As a Doctor of Philosophy and Graduate Certificate of Research and Innovation Management (Design) candidate, you'll undertake supervised research with the aim of making a significant and original contribution to a discipline or profession. The research you'll undertake may be pure, exploratory, applied, experimental and/or creative. Our program coursework supports the development of research and career skills.
Research areas
Industrial Design
New Product Development
Innovation
Design for Health/MedTech
Information Design
Skills you’ll learn
Independent thinking
Decision-making skills
Good judgement
Logical thought
Project management skills
Data analysis
Your career opportunities
Academic
Design Researcher/Design consultant
Entrepreneur
Business development
Analyst – policy, market, quantitative
*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution
1 January 2025, 1 July 2025
Swinburne University of Technology
Hawthorn Campus,
John Street,
HAWTHORN,
Victoria,
3122, MELBOURNE, Australia
Applicants must have completed at least four years (or equivalent) of tertiary education studies in a relevant discipline at a high level of achievement, and must have been approved for the award of the degree(s) for which they studied.
A high level of achievement is defined as the equivalent of a four year Swinburne Honours degree that includes a significant research component in the fourth year, leading to an Honours degree class 1 (average grade between 80-100) or class 2A (average grade between 70-79) level.
Four years of tertiary studies can be demonstrated by the completion of any of the combinations of qualifications below, at the required standard of achievement:
a Bachelor’s degree (three or four years) and a Masters by Research; or
a Bachelor’s degree (three or four years) and an Honours year; or
a Bachelor’s degree (three or four years) and a Masters by Coursework; or
a Bachelor’s degree (three or four years) and a postgraduate diploma in Psychology; or
a Bachelor’s degree (four years) in an approved discipline.
English language requirements
minimum IELTS overall band of 6.5 (Academic Module) with no individual band below 6.0 or a TOEFL iBT (internet-based) minimum score of 79 (with a reading band no less than 18 and writing band no less than 20); or Pearson (PTE) 58 (no communicative skills less than 50) no longer than 24 months before submitting your application
satisfactory completion of Swinburne’s English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Advanced level certificate at the postgraduate level (EAP 5: PG-70%)
successful completion of a total of 24 months (full time equivalent) of formal study where the language of instruction and assessment was English at AQF level 7 or above (or equivalent) at an approved university no longer than 60 months before submitting your application.
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.
Swinburne is one of the world’s top young universities, offering industry-aligned courses taught by teachers who are experts in their field.