The MDes curriculum is structured for cross-disciplinary design practice support and focused on values-driven, future-oriented design.
Stamps faculty are the primary source of support and advice to MDes graduate students in planning an academic program and research agenda.
MDes Curriculum Overview
Students complete 12 – 18 credits of coursework per semester for a total of 60 credits at the completion of the two-year program. The curriculum is designed to accommodate a range of design practices.
Design Studios
Studios are the core of the MDes program. Each semester, students will develop a body of work through research, prototyping, experimentation, and critique in close collaboration with their Stamps faculty advisors. Design studio credits will focus on specific territories and methodologies of design investigation, culminating in the development of a thesis.
Seminars
Each semester students will have an accompanying seminar. Through these seminars, students will explore design research methods, models of professional practice, and other supporting skills for their ongoing design practice.
Electives
Electives are an opportunity for students to add skills, perspectives, approaches, and tactics to their work, including making-oriented courses in particular techniques, craft-practices, or emerging technology. These elective courses broaden students’ methods of fabrication and investigation which they can incorporate into their studio and thesis work.
Thesis
Thesis is an opportunity to define and develop a design practice through a body of work. With faculty advising and studio support, students will define a territory of investigation, methods of work, and ultimately a body of work and a written thesis.