| Dates: | Winter semester (October, 1st) // summer semester (April, 1st) |
| Contents: | Brand Innovation, Creative Concepts & Storytelling, UX Strategy, Creative Leadership, Creative Techs & Tools, Business Strategies, Coding for Beginners, Entrepreneurship, Practical Projects |
| Duration: | 3 semesters full-time or extra-occupational (24 months at 90 ECTS). Track shortening is possible if credit is recognised. |
| Credit Points: | 90 ECTS |
| Application Deadlines: | September, 15th // March, 15th |
| Languages: | English |
| Location: | Hamburg |
| Degree: | Master of Arts (M.A.) |
| Prospects: | e.g. as Design Researcher, Design Consultant, UX Researcher, Creative Strategist |
Design & Innovation
Master of Arts
Algorithms and artificial intelligence sound awfully important but also terribly complicated?
You don’t want to hold on to a craft the need for which might soon be gone?
User-centricity is more than just a phrase?
With us you can:
- Develop digital products and designs that are based on real user needs,
- understand disruptive technologies and apply digital tools,
- work creatively and strategically, implementing your own ideas.
In the new master’s programme Brand Innovation with a focus on Design & Innovation you will learn how to develop exciting products and services, create digital innovations and apply relevant technologies.
In small groups and a creative atmosphere, you’ll work on real projects with major corporations, agencies or startups, making valuable contacts for your future career path.
Design & Innovation at a glance
Impressions from the study
Profile
Design & Innovation – what you will learn:
Inventors, strategists and problem solvers have never been more in demand than they are today.
That’s why innovation is at the core of your studies: which methods, techniques and developments do I need to know? How do I create digital innovations? How can human behaviour and feelings be positively influenced by technology?
Technology & Creativity
In addition to a broad understanding of human-centered design processes, you’ll learn about disruptive technologies and get to know digital (and analog) methods and tools to generate and communicate new ideas and solutions that are used in practice.
You’ll develop routine in creative concepts, storytelling and UX strategy in order to understand modern digital user behavior, to design and implement user journeys.
You will also learn digital development environments and tools. Together with professionals, you’ll develop prototypes and your own applications for AR and VR. You’ll work with big data and learn to use artificial intelligence purposefully and creatively.
UX & Brand Thinking
Making a connection to marketing we will examine the benefits of UX thinking and its impact on branding.
Personality & Practice
In small groups you also expand your soft skills such as creativity, teamwork and leadership. Our dedicated professors, who are internationally experienced and successful strategists, consultants, designers, founders and executives, are committed to help you get the most out of your experience here.
Study flexibly: You can also attend modules from the Marketing or Entrepreneurship tracks.
In boot camps and practical projects, you will find solutions to real problems of well-known companies, agencies and startups – in Hamburg and abroad, if you wish.
“Today’s students might have a job after graduation that doesn’t exist yet. We will prepare you for the business requirements of today and the challenges of tomorrow.”
YOUR KNOWLEDGE IN REAL LIFE
Leading brand companies and established agencies are waiting for your input. You can apply your new knowledge in real projects with our partners such as Bosch, Beiersdorf and Thjnk. Contribute your ideas and expand your professional network by making valuable contacts.
Full-time Track with 90 CP:
1. Semester
- Brand Innovation
- Brand Thinking
- Digital Technologies & Development
- Creative Concepting & Storytelling
- UX Strategy
2. Semester
- Data Science
- Artificial Intelligence
- Brand Bootcamp
- Creative Leadership
- Creative Technology & Tools
3. Semester
- Practice Project
- Master Thesis
The programme Brand Innovation with focus on Digital Design provides you with the tools and the knowledge you need to understand and create digital innovations – for example, as a Creative Strategist, UX Researcher, Design Researcher or Design Consultant.
Career Opportunities
AlShiemaa Rafik
International Brand Communication M.A.
Marketing is a blend of science and art. Now, as a Branding Creative with Iconic, it is safe to say that I possess a mixture of both. I had joined Brand University of Applied Sciences as a design graduate with practical experience, but left with strategic experience and innovative thinking. One can be good at creating a design, but a failure at communicating it. BU managed to fill this gap by enabling me to oversee my designs and to drift into a wider scope where insights and visuals meet strategically and creatively.
Jia Cheng
International Brand Communication M.A.
Compared to my studies in China, learning was a completely different experience at BU. The teaching methods were very practice-oriented and we had plenty of opportunities to work on real-life business tasks. Moreover, the intercultural environment gave me a fresh perspective on design and brand communication. In sum, my studies not only played an important role in preparing me for my current job as Designer and Brand Consultant at Brandway, but also in winning a German Design Award 2018.
Juliana Mara Ferreira Martins, Brazil,
International Brand Management
Being a student at Brand University of Applied Sciences is great:
The Professors are highly skilled and have long experience in brand and marketing management, plus they are friendly and always make sure students are feeling welcomed.
The facilities are well structured and the staff are always seeking to keep an organic and nice atmosphere at the university. The classes are carefully prepared and taught, I always learn something new and interesting that helps me grow as a future brand manager.
I could see from day one that, applying for a master program at Brand University of Applied Sciences was my best decision as a student.
Ayla Hourani, Bahrain
International Brand Communication
Originally Palestinian, born in Bahrain, lived in Denmark, moved back to Bahrain, then Lebanon, followed by The States, and finding myself in Germany, I thought this was as international as cultural exposure can get. But then I started my masters program at Brand University of Applied Sciences. My class consists of 70% international students, and 30% German (from different areas). That is the true cultural exposure.
With no doubt, Germany has a reputable standard when it comes to many elements – especially education. But the Brand University of Applied Sciences has exceeded that reputation. Not only are the courses offered in a project-based learning system, the university is based in the center of the manufacturing world. Collaborating with well-established companies allows us, as students, to start our careers with professional teacher-supervision.
