Industrial Design

The Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design exposes students to projects with industry collaborators, and offers students projects which are multidisciplinary and self-driven in nature, where they can explore the potential of design across different fields. The Undergraduate programme allows students to develop their potential while exposing them to high commercialisation opportunities.

The Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design is a four-year full-time undergraduate honours programme by coursework. Pre-requisites: GCE A Levels or any international academic equivalent/ Diploma awarded by a local Polytechnic in Singapore. 

The B.A. (ID) (Hons) curriculum is divided into 3 main progressive levels, namely Design Fundamentals, Design Platforms and Final Year Thesis. Students learn fundamental design knowledge, skills and capabilities in the first 3 semesters (Design Fundamentals), put these into practice in the next 4 semesters through a series of conceptual and industry projects (Design Platforms), and finally demonstrate their proficiency with a thesis project in the final year (Final Year Thesis).

Design Fundamentals [Semesters 1—3]

In the first 2 semesters of Design Fundamentals, students acquire fundamental knowledge, skills and aptitudes in industrial design. This is achieved with a succession of small-scaled design exercises that focusing on specific areas of learning in detail. In the third semester of Design Fundamentals, Design for Context and Sustainability consolidates all the prior lessons from design fundamentals into one complete, coherent, industry-relevant project where students learn to manage and go through a comprehensive design process from research to execution, with sustainability factors incorporated as critical consideration.

Design Platforms [Semesters 3—7]

As part of our strategy to evolve constantly so A major component of the course is the Design Platforms. It allows students to tailor their individual course of learning by selecting and participating in 2 concurrent design studios from a range of 6 to 8 different design projects offered every semester – ranging from furniture design, healthcare design, consumer electronics design, transportation design, apps and interaction design, retail design, home appliance design, conceptual design, service design and more. The range of different topics reflect the ever-expanding role of an industrial designer; not only are students able to receive exposure to different areas of industrial design, they also get the opportunity to learn different approaches to designing from the individual studio leaders and industry collaborators. 

In addition, the vertical format of the design platforms encourages cross-learning of ideas, skills and methods while junior students work alongside and/or compete with senior students. Students in a lower year will take up the role of a junior designer, whilst senior students will have the opportunity to assume the role of a senior designer. This arrangement reflects the prevalent importance of group dynamics in industry practice, where design teams often comprise of junior designers, senior designers and sometimes a creative director. 

From 2005 till 2012, we have accepted a wide variety of industry-sponsored projects. 

Final Year Thesis [Semesters 7—8]

In the fourth year, students are required to research and investigate opportunities and develop a comprehensive design project. The major topics addressed in this level include research methodology, brief formulation, project planning techniques, information search and documentation, product analysis and evaluation, concept development and selection process for design development, design detailing and final market implementation. 

The final year thesis gives students the opportunity to self-initiate a project according to their area of interest, preparing the graduates for a career in design. The final project ensures that students are sufficiently competent in research as an integral part of the design process. At this final year level, students would learn to form and evaluate value judgments on design decisions that ensures design proposals meet with rationalized and functional criterion as well as less tangible qualities of the aesthetic. Successful graduates will demonstrate innovation and competency in industrial design.

• High School Graduation Certificate and transcript
• ACT with Writing / SAT and SAT Subject Tests
• Completion of online application
• Payment of Application Fee (S$20)
• Application Checklist
• National level High school examination results slip (if applicable)
• School examination results slip e.g. Year 11 High School transcripts/ SPM/ IGSCE/ Indian Standard 10
• University academic transcripts (only applicable to applicants applying for 3-year Law Programme)
• Additional results slip (if scores are indicated in application form) e.g. IELTS, TOEFL, SAT and SAT Subject Test scores, AP, ACT etc.
• Passport / Birth Certificate / Identification Card (clearly reflecting your Full Name and Date of Birth)
• Medical report(s) if you have or had any illnesses or disabilities (if applicable)
• Criminal record(s) (if applicable)