DesignLab + Master of Design


Master of Design

Design that moves the world forward.

A studio-based graduate program where research, making and systems thinking meet.

decorative

Fall 2027 cohort · key dates

Application Opens

Mid Sept 2026

Priority Deadline

Early Dec 2026

Final Deadline

Early Jan 2026

Decisions

Mid Feb 2026

Admit Response

April 15, 2026

A master’s degree built for complexity.

Design has always been how people make the world better. Today, the problems worth solving — in healthcare, climate, public life, technology — don’t fit inside a single discipline or a single screen. They require designers who can think at the level of systems, lead across functions, and bring ethical clarity to decisions that affect millions of people.

This is a one-of-a-kind master’s degree — a truly cross-disciplinary degree that trains you to be a leader in the field. It combines the research depth of a world class public university with the studio culture of serious design education, and the opportunity of one of the most collaborative campuses in the world. Graduate ready for leadership roles in a diverse set of workplaces and organizations — startups, companies, governments, nonprofits — working on the hardest problems of our time.

The MDes at UC San Diego prepares students for designing in the 21st century.

decorative

Why UC San Diego

decorative





A ten-year head start.

Over a decade of design excellence. This The Design Lab at UC San Diego was founded in 2014 by Don Norman, together with co-founders Jim Hollan and Scott Klemmer. Over the past decade, it has grown into a globally recognized center for interdisciplinary design research spanning healthcare, urban development, the future of work, AI and automation, climate adaptation, and civic systems.

decorative





Design as a common language,

At the Design Lab, design thinking, methods, and research is what brings cognitive scientists, engineers, physicians, economists, and urban planners to the same table. The MDes teaches students to work the same way: using design as a method for making sense of complex systems and the people inside them, and for turning that understanding into action.

decorative





The university behind the program.

With faculty from arts and humanities, engineering, social sciences, management, public health, and medicine all contributing to this program, students will have access to the full intellectual breadth of UC San Diego, one of the top public research universities in the world.

decorative





The market is ready.

Graduate into a field that needs exactly these skills. Demand for designers who can lead at the level of systems, not just screens, continues to climb: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects faster-than-average growth for design roles, with roughly 14,500 openings nationwide each year through 2034. The MDes will prepare students for their rewarding career in design.

Boundary Spanning Faculty

The MDes is an interdisciplinary program. That means its faculty aren’t from one department — they’re from across the university. The researchers who teach in this program work on automation and AI, public health and mental health, housing and urban equity, creative tools, ubiquitous computing, labor economics, civic design, and more.

Dow Steven Headshot

Steven P. Dow

Program Co-Director Cognitive Science

Research: human-computer interaction, social computing, creativity support, and civic design.

Michael W. Meyer

Program Co-Director Design Lab & Rady School

Research: design-driven organizational transformation and design pedagogy.

Mai T. Nguyen

Director, UC San Diego Design Lab Urban Studies & Planning

Social and spatial equity, housing policy and planning, community and economic development, climate adaptation.

Jim Hollan

Cognitive Science & Computer Science and Engineering

Cognitive design, distributed cognition, HCI, multiscale information visualization, cognitive ethnography.

Lilly Irani

Communication

Cultural politics of high-tech work; how actors produce “innovation” cultures.

Scott Klemmer

Cognitive Science & Computer Science and Engineering

HCI and design; example and data-driven design tools; ingredients of creative excellence; social learning.

Everything needed to apply — in one place.

Fall 2027 cohort admissions timeline.

➔ Degree

Master of Design (MDes)

➔ Program Start

September, 2026

➔ Application Opens

Mid September, 2026

➔ Priority Deadline

Early December, 2026

➔ Final Deadline

Early January, 2026

➔ Interview Window

February

➔ Decision Notification

Mid February, 2027

➔ Admit Response Deadline

April 15, 2027

➔ Rolling Admissions?

No. All complete applications are reviewed after the final deadline.

➔ Application Fee

Comparable programs range $50 – $135

FAQ – About the Program

The MDes is a two-year, full-time, on-campus professional master’s degree in design, housed in the UC San Diego Design Lab. It prepares early- and mid-career professionals to lead design teams and projects, work within complex socio-technical systems, and create products, services, and policies that improve people’s lives.

The MDes is explicitly focused on design leadership — preparing students for roles like Chief Design Officer, VP of Design, or Design Director. In contrast, an MFA focuses on individual artistic practice and making, while an MS in HCI typically focuses on interaction design and the science of computing interfaces. The MDes is neither a fine arts degree nor a narrowly technical one. The goal is “Chief Design Officers, not pixel pushers.”

The first MDes cohort will begin in Fall 2027.

Cohorts are anticipated to be between 45–50 students per year due to the studio-based nature of the program and space in the Design and Innovation Building. At full enrollment, the program will have roughly 90–100 students across both years.

No. The MDes welcomes applicants from engineering, social science, public health, architecture, urban planning, arts and humanities, information science, and other adjacent fields. Strong candidates have an undergraduate degree in any discipline, some demonstrated interest or aptitude in design or creative problem-solving, and a readiness to engage with design as a rigorous, evidence-based practice.

No. GRE scores are recommended but not required. Applicants will not be penalized for not submitting them.

No. The MDes is a fall-entry program only.

No. All complete applications received by the final deadline will receive priority consideration. Applications received after the deadline may be considered.

No. All students are admitted to the Plan II Capstone track by default. Students who discover an interest in the research thesis pathway (Plan I) may petition to pursue it, typically after taking DSGN 430: Introduction to Academic Design Research in Year 1.

Ready to take the next step?

Applications for the Fall 2027 cohort open

In the meantime, join our interest list for updates, event invitations, and application guidance.

decorative
Logo symbol no borders