I joined BESIGN just after high school and followed the five-year curriculum, which allowed me to fully train for the profession of sustainable innovation designer.
Our training emphasizes product design while integrating graphic design, service design, space and UI/UX. We are trained in the entire design process: from analyzing user needs to taking technical constraints into account, including studying the existing market.
This versatility gives us a global understanding of design, while the specialization in sustainable innovation, increasingly sought after, enables us to bring a fresh perspective and real added value to every project.
MASTER'S
Start date
September
Admission
From Bac +3
Language
of instruction
of instruction
English
Duration
2 years
Certification RNCP
Master’s in Design
in Sustainable Innovation
Format
Full-time or Work-study
Master's Design in Sustainable Innovation
A Master's A unique program that turns design into impact
The Master’s in Design for Sustainable Innovation trains strategic profiles capable of steering the ecological and social transition of companies and territories. Combining prospective design, field research, and innovation management, this program enables students to design concrete responses to complex human and environmental challenges.
Resolutely career-oriented, the curriculum immerses students in real challenges through partnership projects carried out each semester with companies and institutions. Available as a work-study program or full-time study with a 6-month professional internship, the pathway enables students to apply their methods directly in the field and accelerate their entry into working life.
Curriculum
A international Master’s program
MASTER'S 1
The first year focuses on applied creativity, research, and team project management. In an experimental studio, students explore emotional design and develop solutions focused on user experience and civic impact. They learn to draw inspiration from living systems through biomimicry methods, integrate generative artificial intelligence thoughtfully, and practice team facilitation through collective intelligence.
MASTER'S 2
The second year focuses on implementation and individual expertise. Students conduct in-depth research leading to a thesis and their final-year project. They integrate key concepts such as life cycle assessment (LCA), regenerative business models, and design semiotics. Throughout the year, they receive individual coaching from a panel of professional experts to refine their vision, validate development milestones through reviews, and present their final project to a jury.
This program is available as a work-study pathway, a preferred format that alternates theoretical training with professional experience in a company. Work-study encourages concrete immersion in sustainable design practices and accelerates professional integration through the regular application of acquired skills.
For those who prefer to fully focus on courses and academic projects, the program is also available full-time, complemented by a 6-month professional internship.
The learning objectives of the program
The Master’s in Design for Sustainable Innovation at BESIGN The Sustainable Design School trains professionals capable of taking on key roles in agencies, companies, or international institutions.
By combining applied research and field practice, the program teaches students to transform environmental constraints into concrete and viable solutions. From user-needs analysis to business models and technical feasibility, they lead real projects from end to end. They master essential tools—eco-design, biomimicry, circular economy—while developing the operational leadership needed to guide multidisciplinary teams and defend their choices to decision-makers.
This curriculum prepares students for the certified title of “Designer,” a Level 7 professional certification (RNCP36106), delivered in partnership through L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique.
Project management, leadership, and professional transformation
- Innovation project management (BElab & Degree Project): develop a complex innovation brief, and autonomously plan and manage the team’s resources and skills.
- Management and ethical leadership: Develop multidisciplinary team-management skills, ensure operational coordination of partnerships, and uphold ethics and environmental responsibility.
- Immersive practice (Thinking by making): Collaborate during intensive workshops (bootcamps), give concrete form to a design approach in the workshop, and manage complex professional contexts.
Culture, research, and highly specialized knowledge
- Design & Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Develop cross-disciplinary critical awareness and integrate knowledge of the UN’s 17 SDGs into the creative and prospective approach.
- Research methodology & thesis: Select and critically analyze specialized resources to write a high-level research thesis.
Eco-design, strategic tools, and creativity
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) & systems thinking: Solve complex problems by taking into account technological constraints, material choices, recycling, and LCA within industrial or urban ecosystems.
- Biomimicry & innovation: Mobilize scientific knowledge and observe the principles of biological systems to formulate original eco-designed thinking.
- User Experience (UX) & Design Fiction: Decode future trends, conduct in-depth user research, and design innovative, inclusive, user-centered proposals.
Communication, entrepreneurship, and value creation
- Business strategy & intellectual property: Understand the fundamentals of marketing, brand theory, intellectual property, and the administration of design practices.
- AI Design Strategy : Identify advanced digital uses and integrate artificial intelligence ethically.
- Promotion and defense (Grand Jury): Position oneself as an expert in the international market, validate performance during company immersion, then explain and defend the uniqueness of one’s approach before an independent professional jury.
Progression and careers:
- Eco-responsible product assistant designer
- Eco-design consultant
- Prototypist - 3D modeler
- Graphic designer
- Industrial designer specialized in sustainability
- Social Innovation Assistant
Accessibility:
Program accessible to people with disabilities. Our disability advisor is available to analyze your specific needs and implement the necessary accommodations (pathway, exams, FabLab access): amandine.juglaret@besignschool.com.
Doing your Master's through work-study
The work-study Master’s combines academic rigor and professional immersion to train operational, committed designers capable of leading sustainable innovation projects in companies.
This program enables students to develop skills in design, creative strategy, and responsible innovation while continuously confronting them with the realities of the professional world.
Within the school, students deepen their understanding of systemic design, biomimicry, life cycle assessment, user experience, branding, and project management methodologies. In companies, they actively participate in innovation projects, contribute to the design of sustainable products, services, or systems, and develop their ability to work in teams, engage with different professions, and carry a strategic vision.
The work-study Master’s is designed for students who want to give their training a strong professional dimension, accelerate their entry into the job market, and become committed actors in the sustainable transition within organizations.
Work-study access conditions:
Access to the work-study Master’s is subject to regulatory conditions. Applicants must be French nationals or have completed at least one year of study in France before the program starts, and must hold a residence permit authorizing work-study employment, in accordance with current legislation.
82%
Diploma success rate
Net employment rate within 6 months
91%
Key figures
A program professionnalisante
+120
alumnis
+100
institutions
partenaires
Projects
Our Besigners' projects
Testimonials
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