The MFA in Industrial Design program prepares students to navigate the seemingly contradictory forces at play in the growing field of product design — with an eye toward reconciling them and shaping a more integrated future. Through critical making and design-led inquiry, students in the program develop not only the skills to shape innovative products and services, but the mindset to challenge and reform the very industries that produce them. Project-based work offers opportunities to investigate various scales of production from low-volume “manufacturing in place” (in cities for cities) to internationalized industry. Projects work to expand the notion of product design to include a greater understanding of global supply and value chains, and intentionality towards balancing economic and social inequities. While the program’s scope is broad, graduates are expected to complete a highly focused thesis project that should serve as a benchmark for their course of study and experience. They choose a specific area and specialized topic in creating innovative or provocative designs that forward or challenge the field of product and industrial design.

The MFA in Industrial Design program prepares students to navigate the seemingly contradictory forces at play in the growing field of product design — with an eye toward reconciling them and shaping a more integrated future. Through critical making and design-led inquiry, students in the program develop not only the skills to shape innovative products and services, but the mindset to challenge and reform the very industries that produce them. Project-based work offers opportunities to investigate various scales of production from low-volume “manufacturing in place” (in cities for cities) to internationalized industry. Projects work to expand the notion of product design to include a greater understanding of global supply and value chains, and intentionality towards balancing economic and social inequities. While the program’s scope is broad, graduates are expected to complete a highly focused thesis project that should serve as a benchmark for their course of study and experience. They choose a specific area and specialized topic in creating innovative or provocative designs that forward or challenge the field of product and industrial design.

The MFA in Industrial Design program prepares students to navigate the seemingly contradictory forces at play in the growing field of product design — with an eye toward reconciling them and shaping a more integrated future. Through critical making and design-led inquiry, students in the program develop not only the skills to shape innovative products and services, but the mindset to challenge and reform the very industries that produce them. Project-based work offers opportunities to investigate various scales of production from low-volume “manufacturing in place” (in cities for cities) to internationalized industry. Projects work to expand the notion of product design to include a greater understanding of global supply and value chains, and intentionality towards balancing economic and social inequities. While the program’s scope is broad, graduates are expected to complete a highly focused thesis project that should serve as a benchmark for their course of study and experience. They choose a specific area and specialized topic in creating innovative or provocative designs that forward or challenge the field of product and industrial design.

The MFA in Industrial Design program prepares students to navigate the seemingly contradictory forces at play in the growing field of product design — with an eye toward reconciling them and shaping a more integrated future. Through critical making and design-led inquiry, students in the program develop not only the skills to shape innovative products and services, but the mindset to challenge and reform the very industries that produce them. Project-based work offers opportunities to investigate various scales of production from low-volume “manufacturing in place” (in cities for cities) to internationalized industry. Projects work to expand the notion of product design to include a greater understanding of global supply and value chains, and intentionality towards balancing economic and social inequities. While the program’s scope is broad, graduates are expected to complete a highly focused thesis project that should serve as a benchmark for their course of study and experience. They choose a specific area and specialized topic in creating innovative or provocative designs that forward or challenge the field of product and industrial design.