Design

The Master’s project and the choice of mentor are freely selectable. Throughout your studies, you can devote yourself to an individual Master’s project topic in order to develop specific expertise. The joint development of the Master’s topic with the mentor takes place in the first semester in the subject “Master’s Project: Orientation”. The Master’s project is also the topic of the Master’s thesis, which documents the progress of the project. Through “research-based learning”, we strengthen your professional competence and your ability to work on complex design projects independently.

With us, you will be closely supported by a mentor, as we learn most from experts in their field. Your Master’s project will be supervised from the first semester through to your Master’s thesis. You can work on both practical and research-oriented topics.

Put together your own personal timetable from a wide range of courses and research. Additional courses complement your specialization, including lectures and seminars on topics such as “Innovation and Project Management”, “Marketing and Communication”, “Social Space Solutions”, “Heritage Design”, “Psychological Aesthetics”, “Architecture for Health” and more.

Coburg University of Applied Sciences offers the opportunity to complete a study or practical semester abroad. To this end, Coburg University of Applied Sciences maintains relationships with foreign partner universities. Further information is available from the university’s Study Abroad service.

Studying with in-depth practical experience in the PraxisPLUS model offers you the opportunity to gain more practical experience during your studies – without extending the duration of your studies. The prerequisite is a work contract with a company/institution. You can apply your knowledge from the lecture directly at work. The work in the company is remunerated. This in turn makes it easier to finance your studies.

• Design for sustainable innovation
• Business & Service Design
• Interaction Design
• Design exploration

• Human-oriented architecture and design / Psychological aesthetics
• Light and typology
• Heritage Design
• New Work / New Office
• Design and Make

The course begins with the“Master: Basics” module, which provides basic knowledge and prepares students for the Master’s degree course in Design. The starting course“Master’s Project: Orientation” offers a comprehensive introduction to the Master’s project, including process, structure, topic selection and definition as well as methods for identifying design topics and clear objectives for the Master’s project. In addition, students receive information on resources, support structures and access to institutions. In the“Interdisciplinary Lectures” module, students expand their professional expertise by gaining insights into various design fields and developing interdisciplinary skills. The “Individual module” promotes individual and subject-specific qualifications through customized specialization in product design, architecture and interior design. Both specialist knowledge and methodological skills are promoted.

In the“Master’s Project” module, students apply their knowledge in a challenging project over three or two semesters. They develop a design draft or a theoretical Master’s thesis in the fields of product design, architecture or interior design. The intensive exchange with the mentors promotes project development and the ability to reflect. The Master’s project is also the topic of the Master’s thesis and includes independent project selection and definition, research skills, specialist knowledge, project management, research methods, communication and presentation skills. “Mentor reviews” provide effective feedback and guidance on project progress, creativity, research, design principles, technical feasibility and goal setting.

The module“Scientific Work” prepares students for scientific work in design and promotes intellectual and social skills.
It teaches the fundamental principles of design methodology, trains the basics of scientific work and develops research, presentation and writing techniques. Critical thinking and analytical skills are encouraged. The “competence module” offers individual focus areas and promotes specialist knowledge and interdisciplinary skills by selecting from various specialist modules and a wide range of topics. It integrates interdisciplinary teaching content and practical applications in design.

In the third semester, you will write your Master’s thesis. In it, you consolidate your Master’s project into a scientific paper. The Master’s thesis is the culmination of the Master’s program, in which students apply their knowledge and skills in an individual research project. The thesis is completed individually and can also be realized with external partners.

“This is where I am human, this is where design is created”.

“I was excited right from the start when I heard that the new specialization ‘Human-oriented Architecture and Design – Psychological Aesthetics’ was now also possible for the Master’s degree. During my bachelor’s degree in interior design, also in Coburg, we were already introduced to individual aspects of Prof. Dr. Michael Heinrich’s focus, which aroused my great interest even then. In my opinion, the approach of looking at design on the basis of psychological and aesthetic factors, or even building it up accordingly, is one of the most important methods for ensuring that design is holistically oriented towards people. The new approach offers an incredible amount of potential for further research, which is why I am very pleased to be able to get to know it better and contribute to it as part of my Master’s degree.”

