Career Development Resources

The mission of the MDes Career Development team is to create spaces, engagements, and a community that invites you to dig deeply into who you are and to be intentional about using your experiences and network in the MDes as a launch pad to a meaningful, impactful career. We are committed to holistically supporting you in your professional development in the program and beyond. We offer a range of programming and services to fuel your career growth. Here’s a high-level overview of the support we provide to MDes students and alumni:

• Unlimited one-on-one unlimited career coaching sessions
  • Our students and alumni get unlimited, lifetime career support through one-on-one coaching sessions with MDes Director of Career Development Stephanie Bianco and Career Coach Arya Zarrinkelk, offered both in-person and virtually.
• Rich offering of design industry engagements
  • Every year we host a range of exciting industry engagements from Career Treks to Bay Area companies to hosting panels, portfolio review nights, alumni events and more right here in Jacobs Hall.
• Dedicated mentors
  • We have dedicated MDes Alumni Design Fellows and Jacobs Institute Design Fellows who volunteer their time and expertise to provide mentorship and career advice to our students.
• Career development workshops
  • We offer career development workshops across a wide range of topics to help MDes’ians at every stage of their job search, from tailoring your resume to crafting a portfolio to negotiating a job offer.
• Slack access for life
  • Our MDes Slack workspace is a vibrant hub for sharing job opportunities, events, resources, and community news. Our students and alumni stay connected to the community through lifetime access to this platform.
• Professional development funds
  • The MDes program sponsors a Professional Development Grant, which provides up to $500 per student to engage in professional development activities, such as attending conferences, participating in competitions, obtaining a certificate, etc.
  • The MDes Design for Good Grant program empowers students to pursue the kind of work that many are driven to do but may not have the financial means to pursue for their Design@Large experience: designing for people and planet. The MDes Design for Good Grant awards $6,000 to selected applicants to cover expenses for their Summer Design@Large experience.