Prozess- und Produktdesign (B.A.)
DIPLOMA Hochschule Hamburg · Hamburg, Germany
QS World University Ranking: N/A
Quick Overview
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Prozess- und Produktdesign (B.A.) an der DIPLOMA Hochschule ist ein gestalterisches Bachelor-Studium, das Prozessdesign und Produktdesign miteinander verbindet. Du lernst, Produktentwicklungen von der ersten Idee bis zum fertigen Werk strukturiert zu planen, auszuarbeiten und zu präsentieren.
Das Studium ist als Fernstudium organisiert und kombiniert kreative und technische Inhalte mit praxisorientierten Projekten. Die Praxisphase ermöglicht es dir, erworbenes Wissen im gestalterischen Bereich in Unternehmen anzuwenden, bevor dein Studium mit Bachelor-Thesis und Kolloquium abschließt.
🎯 Course & Curriculum
Course structure
- Methodik: academic work methods and transfer into design concepts
- Designgrundlagen: idea-finding, first tactile modelling experience, and basics of photography
- Grundlagen des Produktdesigns: spatial design methods and understanding formal aesthetics
- Designgeschichte: design, architecture, art, and media history with design responsibility
- Digitales Designmodeling: digital design and construction competencies for product and space design, including VR and AR in the design process
- Material, Werkstoffe und Fertigung: material properties and manufacturing methods, including selection of appropriate procedures and eco/financial considerations
- Design und Technologie: generative design, algorithmic modelling, and product data management, mechanics, and mechatronics in context with design
- Darstellen Produkt und Raum and Rendering und Entwurfstechnik: technical drawing and advanced rendering/design visualization
- 3d_visualisierung und Animation: photorealistic renderings and product presentation videos
- Produktvermarktung and Product Design Value: product marketing, contract and product liability basics, and value communication/innovation approaches
- Nachhaltiges Produktdesign and Menschzentriertes Prozessdesign: sustainable product design methods and user/process-centred design
- Existenzgründung im Design: business plan foundations for starting a design business
- Innovation, Produktdesign und Digitalität and Design und smarte Digitalität: AI/robotics/VR/AR and future mobility/place-based smart design concepts
- Praxisphase: applying knowledge by working with companies in the design field
- Bachelor-Thesis und Kolloquium: thesis plus a practical project and presentation (colloquium)
Curriculum
The 180 ECTS curriculum combines design methodology, product-design foundations, digital modelling, materials and manufacturing, visualisation, sustainable and human-centred design, business preparation, one elective specialisation, an 18 ECTS practice phase, and the bachelor’s thesis with colloquium.
| Semester | No. of modules | Module / subject category | ECTS / CP | Semester total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Module 1 | 1 module with 2 components | Methodik | 5 | 5 ECTS |
| Berufsfeld Gestaltung | ||||
| Technik wissenschaftlichen Arbeitens | ||||
| Module 2 | 1 module with 3 components | Designgrundlagen | 14 | 14 ECTS |
| Designprozess und Konzeption | ||||
| Modellbau, Bild und Digitalisierung | ||||
| Grundlagen der Typografie | ||||
| Module 3 | 1 module with 2 components | Grundlagen des Produktdesigns | 8 | 8 ECTS |
| Selbstkompetenzen im Design | ||||
| Grundlagen der dreidimensionalen Gestaltung | ||||
| Module 4 | 1 module | Designgeschichte | 5 | 5 ECTS |
| Module 5 | 1 module with 2 components | Designtheorie | 9 | 9 ECTS |
| Sprache und Kommunikation | ||||
| Design und Ethik | ||||
| Module 6 | 1 module with 2 components | Digital Design Modeling | 10 | 10 ECTS |
| CAD-Konstruktion | ||||
| Digital Modeling und XR | ||||
| Module 7 | 1 module with 2 components | Material, Werkstoffe und Fertigung | 8 | 8 ECTS |
| Materialkunde | ||||
| Werkstoff- und Fertigungstechnologie | ||||
| Module 8 | 1 module with 2 components | Design und Technologie | 8 | 8 ECTS |
| Generatives Design | ||||
| Product Design Engineering | ||||
| Module 9 | 1 module with 2 components | Darstellen Produkt und Raum | 10 | 10 ECTS |
| Darstellen Produkt und Raum I | ||||
