Digital Design

• How can digital solutions be holistically well designed in the area of conflict between user requirements, general Business Studies conditions and technical possibilities?
• How can a digital solution be well designed strategically and in the long term?
• How can digital solutions be designed sustainably with a view to society, the Business Studies, the environment and our culture?

• Design theory teaches skills for designing digital solutions in terms of form, function and quality.
• Construction theory teaches skills for the construction process of digital solutions, for example development processes.
• Design theory teaches skills for designing digital solutions.
• Materials science teaches skills in digital materials, i.e. digital technologies, for designing digital solutions.

Note: Further explanations of the terms used in the context of the study program can be found in the module handbook.

Priorities can be set along three dimensions in the study program:

• Projects: Individual and team projects are an integral part of the course. By choosing the topics, students can put together a personal project portfolio and thus deepen their knowledge individually.
• Compulsory electives: In the first three semesters, students can specialize in selected subjects by taking compulsory electives
• Master's thesis: Students can choose between two main directions for their Master's thesis. In a work-oriented thesis, the focus is on the design of a digital solution. In a method-oriented thesis, the focus is on the methodical practice of digital design.

"Design is an aesthetic form of practical exploration of the world". This quote from Daniel Martin Feige sums up the fact that design is inherently practical. Through design, we change the world and the change also has an effect on us. This is why projects are a natural part of our Master's degree, in order to make design practical in the best sense.

Digital design is also needed in many areas of practice. Digital designers work, for example

• in software development: this is where you use your design skills to create holistically good software, for example by designing good use cases, attractive user interfaces and suitable data structures that users can work with in a meaningful way.
• in counseling: Here you can use your strategic design skills to advise clients on digitization and design and implement holistic, good digital business models or processes.
• in specific industries, for example retail, logistics, public administration or insurance: This is where you bring the full spectrum of your design skills to companies and organizations and can play an active role in digital change

Semester exhibitions are an integral part of the study program. Students present their work to an interested public in the semester exhibitions. In this way, the work and its impact on the economy and society can be discussed publicly beyond the university and reflected upon in practice.

After successfully completing the program, you will graduate with a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Digital Design. Digital design is one of three important professions for the digital transformation: www.digitalisierungsberufe.de(Opens in a new tab) 

The Master's degree is the basis for a doctorate. Graduates who wish to gain further academic qualifications have the opportunity to do a doctorate at a university. This is possible via a cooperative doctorate, in which the university of applied sciences is a cooperation partner of a university.