Cambridge University announces new course, the Design Tripos

The new course, a four-year Master of Design degree, will bring together architecture, engineering and material sciences.


Cambridge University has announced a new course, the Design Tripos, which will start in October 2024.

The course, the product of collaboration between the Departments of Architecture, Engineering and Materials Science & Metallurgy,  will bring together arts and sciences to help address global challenges by better understanding how design affects everything – from people to economies.

“It’s pioneering – we’re merging the arts and sciences under the umbrella of creativity and design, and constructing the course to be as open and interesting as possible,” said Michael Ramage, Director of Cambridge’s Centre for Natural Material Innovation, and Deputy Head of the University’s Department of Architecture. “We don’t know of any other single degree course that brings these three subjects together like this.”

It is hoped that the degree will help to address the gender imbalance in subjects such as engineering, which has less than 40 per cent female applicants. It will also consider global challenges in a holistic way through a more multi-disciplinary approach.

Ramage added, “Pressing challenges – such as achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and reaching sustainable development for all – are likely to be addressed directly as design challenges, rather than as separate mathematical or engineering challenges. They don’t fit into a neat academic box; unlocking creativity requires collaboration and knowledge across a variety of disciplines.”

Professor Graham Virgo, Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, said: “The Design Tripos will teach both the ‘know-how’ and the ‘know-what’ to help develop the next generation of pioneers and leaders in industry, public service and society.

“The course is aimed at students who are thinking about global problems and want to learn how they can do something to help. We also know that employers are increasingly looking for multidisciplinary knowledge and team-working skills, and so the Design Tripos also anticipates the hybrid jobs of the future.”

The Design Tripos is said to be unique in its composition and was designed entirely from scratch by the University and Departments.

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