Based at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), but situated within the wider University of Edinburgh, our students are free to explore their own interests across the range of subjects offered by the University, while supported by the carefully–curated core courses of the Design for Change [MA] programme. The city of Edinburgh, and Scotland as a whole, provide a further rich backdrop to the programme. Our students are encouraged to look beyond the classroom and to learn from their surrounding communities, cultures, and natural environments in order to grow as designers, as citizens.  

Students of the Design for Change programme come from all corners of the world, bringing unique perspectives and diverse backgrounds with them to enrich the studio. Over their year of study at ECA, and together with our staff, they learn to work together and create a plural community of practice. Beyond their year here, as alumni, they become part of a much wider Design movement for change. Therefore, while Design for Change is a programme, it is also becoming a way of seeing and engaging with the world. It is a shared ethos, one that connects its community of practitioners in their common goal of using design as a critical tool for good. It is a community whose members encourage one another to question the role of design, and the implications of design interventions, whilst striving to create positive change for today’s world and tomorrow’s.