Umea's 1 year intensive?

Hi everyone,

First time poster, long time lurker

Umea Institute of Design offers a one year intensive program in ID in English. Can anyone vouch for this particular program? I know Umea University is highly regarded worldwide for its faculty of design, but I’m not sure about their Intensive program.

Also, if not Umea does anyone know of any other Industrial/Product Design programs (ideally a 180 credit BA) in Europe where tuition would be very inexpensive if not, free?

Thank you

First question, are you an EU citizen? Because if not, I’m not sure about the tuitions, but now studying in Germany and Austria is for free. In Germany you have a great bachelor in product design in Schwabisch Gmund. If you like transportation design, Pforzheim, GE and Graz, AT; have also good schools.

I would suggest you to check the Reddot and iF design school rankings, that would be an easy way of finding out names of good design schools in Europe.

Thanks for that IDAL,

Yes, I do have my EU citizenship but I’m not sure if I can reap the benefits of free tuition if I am not a permanent resident of the country I wish to study in. Obviously I understand that a BA is always more regarded than say a 1 year intensive program but I do have some time constraints and if the 1 year intensive at Umea is equally as regarded – it’s always an option.

Do you have a link to the course?
Are you sure it is not a foundation year, that just focuses on basic skills and building a competitive portfolio to be able to join a good BA course, not to compete for jobs with other BAs? I know some other school in Sweden had such a course…

To see if it’s an interesting option, try to find old student’s portfolios online. And get in touch with the school.

Maybe @Engio is right and it’s just a preparation year before applying for BAs. I think the best you can do is to send them an email, tell them your situation and ask for some advice.

If you have EU citizenship, you don’t have to pay fees in any of the countries that give free education to EU citizens. Once you are accepted, you register in the destination as a student and that’s all. Anyway, you can always contact them before hand to get some info and tips. However, I’m afraid is maybe too late to apply for the fall semester 2013.

This is the link for the program:



http://www.umu.se/english/education/courses-and-programmes/course-package?code=K5200

The course looks alright on paper, and the level of the school is good, so it should be interesting. Furthermore, they request that you have completed at least one year at uni, so you should expect a certain degree of performance. I’ve seen the also have graduates from other majors, usually people who already graduated take this courses in a much more serious and professional way. If it’s your first experience in ID and you can’t look up to doing anything else at the moment, I´d say go for it and apply.

Here you have more info and some interviews. The link you posted is to the Uni of Umea, this one is directly to the design institute

http://www.dh.umu.se/en/education/courses/industrial-design-intensive/

Close friends and classmates during my Masters attended the program and have only spoken very highly of it.
My classmates, who were successfully admitted to a competitive Masters program, had no previous design experience but definitely held their own.

It is a high pressure school and you will have to be ready for months of snow, ice and, worst of all, darkness.
But the community is great and the level of your peers in the other departments is world class.

What you will not have and what persuaded me from studying in metropolitan areas instead, is easy access to other forms of inspiration and travel. It would have been to small a place for me and I fear that frustration would have gotten the better of me.
If you haven’t yet, I would definitely have a look at a map and read up on Umea a little before committing.

However, for one year, it sounds like a fantastic opportunity to get a kickstart into ID. Good luck!

I guess a better question is: Would an employer considering the hiring a of recent graduate of this 1 year intensive program? How attractive is this particular program to a potential employer?

The recent grad’s portfolio would probably have a lot of influence in this.

That will depend on what you learn during this year, the companies pay attention to your portfolio and previous experiences. If you are very pro-active and motivated; and come up with some interesting and well-finished projects, there should be a chance. What is your experience right now? Do you already study a bachelor? what field?

Hi I will receive a bachelors of science in Retailing, a consumer driven business major, in May 2014. Would you recommend a program like this if I want to pursue Product Design? How would I benefit form this program versus a 4 year bachelor or masters program?

Hi, Im also interested in the IDI, since I have an concept design engineeing background and want to change in an ID direction. Do you know if there are also other schools offering something like this?