Curriculum
Design Cluster fellows take graduate-level courses in the following core areas to receive significant training in formal, methodological, and design approaches. Design Cluster fellows are expected to take at least one course from each core area.
Core Areas
PhD students choose from one of the three core areas of research:
- Human-centered Design
- Computational Thinking and Computational Design
- Design Skills and Methods
Core Area One: Human-centered Design
This core area provides training in the many stages of the design process with an emphasis on better understanding users, tasks, and goals. These courses use the design process as a systematic way
Example courses include:
- COMM ST 395 / ECE 395 Technology and Human Interaction
- DSGN 401-1 Human-Centered Design Studio
- Product Design LS 429 Design of Learning Environments
- MTS 495 / ECE 495 Designing Gesture-Based Interaction
- PSY 495 Design of Visual Information Displays
Core Area Two: Computational Thinking and Computational Design
This core area trains students in the many ways of applying and using computation to support design research. This involves algorithmic thinking, computational simulation and modeling, and state-of-the-art statistical and computational methods for design.
Example courses include:
- COMP_SCI 472 - Design of Multi-agent Models
- MECH ENG 341 Computational Methods for Engineering Design
- MECH ENG 441 Engineering Optimization for Product Design and Manufacturing
- SESP 495 Digital Design for Social Change
- COMM ST 525 / IEMS 441 / MTS 525 Social Network Theories and Methods
- BMD ENG 495 Computational Neuromechanics and Neuroethology
Core Area Three: Design Skills and Methods
This core area provides the practical skills that are needed for design-based research. These courses emphasize the skills and techniques needed for performing user-based, empirical (both qualitative and quantitative) evaluations of designs, as well as practical skills in areas such as prototyping and scenario design.
Example courses include:
- MTS 590 Communication Design
- COMM ST 495 Applied Research Methods for Technology and Social Behavior
- LS 495 / ECE 495 Tangible Interaction Design
- Theatre 442 Studies in Theatre Practice: Research for Designers
- JOUR 490 Collaborative Innovation in Media and Technology