware of when applying to Imperial. These include key information about your tuition fees, funding, visas, accommodation and more.
You can find further information about your course, including degree classifications, regulations, progression and awards in the programme specification for your course.
Programme specifications