History of Design MSt

<strong>The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas</strong><br/><br/>he MSt in the History of Design focuses on design produced worldwide since 1851. Students progress from a grounding in material and historical analysis to dissertation research.<br/><br/>This course is not accepting applications this cycle, but is expected to reopen to applications in the next admission cycle. The information on this page has been retained to provide an indication of the course content in previous years. Fees and costs are only valid for the year which is shown and will usually increase annually. The University is under no obligation to deliver the same course in the future. This page may be updated at any time prior to the course re-opening to applications.<br/><br/>The MSt in the History of Design is a masters degree offered part-time over two years, taught through synchronous virtual and face-to-face teaching. The course is aimed at candidates who wish to develop a critical understanding of the history of design.<br/><br/>It explores the fascinating histories of objects and environments created amidst the advent of modernity. The syllabus examines a variety of forms of design and craft: graphic design, decorative arts, industrial design, fashion, design for performance and display, the designed space of interiors, the built environment and landscape.<br/><br/>Core themes of the course include the rivalries between historicism and modernity; local and transnational identities; handicraft and industrial and digital processes; consumption, politics and sustainability; critical debates about manufacturers, mediators, and audiences in advice literature, advertising and film writing.<br/><br/>The development of a framework of interdisciplinary interpretative skills useful to understanding the history of design is a core aim. By providing grounding in the analysis of the techniques and materials deployed in creating things or places, the course enables you to grapple with material evidence which enriches this distinctive field of historical research. The analysis of the historiography of political and aesthetic debates articulated by makers, critics and historians about design, its forms and purposes locates how these objects and sites embody historical memory, identity and ideology.<br/><br/>Course structure<br/>Teaching and learning takes a variety of forms in this course. Three mandatory residencies focused upon face-to-face site visits to the University of Oxfords unique museums and libraries and to collections nearby are blended with synchronous virtual seminars and workshops timed to be accessible worldwide outside conventional working hours. In keeping with the Oxford ethos, individual tutorials with course tutors and independent research are fundamental.