
MDes City Design
Degree: Diplôme de design Bac +5 : master’s level degree
Prerequisites: 3 years of undergraduate studies in design
Admissions: Application website
Location: Nantes
Teaching language: French
Master’s level degree (Diplôme de design)
Work around the built environment and mobility and use your technical skills to become a designer project manager.
This MDes program leads to the master’s level degree (Diplôme de design) certified by the French Ministry of Higher Education.
The MDes City Design explores the concept of accessibility and co-design to create sustainable and innovative spaces, products and services, in all areas of application.
It is based on a human-centered and participatory approach, within a universal design (Design for all).
Other pathways
If you hold a bachelor degree in design and are interested in a program taught in English in Nantes, we suggest you : Le Studio France / City Design
INTÉGREZ UN CYCLE MASTER EN APPRENTISSAGE À LA RENTRÉE 2023
Vous avez 3 années d'études en design ?
Il est encore possible de candidater dans l'un de nos cycles master en apprentissage.
Les inscriptions se font uniquement via le site de candidature de l’école jusqu'au 1er octobre 2023.
Une question ?
Contactez-nous à l'adresse admissions@lecolededesign.com ou par téléphone au 02 51 13 50 70.
Curriculum
The MDes programs, established over two years, are organized in four semesters validated by 30 ECTS each. A consequent and increasing personal working time is expected for each module.
Semester 1
Students who are joining L’École de design Nantes Atlantique at postgraduate level benefit from an integration semester. The goal of this semester for students is to highlight and expand professional knowledge in the context of another culture.
Courses:
- Welcome, transcultural content & technical skills (78h)
- Integration & skills development – creativity, methodology, marketing and projects (190h)
- Optional courses (42h)
Students who completed their undergraduate studies at L’École de design spend this semester abroad, either in academic exchange or internship as a junior designer (13 weeks minimum).
Semester 2
During this semester, students learn how to manage complex design projects, deepen their knowledge of the economic, social and cultural aspects of the field covered in their program, build and apply a methodology and support their end-of-term project. studies, the subject of which they themselves define.
Teaching are delivered in the form of projects in partnership with industry, workshops, lectures, conferences and professional meetings.
Courses:
- Design projects and seminars (186h)
- TOEIC preparation and languages courses (44h)
- End of studies project and thesis workshop (60h)
- Professionalization & lab (32h)
- Competitions (40h)
Semester 1
Continuation and finalization of the end-of-studies project summarizing all the professional skills acquired. It can be conducted in collaboration with a company and / or research laboratory of a partner university. This personal end-of-studies project must be related to the program in which students are enrolled.
Supervision is ensured in the form of workshops under the direction of a referent designer, to which punctual speakers are associated. Writing a thesis in the theme of the project.
Courses:
- Initiation to law (15h)
- Introduction to management (15h)
- End of studies project and thesis workshop (112h)
- Professionalization & lab (120h)
- Competitions (40h)
Semester 2
The study program ends with a minimum of sixteen weeks (and a maximum of six months) internship within a company, in France or abroad.
Trainees work as junior designers and support all or part of a project.
The student must demonstrate his ability to integrate into a team, manage a project and develop all the sequences of the project for its smooth running. It allows the student to articulate all of his studies with what will be his first professional experience.
Depending on the professional project of the student, this internship can also take place within a company that the student will create, or even within a research laboratory.
Program taught in French.
Le Diplôme de design Bac +5 is awarded by the final jury to students who have obtained:
1. a minimum score of 800 points at the TOEIC test*;
2. a score greater than or equal to 10/20, which breaks down as follows:
- for 40%, mark attributed to continuous monitoring,
- for 60%, mark obtained at the final defense in September relating to the student's path (end-of-study project, internship and any other element chosen by the student).
More information on validation of the master's degree
La formation se fait en présentiel dans les locaux de L’École de design Nantes Atlantique. Elle se compose d'ateliers et des cours théoriques avec une méthode pédagogique expérientielle. Chaque étudiant à un accompagnement individuel tout au long de son parcours.
