• Full-time program in English
• Full-time and part-time programs in Polish

Our study program combines practical skills, honed in our workshops, with theoretical background and tools of social sciences and humanities. Our goal is to shape designers of the future, creative thinkers, imaginative pragmatists, responsible designers, who, from the very beginning, will start searching for novel solutions to create a better world.

SWPS University’s School of Form offers a four-year undergraduate program in Design.

Download program

We will show you, step-by-step, what you can learn and who you can become by enrolling in our Design program:

 

start your journey

Product Design

choose a specialization

Communication Design

digital design

analogue

choose your tool tract

design

illustration

graduation project

1st year

2nd year

3rd year

4th year

1st year – experiment, discover, experience, and learn the basics of design

during the first year of study, all students follow the same curriculum, regardless of their choice of specialization that happens at the end of the first year. You will learn the basics of 2D and 3D design. In our state-of-the-art workshops, you will acquire basic manufacturing techniques, and learn how to use different tools and specialized equipment.

2nd year - choose a specialization

By the 2nd year, you will know how to use many tools, therefore, you will be able to focus on one of the two specializations: Communication Design or Product Design. Regardless of your selection, some of the classes will still be the same for all students.

3rd year - choose your tool tract

At the beginning of the third year, you will choose your tool tract, which means that from all the tools you have learned to use during the second year, you will focus on your favorite ones and practice skills related to the equipment that will become part of your future career.

Communication Design students may choose illustration or design, while Product Design students may opt between the analogue or digital design.

4th year - develop your graduation project

During the 4th year, you will work on your graduation project, under the supervision of two thesis advisors. The project will include both a design and a description components. Moreover, you will participate in some inter-specialization projects conducted in collaboration with our business and community partners, and you will complete a module that will help you to successfully enter the job market.

How is the program structured?

Every year of study consists of four 6-week quarters. Between each quarter, we have scheduled one, class-free, week for reviewing your projects or to provide you with an opportunity to attend special Master Classes.

Projects

The projects are focused on specific problems of the contemporary world. The courses include research and reflection rooted in humanities, social sciences, and business. These classes are taught jointly by designers and academic teachers specializing in humanities or social sciences. The projects equip you with comprehensive skills including: making prototypes, preparing technical documentation, and descriptions. Over the course of your studies, you will complete 10 projects: First year – 2 projects Second year – 4 projects Third year – 2 projects Fourth year – 2 projects At the end of the 4th year, these projects will become the basis of your portfolio.

Tools

These classes will allow you to acquire practical skills. You will learn how to use different tools by completing simple projects. For example: a wooden stool (woodworking), a porcelain dish (ceramics), furniture handle/knob (3D printing), object narration (film, photography), a film poster (typography), a computer/mobile app (UX/UI). These classes will help you to become familiar with the School of Form’s toolbox, and improve technical skills indispensable in the design profession.

Context

This module includes lectures and classes focused on selected aspects of social sciences and culture and religion studies, such as an analysis of contemporary design contexts. These classes will introduce you to basic research methods, teach you how to describe and interpret various phenomena and processes specific for these academic disciplines, and will teach you to critically assess your environment.

Master Classes

Master Classes are intensive five-day workshops that are scheduled during the class-free weeks. During Master Classes you will complete an entire project or task. These classes, addressed to the 2nd and 3rd year students, are led by our collaborators, renowned designers, who are professionally active in Poland and abroad. During Master Classes you will have an opportunity to learn about new tools and design strategies, but most of all, you will meet acclaimed individuals, specializing in design and related disciplines, such as science, art, and business.

Discover Design

Studios and Workshops

You will have an opportunity to work in our specialized studios and workshops equipped with state-of-the-art tools and machines. This way, you will be able to work on your own projects, including those extending beyond the curriculum, and consult your work with teachers. Some studios and workshops are accessible to students during school hours. Others are open at specific times and students may work there under the supervision of teaching assistants and specialists. This is what you will learn over the course of your studies:

Ceramics studio

Computer lab

Metal workshop

Numerical machines workshop

Photo-video studio

Robotics studio

Screenprinting studio

Sewing workshop

Woodworking workshop

Success Stories

Ladan Zadfar from Iran

Meet Ladan, a student of Design at SWPS University’s School of Form. Ladan is from Iran. She talks about her passion for design and why she decided to study at SWPS University.

Viktoria Hornanova from Slovakia

Meet Viktoria, a graduate of the Design program at SWPS University’s School of Form. Viktoria is from Slovakia. She talks about her experience of School of Form, what she has been doing after graduation, and how studying at SWPS University has shaped her.