Product development, MSc

120 credits
Image 1 of 1
Decorative image

Master multi-disciplinary product development while taking user needs and the full life cycle of a product into consideration. Product development is a core industrial activity encompassing a great many diverse challenges — a multidisciplinary process of identifying and imagining the wishes of companies, end users, and wider society, and bringing those wishes to reality.

Studying this master’s programme, you will acquire the knowledge and practical skills necessary to master multi-disciplinary product development while taking all phases of the product life cycle into consideration. After graduation, you will be well-placed for a variety of career paths, including R&D for large corporations, business development, start-up entrepreneurship, consultancy, or research.

Product development master's programme​ at Chalmers

Evolution never stops and customer expectations of products continue to grow. At the same time, resource consumption for both development and production is expected to decrease to ensure profitable business and a sustainable society.
Specifically, individual companies want to increase their competitive advantage by offering products that stand out from the competition. Moreover, modern development work is typically characterised by multi-disciplinary, international teamwork, as well as efforts to simultaneously consider several issues related to the product and its life cycle.

Product development is a core industrial activity that addresses all of these aspects – it is a multidisciplinary process of identifying and envisaging the needs of the user, company and society, and bringing those needs to life.

In this programme, you will acquire the knowledge and practical skills to master multi-disciplinary product development while taking all phases of the product life cycle into consideration. The course called “Product Development Project” is the most central part of the programme. Student teams plan and execute a product development project to solve an industrial problem in close collaboration with a partnered company.

You will also be given the opportunity to enrich your knowledge in business development, product innovation and manufacturing, which are the domains most related to product development. Thus, a master’s degree in product development provides a broad competence base, which is suitable for developing a career in R&D for large corporations, business development, start-up entrepreneurship, consulting and research. You will also have the opportunity to develop your interests by choosing courses offered in both technical and management areas.

The programme has helped me to go into the background and understand, iterate and reimagine what I thought the design process looked like

Atharva, IndiaStudent

Topics covered

The subjects of innovation and concept development are fundamental areas in the Product development master’s programme. The courses included in the programme plan handle topics such as production management and design.

Career

Graduates of the programme are equipped to move into all aspects of product development. The education leads to a wide range of career opportunities within the area of R&D, technical design, product development and testing, innovative business development, start-up entrepreneurship, project leadership, design consultant and research. The programme is suitable for varied industrial fields like automotive, aerospace, machinery, consumer product, biomedical, and electronics.
With a product development degree, you will become very attractive to the industry. Many of our graduates get their first jobs as product designers or project managers, harnessing the technical insights, skills in using advanced digital engineering tools, and the ability to lead teams in addressing complex and ambiguous tasks, developed in the programmes.

Research

Research and state-of-the-art knowledge in product development are inherently linked to course content and teaching since the majority of teachers are also active researchers. For instance, teachers and professors involved in the master’s programme in product development conduct research within the robust design, systems engineering, human factors and service development.
The current key product development research challenges are constituted by sustainability and digitalisation. Chalmers researchers are internationally recognised in both areas, particularly for our close collaboration with the industry to address these challenges. The programme provides a solid foundation for a future research career.​

Requirements

How to apply - From application to admission

This is a step-by-step guide on how to apply for a Master's programme at Chalmers University of Technology.