Berkeley Master of Design

Berkeley’s studio-based professional masters connects emerging technologies, human-centered design, urban challenges, and societal impact.

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Enrich your career as a design strategist

New Enterprise Associates’ 2016 Design in Startups Survey found that 87% of startups believe that design is important or very important; 31% of startups surveyed, in fact, had a designer founder.

Deepen your technical skill set and understanding of emerging technology

According to TechGenix, the number of jobs in new age technologies grew by 27 percent every year, throughout the U.S.

Become a social impact leader

Social practice and inclusive design are emerging as a key strategies for meeting unmet user needs and identifying new markets.

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Program Overview

This is a 17-month project-based curriculum that merges practice and theory. Throughout the duration of this degree, you will deepen your technical expertise or explore a new area of emerging technology in electives taught by top Berkeley Engineering faculty. Simultaneously, in the College of Environmental Design, you will learn practices and methods for design as a tool for societal change among architects, landscape architects, and city planners. In the larger context of the Bay Area, the Berkeley MDes offers direct exposure to the San Francisco Bay Area’s design and technology sector as well as Silicon Valley culture of innovation, while remaining rooted in Berkeley’s history of thoughtful practice in the public interest. Inside the classroom, this program provides and unmatched opportunity to immerse yourself in an interactive studio space that provides you with access to cutting edge labs where you’ll bring your ideas to life.

The Berkeley Brand

Leverage the already renowned brand of UC Berkeley, the top public research university in the world, by pursuing the Berkeley MDes. Become part of the student, faculty and alumni community who have become some of the most innovative thought leaders and technical practitioners the the last century. Take advantage of the Berkeley ecosystem which inspires on many levels to launch innovative careers that help tackle the world’s social, environmental and technological challenges.

The application for the 2020-21 academic year is scheduled to open on September 3, 2019, and the deadline is January 10, 2020.