Master of Fine Arts in Design Studies

By 2016 jobs for artists and designers are predicted to increase by 42%.

The MFA in Design Studies is the first graduate program in design in the Gulf Region. The program will provide an educational environment where self-directed students with diverse knowledge sets in design and related disciplines collaborate and challenge the definition and development of design problems, processes, and solutions. Students will expand and deepen their abilities and increase their motivation to contribute directly to innovation, education and leadership in design thinking and making. Graduates will approach design on a strategic level to provide a high degree of constructive and sustainable value to the economic, social and cultural contexts of the global community. The program acknowledges that design is a professional discipline that is broadly based and highly collaborative, incorporating the transfer of knowledge across traditional domains to create products and processes of manufacture, environments, forms of communication and the organization of information. Only six students will be accepted into the program each year. Students in the program will receive individual mentorship throughout their course of study.

Degree Requirements

The Design Studies track requires 60 semester credit hours of study. Students are expected to complete a thesis project of complex scale and scope and present a written thesis that will complement the work undertaken in the thesis studio. Course work in the degree is comprised of 9 semester credits of theory, 21 semester credits of studio, 13 semester credits of applied research, 3 credits of practicum/internship, 9 credits of thesis studio and 6 elective credits. This Master of Fine Arts degree is recognized as the terminal degree in design and meets the accreditation standards established by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design in the United States (NASAD).

Course of Study

First semester

• DESI 601 Interdisciplinary Design Seminar
• DESI 520 Design Research Methodologies
• DESI 611 Design Studio One
• DESI 510 Materials and Methods Studio

Second semester

• DESI 602 Advanced Design Seminar: Design Criticism
• DESI 612 Design Studio Two
• DESI 605 Design Strategies and Ethics for Business
• DESI 521 Design Research Applications

Third semester

• Approved Studio Elective*
• DESI 630 Teaching Practicum in Design OR
• DESI 631 Design Internship
• DESI 613 Design Studio Three
• DESI 620 Design Research Studio - Thesis Formulation

Fourth semester

• Approved Elective*
• DESI 690 Thesis Studio
• DESI 621 Design Research Studio - Leadership & Entrepreneurship

Total Credits Required: 60

*The 6 credits of approved electives can be selected from a variety of 500-600 level courses offered at VCUQatar, VCU in Richmond, another Education City university, or another internationally accredited university anywhere in the world.