Product Design Engineering

Product design engineering is a discipline that operates at the interface of creative design thinking and engineering problem-solving, producing graduates who can take a product from concept through research, specification, prototyping, and testing to manufacturable reality. The field has grown in significance as organisations in every sector recognise that successful products must be simultaneously functional, manufacturable, sustainable, and genuinely responsive to human needs. In a world where product development cycles are shortening, environmental criteria are tightening, and consumer expectations are rising, the skills of the product design engineer are increasingly valued.

At the University of Strathclyde, this five-year programme includes a year abroad, giving you the experience of studying or working in a different engineering or design culture, which broadens your perspective on how products are developed across different contexts and markets. The five-year structure allows the programme to cover both the design and engineering dimensions in genuine depth, from the creative generative processes of early-stage design through to the materials science, manufacturing processes, human factors, and structural analysis that underpin engineering realisation. Strathclyde's engineering culture is practical and industry-engaged, and product design engineering students work with real briefs and industry partners throughout their studies.

Product design engineering graduates work across consumer products, automotive, healthcare and medical devices, aerospace, electronics, packaging, furniture, and sustainability-focused design and manufacturing. Roles in product development, design engineering, manufacturing engineering, and innovation management are common destinations. Graduates with the breadth to bridge design and engineering teams are particularly valued in organisations where successful product development requires both perspectives working together.

Further study or professional qualification through the relevant engineering institutions is open to graduates who wish to develop their technical expertise or achieve Chartered Engineer status.