StudyQA — Master: Design — University of Cincinnati

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Description Contents Requirements Funding

You are probably aware we live in an age of convergence and complexity. Just as professionals are exploring the limits of specialization and the converse needs for cross-disciplinary collaboration the computer has emerged as the common tool where all professionals do their work. These forces of specialization, collaboration, and technological integration are shaping a new landscape for design practice where the most successful designers will not only be highly specialized but also have a broad understanding of design that transcends previous professional boundaries. For this reason, our Graduate Program in Design is both specialized and cross-disciplinary.

The Master of Design (MDes) Program both broadens a designer's perspective through exposure to knowledge from other fields, processes, research methods, and design thinking activities that integrate all design disciplines, and the Program focuses a designer's perspective through generation of specialized knowledge in Industrial Design, Visual Communication Design, and Interaction Design.

The School of Design offers the Master of Design degree through a two-year program intended for students with undergraduate degrees and work experience in digital, fashion, graphic, or industrial design. The Master of Design degree is a post-professional, research-oriented, terminal degree. The program is closely associated with the College of DAAP’s Center for Design Research and Innovation.

The Graduate Program in Design is both specialized and cross-disciplinary. The program does not have traditional professional distinctions of graphic or industrial design but an integrated design major with two overlapping areas of research emphasis: Visualization and Product Interaction. Visualization is an integration of graphic, motion graphics, and digital design that has to do with enhancing human understanding through visual means. Product Interaction is an integration of industrial, product, and interaction design that has to do with enhancing human experience through interaction with things, systems, and our built environment.

In the first year the Master of Design curriculum integrates the design disciplines with experiences that simultaneously introduce you to higher strategic design concepts while exposing you to the advanced studies in both visualization and interaction. Designers from all disciplines take classes together learning principles that both unify and distinguish different areas of design practice. You will experience research that crosses professional boundaries in collaborative projects with engineering, the sciences, business, and the humanities. Complementing this integrated cross-disciplinary experience is a year-long course in advanced visual studies. Visiting scholars and master classes focus on advancement within traditional design specialties. A sequence of seminars, colloquia, and research methods courses supports these design specific courses and rounds out the first year.

In the summer you will be paid to work as a designer in a professional practice assignment working for a firm to gain professional design experience. This is not an internship. It is a paid professional position lasting 4 months. Our professional practice faculty will help connect you to your employer.

In the second year you will develop your unique area of specialization based on your new understanding of the design field as an integrated profession. At UC you first broaden your design perspective, and then you focus it.

Year 1

DSGN 7081 Thesis 1: Introduction Seminar
DSGN 7001 Visual Studies: Color & Form Systems Thinking; intro.
DSGN 7021 Design Strategy and Thinking
DSGN 7041 Research Methods: Analysis + Synthesis
DSGN 7061 Visual Perception + Visual Form + and Thinking
PD 7001 Preparation for Professional Practice
DSGN 7082 Thesis 2: Proposal Development
DSGN 7002 Visual Studies: Multiple + Kinetic Systems; Intro. Programming
DSGN 7011 Visualization Design Translational Research
DSGN 7012 Product Design Transitional Research
Research Methods: Directed Elective
Thesis Elective: Exploration + Selection

Year 2

DSGN 8081 Thesis 3: Writing - Studio
DSGN 8001 Thesis Development with Chair
Thesis Electives
DSGN 8082 Thesis 4: Defense - Studio
DSGN 8002 Thesis Publication with Chair
Thesis Elective: Career Exploration

Elective Options

DSGN 7091 Independent Study
DSGN 7093 Independent Study
DSGN 7095 Collaborative Research Project
DSGN 7097 Master Class
DSGN 7092 Independent Study
DSGN 7094 Independent Study
DSGN 7096 Collaborative Research Project
DSGN 7098 Master Class
DSGN 8091 Independent Study
DSGN 8093 Independent Study
DSGN 8095 Collaborative Research Projec
DSGN 8097 Master Class
DSGN 8092 Independent Study
DSGN 8094 Independent Study
DSGN 8096 Collaborative Research Project
DSGN 8098 Master Class

university application forms
a baccalaureate degree in design or a related field from an accredited college or university. A 3.0 undergraduate grade point average (in a 4.0 grading system) is required.
unofficial transcript(s) from all colleges/universities attended. Note: Official transcripts are not required during the admissions process, and only unofficial transcripts are required for the application. Applicants should not send official transcripts until they are offered admission. For complete requirements please visit the Graduate School transcript requirements: http://grad.uc.edu/admissions/policy.html
a resume or cirriculum vitae summarizing accomplishments to date.
at least two years of professional experience in design practice or teaching. Internships and sponsored projects can count towards this time.
a statement of intent that briefly explains educational and professional background and makes a convincing argument for the importance of graduate studies in relation to personal and professional goals and expectations for the future
a portfolio that includes 12-15 examples of visual work and completed projects as an indication of the level of skill development required to pursue graduate studies. A few examples should show the development process that led to the final project. This document must be submitted here: https://app.getacceptd.com/daap. We are no longer accepting website links or hard copies of portfolios.
at least three personal references who can comment on past performance and future potential in academic and professional efforts
applicants with English as a second language must have a score of 570 (paper-based) or 230 (computer-based) or 88 (Internet-based) on the Test of English as a second language (TOEFL). The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is also accepted. For IELTS, an overall band score of 6.5 is needed.