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1. Study
2. Postgraduate
3. Taught Courses
4. Masters
5. Digital Product Design and Innovation

Course Fact File

Code	MSCDPD
Duration	1 Year Full-time
Teaching Mode	Full-time
Qualifications	MSc
NFQ Level	Level 9
EU Fees	€12,114 See Fees and Costs for full details.
Non-EU Fees	€21,914
Closing Date	Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.
Non-EU Closing Date	Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.
Start Date	6 September 2027

Course Outline

Our MSc Digital Product Design and Innovation is a 12-month (full-time) taught master's degree course, aimed at creatively minded honours graduates from any discipline. You will learn to design, build and launch digital products and services that people actually want to use.

Code is now faster and cheaper to produce than ever. Deciding what to build is not. That takes judgement: which problem to solve, which solution to choose, and whether it's worth building at all. This course teaches that judgement. You will learn to base design decisions on user needs and business requirements, and to use AI to speed up your work without handing over your thinking.

The course is open to honours graduates from any discipline. If you studied computing or engineering, you will add user research, design and product strategy to the technical skills you already have. If you come from business, the arts, humanities or social sciences, no programming experience is needed: you will learn to build and test working prototypes yourself. Either way, you will leave with a portfolio of work tested by real users.

Programme content

In Part 1 of the course, you will work closely with our staff in lectures, seminars, and tutorials to build the knowledge and skills behind today's digital products and services. Modules four areas: analysis, design, development, and strategy. Technical and design subjects are grounded in business and societal context, with ethics and sustainability built in, empowering students to create digital solutions with impact.

Part 1 consists of 60 credits of taught modules which are listed below.

•   IS6100 Designing Innovative Digital Business Models (5 credits)
•   IS6124 Emerging Technologies for Digital Transformation (5 credits)
•   IS6127 Systems Analysis (5 Credits)
•   IS6130 AI-Assisted Design (5 credits)
•   IS6131 Design Leadership and Strategy (5 credits)
•   IS6132 Web Application Development (5 credits)
•   IS6133 User Experience Design for Digital Products (5 credits)
•   IS6143 Introduction to Programming and Web Development (5 credits)
•   IS6144 AI-Assisted Application Development (5 credits)
•   IS6145 Database Analysis and Design (5 Credits)
•   IS6146 Data Strategy and Visualisation (5 credits)
•   IS6147 Design Thinking for Services (5 Credits)

Part 2

The capstone project is the heart of the course. Working in a small group with a mentor, you take on a real-world problem, either from an industry brief or an idea of your own. Groups work in design sprints to research the problem, generate ideas, and prototype and test solutions with users. By the end, you will have turned your initial concept into a digital product or service, backed by a full business plan.

 

IS6057 Digital Design and Development Project (30 credits)

Course Practicalities

The course is 12 months full-time. In Part 1 there are typically 14 hours of lectures and four hours of tutorials per week. Part 1 is assessed through a mix of examinations, assignments and continuous assessment. Part 2 is assessed on your capstone project.

The MSc Digital Product Design and Innovation is taught by faculty and research experts from the Business Information Systems Dept, Cork University Business School with expertise in design, digital product development, strategy, innovation and emerging technologies, including AI. Industry experts are closely involved through the capstone project, guest talks and workshops helping keep the course relevant to employers.

Connected Curriculum

Our teaching approach reflects our commitment to the Connected Curriculum where we emphasise the connection between students, learning, research and leadership through our vision for a Connected University. Our staff are at the forefront of this integrative approach to learning and will support you in making meaningful connections within and between disciplines such as design, technology, management, and business.

Why Choose This Course

• A capstone that works the way modern organisations do. You tackle real briefs through design thinking and sprint methodology: research, ideation, prototyping, then build and test. You finish with a portfolio of work tested by real users.
• Judgement, not just code. You learn which problem to solve, which solution to choose and whether it's worth building.
• Built for technical and non-technical graduates. Computing graduates add design, user research and product strategy to their technical skills. Graduates from other disciplines learn to build and test their own working prototypes.
• AI to complement rather than replace skills. Students learn how to use AI to enhance their capabilities while using their own judgment and creativity.
• Industry in the classroom. Guest talks, workshops and mentoring bring practitioners into your learning, and industry advisers help shape how the course develops.
• Professional design methods and collaboration tools. You use the design methods and collaboration tools that product teams use every day, so the workplace will feel familiar from your first day.
• The whole product, not one slice of it. Analysis, design, development, and strategy are taught together, so you can understand a problem, design the solution, build it and make the business case.
• Open to any degree, complete in one year. The course leads to roles in product management, UX design, business analysis, software development and digital consultancy.

College of Business and Law Available Scholarships

We support our postgraduate community by offering scholarships and bursaries to prospective and current students. Please see the College of Business and Law Available Scholarships page for more information.

Skills and Careers Information

On this programme you will gain design, technical and commercial skills, and learn how to combine them.

• Design: Design thinking, UX and interaction design, service design, user research and usability testing, and design for global audiences.
• Technical: Python and web development, database design and management, data visualisation, and AI-assisted application development, so you can prototype and build working products.
• Commercial: Business and systems analysis, digital business models, digital transformation, data strategy, design leadership, and responsible, ethical innovation.

After you graduate, you will be ready to start your own digital business or join an established company. Our graduates have secured positions as product managers, UX designers, business analysts, systems analysts, programmers and consultants with Irish and multinational companies in fields as diverse as business consultancy, IT, telecommunications, banking, insurance, and pharmaceuticals.

Requirements

To apply for this course, you will have:

• A minimum Second Class Honours Grade 2 in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in any discipline.   

  Consideration under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) will be given to applicants who do not meet the minimum criteria but who have relevant professional experience.  

Fees and Costs

The EU fee for this course is €12,114.

The Non-EU fee for this course is €21,914.

How To Apply

The closing date for non-EU applications is Open until all places have been filled or no later than 15 June. Early application is advised.

Apply Now