Master of Arts in Product Design
CA7-O11-24
Taught Units Only (No Apprenticeship/No Placement/ No Internship)
Level 7
Qualification
Accredited via MCAST’s Self Accreditation Process (MCAST holds Self-Accrediting Status as per 1st schedule of Legal Notice 296/2012)
Blended Learning
5 Semesters
90 ECTS
2250 Hours
(Applicable for Non-EU and Non-EEA Countries) – the fee mentioned here is indicative. Please refer to www.mcast.edu.mt, as well as to MCAST’s MG2I International Section for any updated fees as well as terms of payments.
2024-10-01
The official language of instruction at MCAST is English. All notes and textbooks are in English (except for language courses, which will be in the respective language being instructed). International candidates will be requested to meet English language certification requirements for access to the course.
Applications to full-time courses are received online via the College Management Information System. Applicants can log-in using Maltese Electronic ID (eID) in order to access the MCAST Admissions Portal directly and create one’s own student account with the identity being verified electronically via this secure service.
Non-EID applicants need to request account creation though an online form after that they confirm that their local Identification Document does not come with an EID entitlement. . Once the identity is verified and the account is created on behalf of the applicant, one may proceed with the online application according to the same instructions applicable to all other applicants.
For more information about how to apply online for a course at MCAST, please visit: https://mcast.edu.mt/how-to-apply-online-2/
Non-EU candidates require a study visa in order to travel to Malta and join the course applied for. For further information re study-visa please access https://www.identitymalta.com/unit/central-visa-unit/.
MCAST has four campuses as follows:
MCAST Main Campus
Triq Kordin,
Paola, Malta
All courses except for courses delivered by the Institute for the Creative Arts, the Centre of Agriculture, Aquatics and Animal Sciences and the Gozo Campus are offered at the Main Campus address (above).
Courses delivered by the Institute for the Creative Arts, the Centre of Agriculture, Aquatics and Animal Sciences, or the Gozo Campus, are offered in one of the following addresses as applicable:
Institute for the Creative Arts
Mosta Campus
Misraħ Għonoq Tarġa Gap,
Mosta
Institute of Applied Sciences
Centre of Agriculture, Aquatics and Animal Sciences,
Luqa Road, Qormi
Gozo Campus
J.F. De Chambray Street
MCAST, Għajnsielem
Gozo
In the case of courses delivered via Online Learning, students will be following the programme from their preferred location/address.
Programmes delivered via Blended Learning, and which therefore contain both an online and a face to face component shall be delivered as follows:
Face to Face components – as per above address instructions
Online components – from the student’s preferred address.
English
This postgraduate degree programme develops the artistic and humanistic skills belonging to the design culture together with the technical know-how that relates to production technology, materials and manufacturing costs. It strives to meet the need of operating in a worldwide landscape of heightened competition where the designer can increase the value of a consumer product by creating innovation – in both aesthetics and usability – that takes advantage of available technologies and ever-changing consumer lifestyles. Candidates will build an improved critical capability to explore contemporary design languages, focus on experimentation with innovative interdisciplinary technologies and materials from preliminary concept to finish, and focus on understanding and developing sustainable production and consumption processes.
Malti
Dan il-programm post-lawrja jiżviluppa l-ħiliet artistiċi u umanistiċi li jappartjenu lill-kultura tad-disinn, flimkien ma’ għarfien espert tekniku li jirrigwarda t-teknoloġija tal-produzzjoni, il-materjali u l-ispejjeż tal-manifattura. Il-programm ifittex li jissodisfa l-ħtieġa tal-operat f’pajsaġġ dinji ta’ kompetizzjoni qawwija, fejn id-disinjatur jista’ jgħolli l-valur ta’ prodott għall-konsumatur billi joħloq innovazzjoni – kemm fl-estetika kif ukoll fl-użu – li tieħu vantaġġ mit-teknoloġiji disponibbli u l-istili ta’ ħajja tal-konsumatur li dejjem
jinbidlu. Il-kandidati jiżviluppaw kapaċità kritika aħjar biex jesploraw lingwi tad-disinn kontemporanji, jiffokaw fuq esperimentazzjoni b’teknoloġiji interdixxiplinari u materjali innovattivi mill-kunċett preliminari sat-tlestija, u jiffokaw fuq l-għarfien u l-iżvilupp ta’ proċessi ta’ produzzjoni u konsum sostenibbli.
