Design Management Program (Postgraduate) (G401)

Canada

51

16

What will I learn?

FULL DESCRIPTION

This postgraduate program in Design Management builds the skills needed to lead a multidisciplinary design team. Students will learn how to develop design strategies for products and services based on business objectives. This program teaches practical tools and interpersonal facilitative skills, as well as the business knowledge required to manage a consultancy or corporate design division.

Who should take this program:

Design professionals with a global perspective who want to become active partners in helping firms develop and grow through expanded participation in strategic management.
Designers looking to enhance their career opportunities in supervisory or management positions.
Designers seeking to integrate strategic design into the workplace.
Designers with an entrepreneurial spirit looking to start their own company.

Courses in design process and strategy, project management, finance, team management, design research, contracts, business planning, communications and intellectual property protection complement a major studio course featuring real-world design projects. The courses cover the essential elements of a business strategy and how design contributes to the definition and realization of the strategy.

Your Field Education Options

A mandatory Design Management Internship (DESN1031) course is taken in Semester 2. An external field placement role is not guaranteed in this course; students who are not placed externally will be given a design management role within the School of Design or as part of George Brown College.

Program Learning Outcomes

The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

  • Manage multi-disciplinary design groups using practical working models of management systems.
  • Analyze evolving market needs to identify design strategies required for the development of new products and services.
  • Plan, implement and control project plans that are flexible and reflect the evolutionary environment of the design process.
  • Enhance leadership skills, management skills and design expertise through the development of personal professional development strategies and plans.
  • Establish working relationships with clients, customers and designers which maintain and strengthen their loyalty to their organization, as well as recognize design discipline protocols.
  • Develop and implement business strategies to recruit clients and new business opportunities.
  • Design and deliver sales presentations persuasively and accurately in oral, written, graphic and digital form.
  • Formulate and present comprehensive business plans for design projects.
  • Develop design strategies based on perceived value, competitive pressures and corporate objectives.
  • Evaluate results of design activities using criteria relating to application of best practices, costs and profits.

Which department am I in?

Centre for Arts, Design and Information Technology

Study options

Full Time (1 Year)

Tuition fees
CAD$23,026.00 (13,96,446) per year

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution

Start date

September 2025

Venue

Waterfront Campus

51 Dockside Drive,

TORONTO,

Ontario (ON),

M5A 0B6, Canada

Full Time (1 Year)

Tuition fees
CAD$23,026.00 (13,96,446) per year

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution

Start date

January 2026

Venue

Waterfront Campus

51 Dockside Drive,

TORONTO,

Ontario (ON),

M5A 0B6, Canada

Entry requirements

For international students

Diploma or Bachelor's Degree, or demonstrated competence through related work experience (resume required).

Applicants with transcripts from an institution where the language of instruction is not English may meet English language proficiency requirements with one of the following proofs of language proficiency.

  • George Brown English for Academic (EAP) Program - Level 9
  • IELTS (Academic) - 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each skill band
  • TOEFL - 88 (online) minimum 22 in each skill band
  • MELAB – 85
  • PTE (Academic) - 60, overall minimum; 55 in each skill band
  • CAEL - 70 overall (writing 60)
  • Cambridge English Exams (B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency) - 176 or more (with no individual skill below 169)

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.

ADD TO MY FAVOURITES

About George Brown College

George Brown College is a diverse and welcoming community located in the heart of downtown Toronto, Canada’s largest city.

  • Over 24,000 graduates of George Brown have leadership roles
  • Over 160 academic programs to choose from
  • 88 percent of graduates employed six months after graduating
  • 98 percent of programs include practical learning