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Entry requirements for Integrated Product Design

To be eligible for the master's programme in Integrated Product Design, you must meet the listed admission requirements and submit the documents required in your application. We will assess your application according to the selection criteria set for the programme. The same process applies to students with a bachelor's degree from a Swedish university.

Admission requirements

Bachelor's degree

Academic qualifications from an internationally recognised university equivalent to a Swedish bachelor's degree.

You can meet the requirement if you are in the final year of your bachelor's studies. Students at universities abroad must submit documents according to the instructions from University Admissions . Students at Swedish universities must have completed 150 credits in their programme by 3 February per the instructions from KTH .

English proficiency

English proficiency equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

You can meet the requirement with an English test, for example an overall IELTS score of 6.5 or a TOEFL score of 90. Depending on your country of previuous studies you could also meet the requirement through completed upper secondary or university studies. Visit University Admissions  to see all recognised English tests and what applies to your country of previous studies.

​Specific requirements for Integrated Product Design

For both tracks (Industrial Design Engineering and Innovation Management and Product Development) within the Master's Programme Integrated Product Design:

A bachelor's degree, corresponding to at least 180 ECTS credits, within Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent, including courses in Mechanics, Solid Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Electrical Engineering, Machine Elements, Manufacturing Technology, 3D-CAD, Product Development and Engineering Design.

Applicants to the Industrial Design Engineering Track must also have good knowledge in Industrial Design Engineering: Ergonomics, Design Processes, Material Selection, Sketching, Design, Rapid Prototyping, and Digital 3D-visualisation.

Application documents

You need to submit all of the following documents according to the instructions from University Admissions .

General document

Degree certificates

Official certificates of your completed degrees. The documentation requirements vary between countries. Visit University Admissions  to see what applies to your country.

General document

Transcript

Official transcript of courses and grades completed in your degree. Students from Swedish universities that use Ladok do not need to submit degree certificates or transcripts. 

General document

Proof of English proficiency

What proof you need depends on whether you meet the requirement through a test or previous studies. Visit University Admissions  to see what applies to you.

General document

Identification

A copy of passport with personal data and photograph, or other identification document.

Programme document

CV

KTH does not require a standard template, but the CV should clearly and concisely outline your education, work experience, computer literacy, qualifications and achievements (awards, publications, expertise knowledge and skills, etc.). It must be written in English.

Programme document

Letter of motivation

The letter of motivation explains why you have chosen this programme at KTH, what you hope to gain from it and how your interests and skills will help you succeed in your studies. Include an autobiography with the development and relevance of your academic and professional pursuits, extra-curricular activities and related experiences. KTH does not require a standard template, but it must be in English and less than 500 words. If you apply to multiple programmes that require a letter of motivation, you should submit one for each and state which programme each letter applies to at the top of the page.

Programme document

Letters of recommendation

Two letters of recommendation describing why you are the right choice for admission. Preferably, have one referee from an academic environment and one from a professional setting. If you apply for multiple programmes at KTH that request letters of recommendation, you may use the same letters for several programmes. You must provide an English translation if the letters are in a different language. The letters must have the referees' full contact details. If your referee wants to submit the letter themselves, they must send it by post to University Admissions  and state your name and application number. They can not submit the letter via email.

programme document

Summary sheet

Submit the summary sheet for Integrated Product Design- Innovation Management and Product Development track  or Integrated Product Design- Industrial Design Engineering track , available when the application is open. If you do not submit a complete summary sheet, it will negatively affect your evaluation score. Fill out all of the required information before submitting the form. For questions regarding the summary sheet, please contact the programme coordinator  directly.

Programme Document

Design portfolio

Submitting a design portfolio is mandatory for applicants to the Industrial Design Engineering track. If you do not submit a complete design portfolio, it will negatively affect your evaluation score.

The portfolio should indicate the necessary skills and ability in industrial design to make use of the education and to present the visual qualities of your work. For example you can show;

  • your formgiving process where you try out and evaluate different designs/styling of your product or service
  • hand sketches and other visualizations including rendered CAD geometries
  • how you have involved users in your design process through user studies or other design methods
  • how ergonomics have informed your design process

A portfolio should preferably be in landscape format, but if you already have one in portrait format you can use that as well. We expect to see a lot of images and sketches but you must also be sure to describe in text the projects or items you present. Please use a clear title to the project (Like “New Electric Lawnmower for Shared Use”) and write a short description of the project. You can also highlight features in your design that are key to your concept. The time you spent on the project, the number of students involved and what your own contribution was are all examples of additional information we find very useful.

The volume of the design portfolio is not restricted, however we recommend that you limit it to the 3-5 design projects you have worked with that you consider most relevant to our programme. Please upload the portfolio as a PDF along with the rest of your application documents.

Selection criteria

The selection process is based on the following criteria: Study results (grades, relevant subjects and English), motivation for studies (motivation letter, references, courses and relevant work experience) and prior education.

For the Industrial Design Engineering track the selection is also based on the design portfolio.

Prior education is evaluated based on the quality and suitability of the subjects that are relevant for the program applied for. Prior education is evaluated based on the Swedish Higher Education Authority's standards for Swedish higher education institutions. For international higher education institutions, university rankings are used. The merit rating is carried out on a scale of 1-75.

Acceptance rate

The acceptance rate for the Industrial Design Engineering track in the master's programme in Integrated Product Design for 2024 was 83 %. We admitted 15 students out of the 18 applicants that met the admission requirements. The acceptance rate for the Innovation Management and Product Development track in the master's programme in Integrated Product Design for 2024 was 48 %. We admitted 47 students out of the 97 applicants that met the admission requirements. To increase your chances of getting admitted to KTH, we advise you to select more than one programme when applying. You can apply for up to four programmes and rank them in your order of preference.

Recognition of prior learning

Suppose you entirely or partially lack a formal requirement for a course or programme, but you believe you have the necessary knowledge to meet the requirement. In that case, you can apply for recognition of prior learning .