d.MBA Program
Learn business. Stop being told what to design. Start deciding what gets built.
1000+ designers from the world's best companies have graduated from the d.MBA Program
Apply for our May 2026 cohort
Our alumni get results
Higher salaries, day rates, and faster promotions
The confidence and skills to build and run their own company
More influence on strategic decisions
Worth every dollar of investment.
Jordan Skedgweel,
Senior Product Designer
@Woolworths Group
It almost feels like a superpower!
Meenu Sara Mathai, Product/UX Designer @Cisco
I wish I had gone through it a decade ago!
Cyrus Kanga, ex-Senior Director of Design@Microsoft
Who is d.MBA for?
In-house
designers
Leap from execution to decision-making
Consultants &
Freelancers
Deliver stronger results and win higher-value projects
Design
Founders
Start and grow a design-led company that strives
Curriculum focused on designers’ unique needs
The d.MBA is a program that will make you a more influential designer, not a business person. The 5 modules cover all the relevant business topics for designers while honoring the human-centeredness that made you a designer in the first place. Each topic is explained through business rationale along with ideas for how to use them in your design work.
Core Modules
AI Accelerators
Understand the competitive arenas designers operate in. Understand how competitors create value, and learn how to shape business insights.
- Competitive Arena
- Competitor Research
- Value Chains
Learn how great companies compete and how to design a winning strategy for a product or venture.
- Porter's Generic Strategies
- Playing to Win
- Blue Ocean Strategy
Get familiar with various business models and learn how to design and test business models.
- Business Model Building Blocks
- Famous Business Model Patterns
- Framework for designing and testing business models
Plan a new venture or a product, estimate its potential, and create a rigorous testing plan.
- Market sizing
- Business case design
- Calculating business impact of design decisions
Use Hypothesis-Driven design to implement business and design metrics to measure progress of design work
- 101 of most important business metrics
- Design Metrics Canvas
- Hypothesis-Driven Design
Your d.MBA journey
The d.MBA is designed for full-time professionals, striking a perfect balance between structure and flexibility. Led by seasoned business designers, you’ll be guided through 1 monthly core topic towards your personal Graduation Piece. Your Graduation Piece can be as simple as a short video, a slide deck, or a portfolio-style write-up that captures what you’ve learned and how you’re applying it.
A format that works
The program is focused on effective skill acquisition with the ultimate goal of transferring what you learn into the real world. You can expect results after the first live session.
on-demand content builds fundamental understanding
a practice session anchors your learning
coaching call offers flexible support based on your unique challenges
Work on real case studies
Learning by doing is effective and fun. That’s why each practice session revolves around exercises based on real world case studies.
Your graduation piece
Your final milestone is a graduation piece: a short, considered exploration of how you’d approach a real-world challenge using d.MBA thinking.
It’s not about producing a perfect solution. It’s about showing how your perspective has shifted: how you frame problems, make trade-offs, and connect design decisions to business reality.
The piece gives you space to consolidate what you’ve learned and articulate your way of thinking, in your own words, on your own terms.
You’ll receive a one-of-a-kind certificate when you complete the programme. Each design is created with generative art, making it uniquely yours and unmistakably d.MBA. A new standard for wall-worthy certificates.
Apply for our May 2026 cohort
The d.MBA network is different
The d.MBA community isn’t just another Slack group. It’s a living network of business-savvy design leaders from around the world — with an average of 8 years of experience, and a shared drive to grow.
Meet online and in person - from Berlin to Boston
Swap job leads and freelance opportunities
Share wins, dilemmas, and experiments
What our alumni say
d.MBA experience overview
Next intake start: Monday 11th May 2026
5-month online program
8-12 hours monthly workload
2 monthly live calls with mentors
Real world case studies
All sessions recorded and available on demand
First access to new content, tools and prompts
Lifetime access to program content
(on-demand lessons, templates and cheat sheets)Curated cohort of experienced designers
Graduation certificate
Tuition: € 3,800 + VAT
Payment plans also now available (3 equal payments spread over 3 months. €100 admin and handling fee applies).
You’ll leave the d.MBA Program with
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes! Although calls are always subject to change, these are the currently planned live call dates for the May 2026 cohort.
Orientation Call - Monday May 11
Practice Session (Prototyping with Numbers) - Thursday May 14
Coaching Call - Thursday May 21
Practice Session (Business & Design Metrics) - Thursday June 11
Coaching Call - Thursday June 18
Practice Session (Business Empathy) - Thursday July 16
Coaching Call - Thursday July 23
Practice Session (Business Strategy) - Thursday 13 August
Coaching Call - Thursday 20 August
Practice Session (Business Models) - Thursday 17 September
Coaching Call - Thursday 24 September
Graduation Call - TBC
We know not everyone can make every call live, and that's fine. All sessions are recorded. If you miss one, watch the recording and share your key takeaways with the group — that counts toward your graduation criteria.
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No, and people often assume graduation projects are a heavy lift. They're not.
The goal is a piece of work that's meaningful to you. Something that helps you consolidate what you've learned or apply it to a real situation you're working on. Format is completely open: a written piece, a video walkthrough, a case study, a prototype, a strategy doc, a talk — whatever fits.
We recommend spending a few hours on it, not a few days. The team are here to help you shape it, so you won't be figuring it out alone.
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No, but we highly encourage them. People tend to get a surprising amount done in a short, focused block, and the momentum and accountability from working alongside others makes a real difference.
Most members who join a sprint end up wishing they'd done one sooner.
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This comes up regularly and we're flexible. As long as we have email confirmation from your employer (or whoever's funding your place) that the funding application is underway, you're welcome to start the cohort. Payment can be finalised as soon as possible after that.
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It varies! Usually a minimum of 10 and up to around 40. But the cohort number doesn't tell the whole story. Because our modules are standalone, you'll be joining a larger community of students at different stages in their journey. Students who started before you will be wrapping up modules you're just beginning, and you'll work alongside them in practice sessions and group activities. So while your cohort is small (and you'll form close bonds with them as you graduate together) you benefit from a much wider network of peers and perspectives along the way.
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Yes. You can pay in three installments for an additional €100 + VAT fee. Full details are on the pricing section of the site.
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Most members spend around 3–5 hours a week between the live sessions, practice work, and module content. Some weeks will be lighter, others heavier depending on your own pace. The programme is built to fit around a full-time role.
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d.MBA is designed for mid-to-senior designers and design leaders, whether you're inside a large organisation or building something of your own. You don't need an MBA or a business background, that's exactly what we're here to help with.
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Yes, we can invoice your employer directly. Just let us know when you apply and we'll take it from there.
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Graduates are invited to join the d.MBA Collective, our ongoing community for past members, with continued access to practice sessions, coaching, Maker Sprints, and the wider network.