A two-year, hands-on master’s programme in entertainment lighting — stage, events, concerts, theatre, film and television — in Mumbai.
Lighting is what turns a stage into a show and a venue into an experience. IIED’s MA in Lighting Design is a two-year, full-time lighting design course in Mumbai that takes you from the science of light to designing, rigging and programming full-scale shows. You train on the consoles, software and fixtures the industry actually uses — grandMA3, Avolites Titan, Capture and Vectorworks Spotlight — and graduate with a professional portfolio, a live public showcase and real industry internship experience.
Learn to Design, Rig and Programme
Lighting for Every Kind of Show
Weddings, concerts, corporate launches, award nights, theatre, television, film, sports events and building façades — every one of them needs a lighting designer who understands both the art and the engineering. This stage lighting design programme builds both, in that order: first the physics of light, electrical power and rigging safety; then fixtures, DMX control and console programming; then advanced design, lasers, pixel mapping, effects and automation.
In Semester 2 you complete a supervised industry internship with a lighting or event production company. By the end of Year 2 you design, programme and run your own show in front of a live public audience — your portfolio centrepiece as a Lighting Designer, Programmer or Light Director.
Eligibility
Graduate in any discipline
Duration
2 Years (4 Semesters)
Type
Full Time
- Graduates from any stream who want a professional career in lighting design
- Event, wedding and production professionals who want formal training and a master’s degree
- Technicians and operators who want to move up from rigging and operating into design
- Architecture, interior and design graduates interested in entertainment lighting
- Anyone who wants to know how to become a lighting designer in India — no prior experience needed
- How light, colour and the human eye work — and how to measure and control them
- Electrical power, load calculation and safe power distribution for live events
- Trussing, rigging and structural safety, with a mandatory safety competence check
- Every major fixture family — PARs, Fresnels, profiles, moving heads, LED and pixel fixtures
- DMX, Art-Net and sACN control networks, and how to troubleshoot them
- CAD light plots, 3D pre-visualisation in Capture and professional drafting in Vectorworks Spotlight
- Console programming on grandMA3 and Avolites Titan, from basic cues to timecoded show control
- Lasers, pixel mapping with MaDRIX, special effects, pyrotechnics coordination and automation
- Designing for weddings, corporate events, concerts, theatre, film, TV, sports and award shows
- Indian Knowledge System: light in Indian thought, performance, architecture, festivals and rituals
- Research and writing skills, ending in a dissertation
Year 1 — Semester 1: Foundations & Safety
- Fundamentals of Light, Vision, Colour & Context
- Electrical Systems, Power & Distribution
- Trussing, Rigging & Structural Safety
- Lab I — Power, Cabling, Rigging & Fixtures
- Indian Knowledge System in Light, Space & Performance
- Elective (choose one): Interior Lighting Design OR Façade & Landscape Lighting Design
- Research Methodology in Design & Practice
Year 1 — Semester 2: Fixtures, Control & Design Process
- Lighting Fixtures, Sources & Optics
- Control Systems, DMX & Networking
- Lighting Design Process, Realisation & Integration (CAD, Capture, grandMA3, Avolites Titan)
- Studio I — Design & Documentation Project
- Indian Knowledge System in Festival, Ritual & Event Lighting
- Elective (choose one): Lighting for Events OR Lighting for Film & Television
- Industry Internship
Year 2 — Semester 3: Advanced Practice
- Advanced Lighting Design Studio (incl. Vectorworks Spotlight)
- Console Programming II: Advanced grandMA3 & Show Control
- Laser Systems & Safety
- Media, Pixel Mapping & MaDRIX
- Elective (choose one): Lighting for Theatre OR Lighting for Sports Events
- Research Project I
Year 2 — Semester 4: Capstone
- Major Design Project & Public Showcase
- Effects & Pyrotechnics
- Automation & Motion Control in Lighting
- Elective (choose one): Lighting for Award Shows OR Lighting for Live Concerts
- Research Project II — Dissertation
Software
- grandMA3 (console and onPC)
- Avolites Titan
- Capture
- Vectorworks Spotlight
- AutoCAD
- MaDRIX
- Pangolin QuickShow & BEYOND
- DIALux / Relux (interior lighting elective)
Equipment
- Moving heads (spot, wash, beam, hybrid)
- LED wash and pixel fixtures
- Profiles, Fresnels and PARs
- Truss and chain hoists
- Power distribution
- DMX, Art-Net and sACN networks
- Haze and atmospheric effects
- Laser systems
Lloyd Albuquerque has been a professional lighting designer for 20 years. Lloyd’s profile includes forays and adept know-how in the latest lighting techniques and technologies. Starting from basic setups of light design to physical setup, knowledge, and programming of intelligent and conventional lights, and towards the final execution of shows and events as desired by clientele.
Lloyd set up LGL Designs in 2003 and has been a freelance lighting designer for shows and events, including Fashion Shows, EDM concerts, Rock shows, corporate launches, meetings and presentations, Live theatre and dance, award nights and felicitations, Film Television & serial lighting and Architectural projects.
In Semester 2 you complete a supervised industry internship with a lighting or event production company — working on real load-ins, rigging, focus, show operation and strike, with a logbook signed by your host supervisor.
In Semester 4 you design and run your own show in front of a live public audience. You can even choose a nonprofit or fundraising event as your final project.
