Industrial Design, MDes

for the Master of Design in Industrial Design

The School of Art & Design and Industrial Design program are accepting applications for Fall 2025 admission to the MDes in Industrial Design. 

The MDes Industrial Design program is a professionally oriented graduate qualification which supports those intending to go into the professional practice of Industrial Design. The program takes a broad view of design practice in this area to embrace all aspects of human centered design including user interface and interaction design, but with a primary focus on industrial and product design. The program involves a high level approach to design thinking and design practice and so fits graduates for work in many sectors of activity. The program is highly project-based with an emphasis on hands on creativity in both the physical and digital realms.

As a graduate qualification it is applicable to students with an undergraduate degree in design, but also those with degrees in Engineering or Business who want to broaden their career options, as well as mid career designers with similar ambitions. It builds on the long standing MFA in Industrial design and involves study alongside students on that program in dedicated studio spaces. The location of the program in the School of Art and Design enables connections with students and faculty in other programs in the School as well as with colleagues and facilities across the University. These connections could include the Business, Medical and Engineering Colleges as well as the new Siebel Center for Design.

Graduates of the program will work in companies and consultancies, as well as in many roles now opening up for designers and design thinkers in business and social sector organizations. Design is now a global function in many organizations.

For additional details and requirements refer to the department's graduate studies requirements and the Graduate College Handbook.

for the Master of Design in Industrial Design

For additional details and requirements refer to the department's graduate studies requirements and the Graduate College Handbook.

ARTD 501Industrial Design I: From Inquiry to Ideation6
ARTD 502Industrial Design II: From Ideation to Implementation6
ARTD 503Industrial Design III: Design Project Formulation6
ARTD 504Industrial Design IV: Thesis Research6
ARTD 505Industrial Design V: Thesis Ideation6
ARTD 506Industrial Design VI: Thesis Project Implementation6
ARTD 599Thesis (Document production)4
Design Studio Electives (from Art and Design, Architecture or Engineering, approved by Graduate Coordinator)8
Academic Elective (approved by Graduate Coordinator)4
Additional Electives, including Seminars (approved by Graduate Coordinator)12
Total Hours64
Other requirements may overlap
Seminar, enrollment varies by program 8 min
Minimum 500-level Hours Required Overall 12
Minimum GPA 2.75

for the Master of Design in Industrial Design

At the end of the program, you should demonstrate the following:

  1. INQUIRY AND INSIGHT: The ability to select and use appropriate research and experimental methods, to access existing data or to generate new data, to analyze and draw insights, with a particular emphasis on user needs.
  2. IDEATION: The ability to produce creative proposals to identified design opportunities, using design thinking, modelling, and prototyping strategies, with an appropriate integration of functional, technical, ergonomic and visual factors.
  3. IMPLEMENTATION: The ability to select and use appropriate making and manufacturing processes with an understanding of the potential of new technologies, and the demands of sustainability.
  4. INFORMING: The ability to use visual and verbal communication, to explain and persuade, as appropriate for different audiences.
  5. CONTEXTUALISATION: The ability to locate your own activity within the multiple contexts of design practice, including the theoretical, professional, cultural, environmental and technological contexts.
  6. SELF DEVELOPMENT: The ability to carry out independent learning and reflexive evaluation of your work, as well as to plan and implement action, effectively managing self and others.

Graduate Degree Programs in Art & Design

Majors

Minor

for the Master of Design in Industrial Design 

School of Art & Design

School of Art & Design
Art & Design Faculty
School Director: Brooke White
Director of Graduate Studies: Terri Weissman
138 Art and Design Building, 408 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, IL 61820
Graduate Office: (217) 333-0642

Graduate Studies Advisors:

MA; PhD in Art History: David O'Brien
MA; EdM; PhD in Art Education: Laura Hetrick
MDes in Industrial Design: David Weightman
MFA in Studio: Emmy Lingscheit
MFA in Industrial Design: David Weightman
MFA in Design for Responsible Innovation: Stacey Robinson

College of Fine & Applied Arts

College of Fine & Applied Arts

Admissions

Ellen de Waard: edewaard@illinois.edu
Graduate College Admissions Requirements