Master of Design

The Master of Design (M.Des.) program is a two-year, 54 credit-hour degree program intended for those seeking professional mastery at the highest level in the field. The program does not require the formal selection of a concentration area or a final thesis project. Students may construct their own curriculum after taking a core of courses focused on understanding users, analyzing complex information, and exploring and prototyping alternative solutions. Examples of individual courses of study include communication design, interaction design, product design, strategic planning, user research, design methods research, and systems design.

Residence

The M.Des. program requires continuous full-time study at the Institute of Design for a minimum of four semesters (a minimum of five semesters for those in the M.Des. with the Foundation sequence). Students must enroll in at least 13.5 credit hours of coursework each semester.

Advising

All students must meet with their academic advisers at least once a semester during their program of study. Each meeting should be scheduled prior to course registration for the following semester. All incoming students are assigned an adviser at the time of admission. All students can change their adviser at any time through an eForms petition. 

If the required advising meeting is not completed in a particular semester, an academic hold will be placed on the student's record preventing any course registration for the following semester. The hold cannot be removed until the student has completed the advising meeting. Please see the Director of Student Success if you have any questions or your assigned adviser is not available.