Master in Service Design

May 20th-21st-22nd

• 1st in Italy
• 4th in Europe
• 8th in the World

Politecnico di Milano - QS Ranking 2023 in Art&Design category

The Specializing Master in Service Design is an international training program focused on a user-centered approach and the development of service ideas from contextual research to prototyping.

Thanks to a proven and sound methodology that mixes theoretical knowledge with hands-on experiences that are renovated every year, and are enriched by always new lectures on topics at the forefront, each Master edition awards a new generation of designers that soon go feeding the ranks of renown design agencies, consultancies, companies, as well as public organizations and research centers.

In order to strengthen the student’s abilities, the Master program relies on an educational model that merges the acquisition of broad and multifaceted methodological knowledge and a learning-by-doing approach through:

• multidisciplinary modules,
• experimental projects with real companies coordinated by international academics and professionals,
• user research, concept generation & development, service prototyping.

The objectives of the Specializing Master are:

• to provide the specific training required to refine the design skills of students who have already acquired experience in the design sector;
• to enhance the basic skills of students with a background in other disciplines by furnishing them with theoretical knowledge and practical experience in service design;
• to furnish the means necessary to enhance the professional experience of students already in employment.

At conclusion of the program, the participants will be able to:

• Devise systemic innovation models for services
• Deploy theoretical skills to operate with complex system
• Use specific service design tools and manage redesign
• Observe & analyze user experience to construct a user-centered vision of complex interactions
• Manage service conception, design and development
• Foster entrepreneurship

Numerous employment opportunities are available to graduates from the Specializing Master in Service Design. Potential roles include:

• Service designer as a specialized consultant at a design agency.
• Service designer as a consultant or employee of public-sector organizations, research centers, enterprises, and authorities.
• Service designer as a consultant or employee of private-sector organizations, research centers, companies, and organizations.
• Service designer as a freelance or self-employed professional (start-up).

Didactic Plan

The Specializing Master program grants 60 CFU (Formative University Credits) equivalent to 60 ECTS.

The capability to manage complexity and act upon different design levels and the capacity for creativity and vision are the main features of a service design professional.

These skills will be acquired through a highly experimental approach based on learning modules divided into lectures and design activities - called Service Design Pills, Service Masterclasses, Service Design Workshops - each one led by a different faculty member and focusing on a different topic.

Didactic Modules

The Master is now starting its twelfth edition with a renewed program that includes more than thirty learning modules, clustered into the following categories:

• Service Design Basics & Tools
• Emerging Service Culture
• Service Business & Management
• Future Studies, Systems Thinking & Sustainable Design
• Human-Centered Innovation & Participatory Futures
• Emerging Technologies & Digital Services

The didactic path is composed by different kinds of learning modules:

• Lectures: theoretical lessons aimed at providing the disciplinary background and introducing extra-disciplinary knowledge;
• Service Design Pills: short design sessions aimed at putting into practice methods and tools on a simulated design challenge;
• Service Design Masterclasses: advanced lectures provided by renown experts on cutting-edge topics emerging in the service design community;
• Service Design Workshops: biweekly design labs that cover all the phases of the service design process, from research to prototyping, experimenting on a real brief proposed by a partner company.

And the field experience, which can be:

• Curricular Internship: 475 hours of training experience in a partner company or other companies suggested by participants; or
• Professionalizing Project: a scientific research activity that involves the in-depth study of issues shared between the Student and the Master Board.