Overview

About the programme

Complexity and Design at The Open University UK focuses on:

‘complexity as characteristic of design and innovation’ (e.g. studying complex phenomena and processes such as social innovation, teamwork, cognitive processes, or policy design)
‘complexity as a critical problem in design’ (e.g. studying and developing methods to manage and reduce complexity in design teams or processes)
‘complexity as a set of methods and tools for design practice and research’ (e.g. studying and applying complexity methods such as multi-agent systems or neural networks to generate design ideas, solve design problems or simulate design phenomena)
‘complexity as a theory of design and innovation’ (e.g. using complexity as a set of epistemological concepts that can help us approach reality and understand design processes, design capabilities, design products, design transitions).

Programme Structure

Research includes various topics such as:

application of complexity theory and hypernetwork theory in the design of sociotechnical systems, social design processes, innovation, design process
development of approaches, methods and computational tools to address complex issues that arise in design
simulation and modelling of very large sociotechnical systems (e.g. cities, transportation systems); simulation and modelling of design cognition, design teams and organisations
development of complexity theory of design and innovation in relation to wide areas of design including social design, policy design, collaborative design, sustainable design, community-led design, social innovation, cities, product design, engineering design and manufacturing
design of autonomous machine systems, including cooperating and swarm robots education and entertainment robotics
machine vision and intelligent geometry; pattern recognition; computer vision

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 36 months
Part-time
- 72 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2025-10-01 00:00:00
- Apply before 2025-04-01 00:00:00
Starting 2026-02-01 00:00:00
- Apply before 2025-04-01 00:00:00

More details

Application period: January to April

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

87

Delivered

On Campus

Disciplines

Design View 41 other PhDs in Design in United Kingdom

Academic requirements

GPA

Upper Second Class

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

87

Student insurance

Make sure to cover your health, travel, and stay while studying abroad. Even global coverages can miss important items, so make sure your student insurance ticks all the following:

Additional medical costs (i.e. dental)
Repatriation, if something happens to you or your family
Liability
Home contents and baggage
Accidents
Legal aid

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Other requirements

General requirements

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

Tuition Fee

To always see correct tuition fees

International

15456 GBP/year

Tuition Fee

Based on the tuition of 15456 GBP per year during 36 months.
National

4712 GBP/year

Tuition Fee

Based on the tuition of 4712 GBP per year during 36 months.

Living costs for Milton Keynes

848 - 1345 GBP /month

Living costs

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for Complexity and Design.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

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