Majors & Minors

Choose a program below to learn more about a major or minor:

New Program for Fall 2023: Industrial Design

Industrial Design refers to a process whereby objects are designed and fabricated through a liberal arts lens that integrates an understanding of design and history, sustainable fabrication, and cultural context. Industrial Design emphasizes the need for well-considered objects that represent the current and near-future cultural moment. The Industrial Design program prepares students to design objects that reflect the conditions of contemporary cultural life, while critically exploring speculative design futures in response to emerging cultural conditions. ID cannot be combined with majors or minors in Studio Art or Art, Science & Innovation. 

Students who graduate with an Industrial Design MAJOR will be able to:

  • Identify the cultural influences that play a factor in how designed objects affect the individuals and cultures they exist within. 
  • Engage with design tools and art history from a humanistic and aesthetic point of view.
  • Communicate the ethical, political, and cultural implications of art and design developments in diverse contexts.
  • Produce innovative design solutions rooted in art history and context.

Tracks

The ID Major requires a minimum of 48 credits. There are three distinct tracks within the program:

  1. Speculative Design (SpxD) -Focussed on imagining alternative futures, the Speculative Design track uses design as the mechanism for exploration. Speculative design examines near-future scenarios to produce critically engaged design solutions that could exist based on emerging cultural trends. 
  2. Interaction Design (IxD) – Concerned with the design and deployment of interfaces, especially digital interfaces in products, services, experiences, and systems. IxD students learn about how digital interfaces mediate humans’ experience of the virtual world and consider design strategies to optimize those interactions.
  3. Sustainable Design (SxD) – With a focus on ecological sustainability, this track engages in the practice of designing environments and objects with responsibly sourced materials and an overall minimal carbon footprint. Students consider the health of users as part of the design process.

Courses from the tracks are not interchangeable. Students must choose a track and pursue all requirements designated as part of that track.

The Major consists of an Introductory core of four required courses, six upper-level art, and design-thinking courses, an upper-level art history course, a capstone Jr. Seminar, and a two-semester senior project. 

Industrial Design MAJOR- 48cr. Proposal

  • Foundational Core:  Take all three courses (12 cr.) 
  • ART 151 – Drawing I (4 cr.)
  • ART 165 – Sculpture I  OR ART 162 – Ceramics I (4 cr.)
  • ART 142 – Industrial Design Principles (Description below) (4 cr.)

Intermediate Core:  Take both courses (8 cr.)

  • ART 242 – Materials & Fabrication(4 cr.) (Description below)
  • ART 243 – Industrial Design Forms (4 cr.) (Description below)

Track-specific Core:  Choose one track and take all courses listed for that track (20 cr.)

Speculative Design Track (SPxD)

  • ART 115 – Art History & the Birth of the Museum OR COMM 120 – Introduction to Media Culture
  • ART 187 – Introduction to Electronic Art 
  • ART 287 – Art and Science at the Intersection of Culture OR ART 262 – Ceramics II OR ART 265 – Sculpture II
  • ART 250 – Contemporary Strategies in Art OR HIST 170 – Public History 
  • ART 342- Design Form (Description below) OR ART 388 – Art/Science Special Topics 

Interaction Design Track (IdX)

  • CMPSC 100 – Computational Expression
  • CMPSC 101 – Data Structures
  • CMPSC 102 – Data Abstraction 
  • CMPSC 203 – Software Engineering
  • CMPSC (406) 303 – Internet of Things OR CMPSC (303) 310 – Artificial Intelligence OR CMPSC (304) 311 – Robotics 

*Parentheses indicate course numbers being revised by Computer Science

Sustainable Design Track (SdX)

  • ENVSC 110 – Intro to Environmental Science
  • ENVSC 210 – Environmental Research Methods
  • ENVSC 285 – Quantitative Sustainability
  • ENVSC 352 Environmental Justice OR ENVSC 427 – Culture, Power, Environment
  • ENVSC 380 – Climate and Energy Policy 

Capstone (4 cr.)

  • ART 580 – Jr. Seminar

 Sr. Project:  Take both courses (4 cr.)

  • ID 600 – Senior Project I – Fall (2 cr.)
  • ID 610 – Senior Project II – Spring (2 cr.)

In addition, several of the EXL 100 sections are appropriate courses to augment the experience of ID majors.  We encourage any student interested in majoring in ID to consult with program faculty about EXL 100 courses that would benefit them*