Unlock a world of creative career paths with this program, preparing you for roles like:
- Lighting Designer — events, weddings, concerts, theatre
- Lighting Programmer / Console Operator (grandMA3, Avolites)
- Light Director for live shows and tours
- Pre-visualisation Specialist
- Pixel-Mapping & Media Operator
- Laser Programmer (working with licensed laser operators)
- Lighting for TV, Film & Broadcast
- Lighting Crew Chief / Production Electrician
Reasonable Fees
for Innovative Career
Fees are per year, paid in three instalments.
Total for the two-year MA in Lighting Design: ₹6,00,000.
1st Instalment
Non Refundable
2nd Instalment
Non Refundable
3rd Instalment
Non Refundable
Fees per Year
Non Refundable
Portfolio
Lighting Design Portfolio – Aditya Tawde
Lighting Design Portfolio – Ritesh Khichariya
Event Design Portfolio – Varun Jain
Wedding Design Portfolio – Manisha Mahto
Event & Wedding Design Group Project
Lighting Design Portfolio
Advanced Lighting Design Portfolio
Event Design Portfolio – Kshiti Jain
Event Design Portfolio – Priyanka Saini
Event and Wedding Design Portfolio – Shreya
Wedding Styling Portfolio – Nirali Reshamiya
Wedding Design Portfolio – Lishika Jain
Event Design Portfolio
Other Popular Courses
The Most Complete Lighting Design Course in Mumbai
What is an MA in Lighting Design?
An MA in Lighting Design is a two-year postgraduate programme that trains you to design, rig, programme and run lighting for live entertainment. At IIED, the course covers stage, event, wedding, concert, theatre, film and television lighting. You learn the science of light and colour, electrical power and rigging safety, fixtures and optics, DMX and network control, CAD light plots, 3D pre-visualisation and console programming — then apply it all to real shows.
Why Lighting Design Matters in Events and Entertainment
Lighting decides what an audience sees, where they look and how they feel. At a wedding it creates the moment of the entry and the reveal. At a concert it moves with the music. At a corporate launch it frames the product and the speaker for the camera. A trained lighting designer understands both the creative side and the engineering behind it — power, rigging, data and safety — and that combination is exactly what the industry hires for.
MA in Lighting Design Course Highlights
- Science of light: physics of light, colour mixing, colour temperature and photometry
- Power & electrics: load calculation, three-phase distribution, generators and electrical safety
- Rigging & safety: truss, hoists, Safe Working Load and a mandatory rigging competence check
- Fixtures & optics: conventional, moving-head, LED and pixel fixtures, beams, gobos and colour
- Control & networking: DMX512, RDM, Art-Net, sACN, wireless DMX and fibre
- Design process: CAD light plots, Capture pre-visualisation and Vectorworks Spotlight
- Console training: grandMA3 and Avolites Titan, from first cue to timecoded show control
- Advanced practice: lasers, pixel mapping with MaDRIX, effects, pyrotechnics coordination and automation
- Specialisations: events, film & TV, theatre, sports, award shows and live concerts
- Capstone: a live public showcase and a research dissertation
Build a Career in Entertainment Lighting
India’s live-event, wedding, concert and broadcast industries need trained lighting designers, programmers and directors. The MA in Lighting Design prepares you for roles such as Lighting Designer, Lighting Programmer, Light Director, Console Operator, Pre-visualisation Specialist and Lighting Crew Chief — with a portfolio, an internship and a public showcase to prove your skills.
See where IIED alumni are working today on our Careers & Placements page.
Why Choose IIED’s MA in Lighting Design?
- Two full years of depth: from first principles to advanced show control
- Hands-on training: real fixtures, truss, power and consoles, not just theory
- Industry faculty: learn from working lighting designers and programmers
- Industry-standard tools: grandMA3, Avolites Titan, Capture, Vectorworks Spotlight and MaDRIX
- Real exposure: an industry internship and a live public showcase
Ready to start your career in lighting design? Book a free visit to IIED’s Mumbai campus and sit in on a real lighting class. Call 9892966334.
FAQ
It is a two-year, full-time master’s programme in entertainment lighting design, based in Mumbai. It covers stage, event, concert, theatre, film and TV lighting, from the science of light to advanced console programming.
Any graduate from any discipline can apply. You do not need prior experience in lighting, electrics or design — the course starts from first principles.
The fee is ₹3,00,000 per year, paid in three instalments of ₹1,00,000. The total for the two-year programme is ₹6,00,000.
Two years, split into four semesters, full time.
grandMA3, Avolites Titan, Capture, Vectorworks Spotlight, AutoCAD, MaDRIX, and Pangolin QuickShow and BEYOND for lasers.
Yes. A supervised industry internship with a lighting or event production company is part of Semester 2.
Graduates work as lighting designers, lighting programmers, console operators, light directors, pre-visualisation specialists and lighting crew chiefs across events, concerts, theatre, TV and film.
Yes. Every semester has an elective: interior or façade lighting in Semester 1; events or film and TV in Semester 2; theatre or sports in Semester 3; award shows or live concerts in Semester 4.
Safety comes first. Rigging carries a mandatory practical competence check, and lasers and pyrotechnics are taught within their licensing and safety rules, alongside qualified operators.
From the 2027–28 intake it is replaced by the two-year MA in Lighting Design, which covers everything the one-year course did and much more.