Admission requirements
This program is open to all applicants who either:
- hold a Bachelor’s Degree in design, or
- have completed three years of undergraduate studies in design, equating to at least 180 ECTS credits
You may apply before actually receiving the degree or having completed your undergraduate studies.
However, admission will only take effect once the degree is obtained or the undergraduate credits have been validated.
Applicants whose level we assess to be insufficient may be recommended to follow a semester or a full year in our 3rd Year of DN MADE / International Class before entering the master’s program.
Final admission will only take effect when the necessary visa is obtained, if applicable.
English
If you are not a native English speaker, we ask that you provide proof of your English proficiency (minimum level of 600 points at the TOEIC test or equivalent).
The Master’s degree being subject to the validation of 800 points in the TOEIC, you will be required to take the TOEIC exam during the course.
French
A French level equivalent to 4/B2 assessed by a TCF1 or DELF2 test is required to join the program.
Applications will be open on November 2023 for the academic year 2024-2025
They can only be done online on our application website
They are organized in 6 sessions from January to June
1. Online application and payment of the application fees (€50);
2. Uploading all the required documents for application;
3. Application file review and interview if your application file is accepted;
4. Publication of the admissions results at the end of each admission session;
French students and European Union students: €8,900 per year
Non-European Union students: €9,900 per year
+ CVEC (Student and campus life contribution): contribution set at just under €100 per year
CVEC website
The school itself does not offer any scholarship. However, according to your country of residence and your particular situation, different possibilities may be available to finance your studies in France: government grants, funding granted by international organizations and NGOs, private fellowships...
Campus France has a scholarship search engine which may help you identify a scholarship available in your situation (country of residence, degree being prepared etc.).
Academic calendar
The academic year runs from the beginning of September to the beginning of July for all our programs.
Academic Calendar 2023/2024 will start on:
- MDes 1st year / semester 1: September 2023
- MDes 1st year / semester 2: February 2024
- MDes 2nd year: September 2023
This date are provided for information purposes only and are subject to change.
For more information to help you to prepare your arrival & life in Nantes Studying in Nantes
Double degree
During their fifth year, students enrolled in a MDes program taught in French in Nantes can prepare a double degree to improve certain skills.
Teaching staff
Head of program
Florent Orsoni, Director of the City Design Lab
Educational Coordinator
Anaïs Jacquard
Job prospects and further education
- Working space
- Housing environment
- Public space
- Spatial design for event management
- Furniture
- Signage
- Scenography
- New urban services
As all our master programs, this MDes program leads to the Master’s level degree in design, certified by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research and registered in the Registre National des Certifications Professionnelles (the French directory for vocational qualifications or RNCP) as a Level 7 Master’s degree.
The Master’s level degree confers the "Grade de master", and you can pursue your education at a PhD level.
Partners
Banque Populaire Atlantique, COGEDIM, Groupe Bouygues Immobilier, La Poste, Nantes Métropole Habitat, Normall, Sigma Informatique, Tarkett
INNOVATHEQUE (center of innovative design material research), Institute for Human Centered Design
Ministry of Culture and Communication, Department of Loire-Atlantique, City of Nantes, Nantes Metropole, DREAL Pays de la Loire (Pays de la Loire Regional Directorate for the Environment, Development and Housing), Pays de la Loire Region , SAMOA (the company for the redevelopment of the western Atlantic urban area), Ecology, Ministry of Sustainable Development, Transport & Accommodation, AURAN (Nantes Metropole Urban Planning Agency), City of Saint Nazaire, CARENE-Saint Nazaire Agglomération
A question about this program? Contact us!
Degree: Diplôme de design Bac +5 : master’s level degree
Prerequisites: 3 years of undergraduate studies in design
Admissions: Application website
Location: Nantes
Teaching language: French