Degree structure

The Bachelor's program of Industrial Design (ID) is part of the TU/e Bachelor College.  

The Bachelor’s program of ID consists of diverse learning components:

• ID obligatory courses – these are the basis for the ID major and include engineering courses and design courses to provide for solid foundations of knowledge to help define your learning objectives. 
• Electives – develop your competencies in the field of Industrial Design or learn to make the connection between the technology and societal context in which you will operate as engineer.
• ID Professional Identity & Vision (PI&V) Learning Line defined in terms of learning outcomes on professional and personal development with strong emphasis on Self-Directed Learning (SDL), integrated as part of the different study components.
• A Challenge-Based Learning line (CBL) – a series of design/design research projects on sociotechnical challenges to work across borders and disciplines and collaborate and communicate in multi- or interdisciplinary teams. During the projects, you integrate the approach, skills and knowledge from the various areas of expertise, learn about design and research processes and develop your professional skills.
• An Impact of Technology (ITEC) program – to ensure that all Bachelor’s students are aware of and have learned how to rigorously assess the impact of technology on people and society, and integrate user, society, and enterprise considerations in the engineering design and/or research process, with an ethical attitude.
• External learning activities – internships, courses from different programs or at other Dutch universities, or a foreign exchange program.

In the first year you become familiar with the four areas of expertise that contribute to the field of Industrial Design. These are:

• Creativity and Aesthetics (CA)
• User and Society (US)
• Technology and Realization (TR)
• Mathematics, Data and Computing (MDC)

You take three basic courses on Calculus, Applied Physics and Data Analytics for Engineers and two major design courses on TR and MDC, choose two design projects to learn and integrate competencies of CA, US, TR and MDC and follow the basic ITEC course on Engineering Ethics.  In total, you spend slightly more than one third of the academic year on design projects in given societal contexts. You choose projects that align with your own learning objectives and present your results in a public interactive presentation, the "Demo Day", at the end of each semester.

You follow the PI&V 1 course to start to develop your own professional identity as a designer and your vision about the future of society, emergent technologies and the future role of academic designers or design researchers in shaping that relationship.

In the second year, you choose a design/design research project in one of the societal contexts. You choose projects that align with your own learning objectives and present your results in a public interactive presentation, the "Demo Day", at the end of each semester.

You also take three design courses, linked to the areas of expertise CA, BE and US. In addition, you choose a multi-departmental CBL course in the last quartile of the second semester. You choose in total four electives with one at each quartile of the year.

You follow the PI&V 2 course to continue developing your development on professional identity and vision.

The third year is all about strengthening your vision and professional identity and about demonstrating your design competences in an independent design project.

In the first semester you gain experience beyond the boundaries of the department. Where you will go depends on your personal learning objectives. The options are:

• An exchange program with an international university affiliated with the Department of Industrial Design.
• An internship at a design agency, a research department or design department at a Dutch company or abroad.
• Taking electives at a different department or university in the Netherlands (minor).

In the first semester, you finalize your PI&V Learning Line by taking the PI&V 3 course with which you also define clearly your learning objectives for your Final Bachelor's Project. In the second semester you take the ITEC advance course on Engineering for Society study component, one elective and complete your bachelor's degree with the Final Bachelor Projects (FBP).

Do you want to know more about the curriculum of the bachelor's program of Industrial Design or the Final Bachelor's Project? Check out the 

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