MCAST Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Product Design
or
a comparable first degree (MQF Level 6 at 180 CTS or more)
or
achieved an equivalent professional work experience in a related field of product design.
Candidates will also need to be able to show evidence of professional skills and abilities in the area of product design that they want to focus on.
Other Entry Requirements
An MQF Level 5 qualification and adequate professional experience are also considered.
At the end of the programme the students are able to:
1.Evaluate and identify the appropriate representation and prototyping techniques through innovative materials and processes.
2.Appraise and justify the functional, performance and usability aspects in relation to the social and cultural phenomena related to design.
3.Identify the quantitative and qualitative data aspects of the discipline in order to pursue the profession at an international level or to pursue studies further.
4.Examine the essential contents of communication digital media, as well as through data processing and physical illustrations.
5.Master additional communication skills including those required for an audience of teachers or external subjects of different genres.
6.Analyse the social context of customer demands and be able to evaluate different design choices focusing on economic aspects, while also taking into account social, environmental and ethical consequences.
The programmes offered are vocational in nature and entail both theoretical lectures delivered in classes as well as practical elements that are delivered in laboratories, workshops, salons, simulators as the module requirements dictate.
Each module or unit entails a number of in person and/or online contact learning hours that are delivered by the lecturer or tutor directly (See also section ‘Total Learning Hours).
Access to all resources is provided to all registered students. These include study resources in paper or electronic format through the Library and Resource Centre as well as tools, software, equipment and machinery that are provided by the respective institutes depending on the requirements of the course or module.
Students may however be required to provide consumable material for use during practical sessions and projects unless these are explicitly provided by the College.
All Units of study are assessed throughout the academic year through continuous assessment using a variety of assessment tools. Coursework tasks are exclusively based on the Learning Outcomes and Grading Criteria as prescribed in the course specification. The Learning Outcomes and Grading Criteria are communicated to the Student via the coursework documentation.
The method of assessment shall reflect the Level, credit points (ECTS) and the schedule of time-tabled/non-timetabled hours of learning of each study unit. A variety of assessment instruments, not solely Time Constrained Assignments/Exams, are used to gather and interpret evidence of Student competence toward pre-established grading criteria that are aligned to the learning outcomes of each unit of the programme of study.
Grading criteria are assessed through a number of tasks, each task being assigned a number of marks. The number of grading criteria is included in the respective Programme Specification.
The distribution of marks and assessment mode depends on the nature and objectives of the unit in question.
Coursework shall normally be completed during the semester in which the Unit is delivered.
Time-constrained assignments may be held between 8 am and 8 pm during the delivery period of a Unit, or at the end of the semester in which the Unit is completed. The dates are notified and published on the Institute notice boards or through other means of communication.
Certain circumstances (such as but not limited to the Covid-19 pandemic) may lead Institutes and Centres to hold teaching and assessment remotely (online) as per MCAST QA Policy and Standard for Online Teaching, Learning and Assessment (Doc 020) available via link https://www.mcast.edu.mt/college-documents/
The Programme Regulations pertaining to this Programme’s MQF/EQF level available at: link https://www.mcast.edu.mt/college-documents/, apply.
All MCAST programmes adopt a Learner-centred approach through the focus on Learning Outcomes. The assessment of MCAST programmes is criterion-referenced and thus assessors are required to assess learners’ evidence against a pre-determined set of Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria.
For a student to be deemed to have successfully passed a unit, a minimum of 50% (grade D) must be achieved.
All full time units are individually graded as follows:
A* (90-100)
A (80-89)
B (70-79)
C (60-69)
D (50-59)
Unsatisfactory work is graded as ‘U’.
Work-based learning units are graded on a Pass/Fail basis only.
Detailed information regarding the grading system may be found in the Programme Regulations pertaining to this programme’s MQF/EQF Level available at: link https://www.mcast.edu.mt/college-documents/
MCAST Career Guidance
Tel: 2398 7135/6
Email: career.guidance@mcast.edu.mt
Download PIT (Public Information Template) pdf here
Download Abridged Course Spec pdf here
Last updated: 2024-08-01
MCAST Main Campus 
+356 2398 7100
information@mcast.edu.mt