Alina Gafka, 2nd semester, M.A. Interior Architecture & Architectural DesignHuman-oriented architecture & design | Psychological aesthetics

“The Master’s focus on human-oriented design is the possibility and opportunity to view design holistically and thus to plan sustainably, with the focus on people as beings.”

For me, architecture is creativity, analytical thinking, observing and understanding processes, the user, the function and the respective environment. I picked up a lot of this during my bachelor’s degree in architecture, but there was one very big and hugely important aspect that was missing for me: people!  Architecture begins to come alive through people.
People can experience support and challenges through design by consciously incorporating their needs. To achieve this, it is important to learn what needs people have, in which situations certain needs should be addressed more or less and how these can be implemented through design.

The focus on ‘human-oriented design and psychological aesthetics’ explicitly addresses this. This makes it possible for me to take a holistic view of architecture.”

Hannah Müller, 2nd semester, M.A. Interior Architecture & Architectural DesignHuman-oriented architecture & design | Psychological aesthetics

“Design is communication, i.e. a built answer to the questions of our time that move us. My interest lies in designing an aesthetic place for good togetherness, inspiration and communication.”

What does the color red taste like? How does a centimeter of wood feel compared to metal?  Is cursive writing really easier to read? Does a component follow the DIN or the individual shape of our body? Which scope helps us to find our way around quickly in everyday life? How does a harmonious space sound? Pacing or visual axis? Pencil or AI? Who does a design serve? In our Master’s focus on ‘human-oriented design’, we use experimentation, analysis and design to examine positive design parameters of the human living environment in a target group-oriented manner in order to make new standards and relationships for sustainable design in architecture and interior design more conscious and precise. The aim is to develop new design concepts.”

David Küffner, 2nd semester, M.A. Interior Architecture & Architectural DesignHuman-oriented architecture & design | Psychological aesthetics

“Human-oriented design means knowing people and all their needs and putting them first.”

For me, a big motivation for studying architecture was the desire – and the hope – to have a positive effect on the lives of the people who live in the buildings I designed. Unfortunately, however, I realized that people’s needs are often put on the back burner or are simply not known, both in working life and in everyday student life. And it was precisely because of this fact that I decided to specialize in human-oriented design. Because here, together with like-minded fellow students and my Master’s mentor, I can deal intensively with people and consciously design according to their needs. And hopefully this will also enable me to create architecture in the future that creates added value for everyone involved.”

Jonas Schimmer, 2nd semester, M.A. Interior Architecture & Architectural DesignHuman-oriented architecture & design | Psychological aesthetics

• Completed university studies of at least seven semesters (210 ECTS credits) in a creative or technical field of interior architecture, architecture or design or a related course of study including a practical semester of at least 18 ECTS credits with an overall grade of at least 2.5.
• Recognition: 3 + 1 for Bachelor with 6 semesters Applicants with a standard period of study of six semesters can be admitted, but must complete a supplementary semester in the Master’s program
• Recognition: 3 – 1 for Bachelor with 8 semesters Students with a standard period of study of eight semesters can have one semester of their Master’s degree waived by the Examination Board if they can provide evidence of recognized professional training or practical experience in Germany or abroad.
• Passed aptitude test at Coburg University of Applied Sciences.
  You will be informed of the date in writing after we have received your application.
  A prerequisite for participation in the aptitude test is that we have received your complete application documents (official online application and course-specific additional documents).

The program-specific additional documents include

• an artistic portfolio and a letter of motivation that demonstrate your commitment and willingness to work intensively on the subject of design in the Master’s program.
  Please send an e-mail to masterdesign[at] hs-coburg .de
• Registration for the aptitude test.
  Please send by e-mail. Application form for aptitude test

Register to study

The reform focuses on drastically simplifying the structure of the degree program and the course of study. This includes, among other things, the elimination of the Master’s project proposal as a prerequisite for application and the elimination of the practical semester in the first Master’s semester of the “Integrated Design Processes (idp)” major.

• Introduction of a module grid with 5 ECTS for better structuring of the modules
• Implementation of new teaching content
• Expansion of student options in various modules
• “Master project” with flexible choice of topics
• Joint development of the Master’s topic with mentor in the subject “Master: Orientation”
• Simplified application procedure without Master’s project proposal, with focus on subject areas
• Retention of the Mentor Master for intensive exchange and the ability to reflect