Program Design

Quick Guide

 

Overview

The MDes program at UC Berkeley is a studio-based, on campus program. Over three semesters and one summer, you will complete a total of eight required core courses and four electives.

In the summer between the first and second years of the program, you are expected to engage in an experience, such as an internship, international design study, or community service, outside of the classroom and apply what you have learned in the studio in a broader context. This professional development requirement is called Design@Large.

In the final semester, you will develop and present a thesis project that represents the culmination of your intellectual journey in the program.

Curriculum Map (MDes2025 Cohort)

Fall Spring
Year One
  • DES INV 200: Design Frameworks
  • 3 units
  • DES INV 202: Technology Design Foundations
  • 4 units
  • DES INV 210: Studio Foundations
  • 3 units
  • Elective
  • 3 units
  • Total: 13 units
  • DES INV 201: Debates in Design
  • 3 units
  • DES INV 211: Designing Emerging Technologies
  • 5 units
  • Capstone Portfolio
  • 2 units
  • Elective
  • 3 units
  • Total: 13 units
Summer
Year Two
  • DES INV 213: Thesis Studio
  • 6 units
  • Elective
  • 3 units
  • Elective
  • 3 units
  • Total: 12 units

 

Required Courses

Elective Courses

The MDes requires four electives: one technical elective, one entrepreneurship or social practice elective, and two open electives.

Find a sample list of approved technical and social practice/entrepreneurship electives here; enrolled students have access to a comprehensive approved electives list, which changes each semester based on scheduling and as new electives are approved.

The two open electives can be any 3 or 4 unit upper division or graduate level course offered at UC Berkeley, subject to enrollment availability.

Design@Large

Students are expected to engage in an experience outside of the MDes courses and studio and apply what they have learned about design and technology in a broader context through their Design@Large. The experience takes place in the summer between the MDes Spring and Fall semesters. The Design@Large degree requirement is uniquely defined by each student’s own interests and career goals. Visit the Design@Large page for examples of past Design@Large activities.

Thesis

Each student is required to complete a thesis project and accompanying written document in order to complete their MDes degree. Each written thesis sets up an important question for design, and the completed project provides an answer to that question. The written thesis is a formal, archival, intellectually rigorous text motivated by a specific disciplinary lineage, a socio-cultural investigation, and a technical exploration. This document captures and reflects the individual effort, contribution, and perspective of the final studio project, along with the technical and cultural details thereof.

Visit our Student Works page to see examples of prior thesis projects.