| Darstellen Produkt und Raum II | ||||
| Module 10 | 1 module with 2 components | Rendering und Entwurfstechnik | 7 | 7 ECTS |
| Rendering-Techniken im Entwurfsprozess | ||||
| Digital Sketching im Entwurfsprozess | ||||
| Module 11 | 1 module with 2 components | 3D-Visualisierung und Animation | 10 | 10 ECTS |
| CGI-Rendering | ||||
| Bewegtbild und Motiondesign | ||||
| Module 12 | 1 module with 2 components | Produktvermarktung | 10 | 10 ECTS |
| Produkt- und Designrecht | ||||
| Produktmarketing, Selbstvermarktung und Business Development | ||||
| Module 13 | 1 module with 3 components | Product Design Value | 12 | 12 ECTS |
| Designsprache | ||||
| Ergonomic Design | ||||
| Future Thinking and Innovation | ||||
| Module 14 | 1 module with 2 components | Nachhaltiges Produktdesign | 8 | 8 ECTS |
| Eco Design | ||||
| Local Design | ||||
| Module 15 | 1 module with 2 components | Menschzentriertes Prozessdesign | 10 | 10 ECTS |
| Prozessdesign | ||||
| Usability und Interaktion | ||||
| Module 16 | 1 module with 2 components | Existenzgründung im Design | 5 | 5 ECTS |
| Überblickswissen Markt- und Unternehmensmechanismen des Designs | ||||
| Existenzgründung im Design | ||||
| Elective module | Choose 1 of 2 elective modules | Innovation, Produktdesign und Digitalität | 11 | 11 ECTS from one selected module |
| Design und smarte Digitalität | ||||
| Angewandtes Projekt: Innovation, Produktdesign und Digitalität | ||||
| Raum, Design und Mobilität | 11 | |||
| Raum und Mobilität | ||||
| Angewandtes Projekt: Raum, Design und Mobilität | ||||
| Practice phase | 1 practice module | Praxisphase | 18 | 18 ECTS |
| Final module | 1 final module | Bachelor-Thesis und Kolloquium | 12 | 12 ECTS |
| Total | 16 compulsory modules, 1 of 2 elective modules, a practice phase, and the bachelor’s thesis with colloquium | 180 ECTS | ||
Career outcomes
- You build a job-ready profile for product design roles that require you to connect concept development with real production realities.
- You develop in-demand technical design skills such as digital design modelling, rendering, and 3D visualization—useful for modern design workflows in Germany.
- You gain practical product thinking through modules on user/process design and sustainable product design, helping you contribute to user-centred and sustainability-driven product development.
- You graduate with design business knowledge through product marketing, product liability basics, and design value/innovation topics—supporting careers in design teams inside product companies.
- The practice phase and your Bachelor thesis help you translate your skills into a portfolio of applied design work that you can present to employers.
Employability rate
For graduates in product design in Germany, employability is typically around 82% with an unemployment rate of about 18%, reflecting steady hiring for design and product-development profiles across industry and service companies.
Overall, these figures indicate a generally stable outlook, especially for graduates who can show practical design work and digital production-ready skills.
✅ Entry Requirements
Academic qualification
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| School-leaving qualification for university access | International applicants may gain access to the Bachelor programme with an equivalent foreign school-leaving qualification that grants university admission. If you do not meet the usual school-based access route, the university indicates that alternative access routes may exist, but the exact option depends on your individual background and needs to be clarified via the admissions service. |
| Equivalency check for foreign qualifications | If you submit foreign qualifications, you must demonstrate their equivalence for admission. The university states that foreign qualifications are checked for eligibility as part of the admission process. |
Language requirements
The programme is taught in German. International applicants with foreign qualifications must provide evidence of German-language proficiency at a minimum of CEFR level B2. DIPLOMA lists recognised examples such as TestDaF, FaDaF and telc; applicants should confirm the accepted certificate and required result with the university before applying.