The university also allows us to create learning environments by encouraging participation and mistakes. Project briefs are announced vaguely, and we then have the opportunity to choose the path we want to take. Working in groups of students with different backgrounds allows you to choose the one that interests you most – be it design or market-research oriented. This approach, along with the smaller-class systems, develops personal teacher-student relationships enhancing both challenges: intellectually and socially.
Larissa Böhm, Germany,
International Brand Communication
The students in the Master’s degree course International Brand Communication come from many different backgrounds and countries.
This helps in developing new ideas since everyone views a topic from different angles.
This university pushes you out of your comfort zone to get you to view topics on other angles.
Ana Maria Bernal Suarez, Colombia,
International Brand Communication
Brand University of Applied Sciences is the university where BRANDS is the common language. People from different parts of the world are united around by the same subject. One of the biggest reasons, why studying here is so interesting, is the cultural interaction that makes an in depth analysis more internationally oriented.
People from all over the world with one language in common: BRANDS. It is not easy to find a university that specializes in brands and even harder to find one that knows the scale and influence, which the brands have in each culture.
Some, like me, have to fly 9.200 km to find the perfect place to study, because not everywhere you can find a university that is so unique like Brand University of Applied Sciences. In BU everyone, no matter where they come from, is thinking in the same line and that´s what makes it so interesting and special.
New country, new city, new university, new friends, new culture, but same language: BRANDS. When you have found what you want, it is easy to change everything in your life, in order to have it. The good thing is, that BU makes everything to make you feel like at home.
Study fees
Brand University of Applied Sciences is a state-approved private university and thus fully funded by tuition fees.
The full-time regular programme with 90 CP lasts 18 months.
By taking credits and non-academic skills into account, you can take the fast track and shorten your studies to 9 or 12 months.
You can also study part-time with a regular study period of 24 months at 90 CP.
STUDY FEES EU:
The cost per CP is € 178.
There is a € 890 one-time enrollment and examination fee.
Tuition fees for full-time study with 90 CP for students from Germany and the EU:
€ 890 per month
Total fees: € 16.910
STUDY FEES NON-EU:
The cost per CP is € 228.
There is a € 1.150 one-time enrollment and examination fee.
Tuition fees for full-time study with 90 CP for students from outside the EU:
€ 1.140 per month
Total fees: € 21.670
There may be exceptions for long-term EU residents.
Financing
- You can obtain funding according to the Federal Law on Support in Education (BAföG).
- Your contact for all financing questions is the Advisory Center of Student Finance.
- In addition, students of Brand University of Applied Sciences can receive financial support from foundations or financial institutions in Hamburg and beyond.
- At the federal level the Reconstruction Loan Corporation (KfW) offers the “KfW Student Loan”.
The BU Scholarship Programme
Our Master’s programme brings together students from all over the world.
Each culture is unique – each brings its own perspective, mindset and different
ways of solving problems. In this intercultural diversity, students can share their
knowledge, learn valuable things from each other and embrace challenges together.
Therefore, in support of an open and global society, we want to give talented
young professionals from around the world the opportunity to apply for our
BA Scholarship Programme. For the summer semester 2020, partial scholarships
of 25% and 50% will be awarded. The scholarship applies to the entire course
of study.
If you have any questions, please contact
our application manager Anna Prokhorenko:
Fon +49 (0) 40 380 893 56-23
WhatsApp +49 160 – 5566783 (werktags 9-16 Uhr)
Mail anna.prokhorenko@brand-university.de
Skype anna_brand_academy
Two ways of getting a scholarship
Scholarships for workshop participants
Applicants who take part in the Brand University Master Workshop are given the chance to receive a scholarship. The next workshop will take place at the beginning of 2020, the exact date will be announced shortly.
Your application documents, your academic and professional career so far as well as outstanding performance in the workshop will be taken into account in the decision for awarding the scholarships.
Scholarships for international applicants
In order to promote intercultural diversity at Brand University of Applied Sciences, international applicants who are unable to attend the Masters workshop in Hamburg are given the opportunity to receive a scholarship through the individual application process.
The decision is based on a letter of motivation in which you explain your suitability for the scholarship, your application documents, your academic and professional career so far and the interview, which can be conducted via Skype.
The decision about the granting of scholarships to international applicants will be announced after December 15th.
Following admission requirements apply to the Master’s programme:
- first university degree in a related field with at least 210 CP
- first university degree in a related field with at least 180 CP and relevant professional experience of at least one year worth 30 CP
- first university degree in a related field with at least 180 CP and acquisition of 30 CP through additional studies at Brand University
- first university degree in a non-thematic area of at least 210 CP and a completion of a topic-related bridging course
- first university degree in a non-thematic area of at least 180 CP, relevant professional experience of at least one year worth 30 CP and a completion of a topic-related bridging course
Please find detailed information on formal requirements on the application form.
After we examine your application documents, our application manager Anna Prokhorenko and our course director Prof. Dr. Limon-Calisan are happy to meet you in a personal interview and to learn more about your individual career, your professional attitude and your personal goals in connection with your studies.
After successfully completing the interview, you will be admitted to the programme.
Application deadlines
Applicants who do NOT need an entry visa for Germany:
- September 15th and March 15th
Applicants who need an entry visa for Germany:
- June 30th and December 15th
Application deadline Summer semester: March 15th
Advisory Service
Do you have questions about our degree program? We are happy to advise you.
Anna Prokhorenko
Advisory Service
Fon +49 40 38089356-23
WhatsApp +49 160 – 5566783 (weekdays 9 am to 4 pm)
Mail anna.prokhorenko@brand-university.de