💶 Fees & Funding
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition (42-month plan) | EUR 11214 / total program | EUR 267 per month for 42 monthly instalments. A separate one-time examination fee of EUR 695 applies. |
| Tuition (54-month plan) | EUR 11718 / total program | EUR 217 per month for 54 monthly instalments. A separate one-time examination fee of EUR 695 applies. |
| Tuition (72-month plan) | EUR 12744 / total program | EUR 177 per month for 72 monthly instalments. This is the lowest advertised monthly payment and does not include the one-time examination fee. |
| Examination fee | EUR 695 / one time | One-time examination fee charged in addition to the selected tuition instalment plan. |
Proof of financial resources
Bangladeshi applicants seeking a German student visa must demonstrate sufficient funds for their studies through an accepted form of financial evidence. The German Embassy in Dhaka may request further documentation and its requirements can change.
- A German blocked account in the applicant’s name showing at least EUR 11,904, with access restricted to EUR 992 per month for 12 months, including the bank handling fee.
- The blocked-account process must be fully completed: the account must be opened, the money transferred, and the funds credited before the Embassy assesses the documents. An account-opening or transfer confirmation alone is insufficient.
- Alternatively, provide confirmation of an eligible scholarship or stipend.
- Alternatively, provide a formal declaration of commitment from a sponsor living in Germany under Section 68 of the German Residence Act.
- An awarded monthly scholarship amount may be deducted from the amount that otherwise needs to be deposited in the blocked account.
Important dates
Application window
| Milestone | October - Winter intake | April - Summer intake |
|---|---|---|
| Application portal opens | N/A | N/A |
| Application deadline (final submit) | N/A | N/A |
| Application deadline (EU students) | N/A | N/A |
| Application deadline (Non-EU students) | N/A | N/A |
| Recommended apply-by | N/A | N/A |
| Semester begins | October 01, 2026 | April 01, 2026 |
Pre-application & reviews
| Milestone | October - Winter intake | April - Summer intake |
|---|---|---|
| VPD request - recommended | N/A | N/A |
| VPD result expected | N/A | N/A |
| APS - recommended | N/A | N/A |
| Start eligibility check | N/A | N/A |
Document submission deadlines
| Milestone | October - Winter intake | April - Summer intake |
|---|---|---|
| Application submission deadline | N/A | N/A |
| Document submission deadline (EU students) | N/A | N/A |
| Document submission deadline (Non-EU students) | N/A | N/A |
| Language certificate deadline | N/A | N/A |
| Official transcripts deadline | N/A | N/A |
| Certified translations deadline | N/A | N/A |
| Postal / hard-copy documents deadline | N/A | N/A |
| Missing documents (if requested) | N/A | N/A |
📝 How to Apply
Check your admission route and document eligibility
Review the programme page and confirm whether your foreign school-leaving qualification can be recognised for entry to the Bachelor programme. If you are unsure about equivalency for your specific documents, use the university’s admissions support to clarify your case before you submit. Start early so you have enough time to prepare certified documents for international submission.
Complete the online application
Submit your application via the university’s official application flow when the intake application window is open. Upload the required identification and academic documents (as requested for international applicants) in the format stated by the university. After submission, keep your application confirmation and be ready to respond quickly if admissions requests additional documents.
Follow admissions review and respond to document requests
After you apply, the university reviews your eligibility based on your submitted qualifications and equivalency. If any document is missing or needs clarification, admissions will request it from you, so monitor your email regularly. Complete any follow-up steps before the documented deadlines for your intake.
Confirm your study start for the selected intake
Once you receive an admission decision, confirm the study start you selected (the programme starts in the published semester periods). The university also states that a start at another time may be possible after individual review, but the standard starts are defined per intake. Plan your preparation steps (visa, housing, and travel) only after you have your final admission outcome.