Master of Arts in Sustainable Design

Designers need to know the fundamental properties of materials, how they combine, and how they exist in the cycles of industry and the earth. In short, life cycles. Where do materials come from? How are they changed during manufacturing? What happens to the design while it "lives" and where does it go at the end of life? This course covers life-cycle-related topics, along with product-service systems and collaborative consumption, through weekly discussions, analysis, calculation of impacts, and visual illustration of the life cycle. Students will work individually and collaboratively.

Students will learn how to abstract functional strategies from nature to apply to the process of innovative design. This project-oriented studio course will cover core biological principles, astound students with the wealth of design solutions available in nature, and provide numerous case studies of innovative designs inspired by natural models. Overall, this course provides powerful metaphors and methods for looking to nature as model, mentor, and measure in our designs.

We are increasingly surrounded by data, and information is collected and categorized in the smallest of increments. Data on sustainability is no exception. How do we use and present data in a way that is relevant for consumers? In this course, students will learn about the growing field of information design and critically evaluate how it relates to communicating sustainability. Customized project-based assignments will take students deeper into real-life situations.

Designers, brand leaders, and manufacturers can play a powerful role in effecting change on both local and global levels. Design roles shift when we view design as a tool or opportunity to enrich and add value to people's lives. Designers can use their communication skills and talents not only to create or sell products but to educate, engage, and inform society through design. Students will further explore both past and current discourses on design roles and responsibilities within the context of sustainability, and they will work together as a creative team to create and implement a project or campaign that raises awareness and inspires social, global, and environmental change.

The professional practicum will provide an opportunity for students to gain practical experience in the evolving field of sustainable design and innovation. The practicum may be arranged by the director of career services, the sustainable design program office, or initiated by students, and all practicums must be pre-approved by the sustainable design program office. For a practicum to be approved, a mentor relationship and learning experience must exist beyond a simple employment opportunity. Three-credit professional practicums require working 135 hours toward the practicum project (can be accomplished remotely) and keeping a journal or blog to document the hours, activities, and learning process.

At a fundamental level, sustainability is working with nature by integrating our activities into natural cycles. In this course, students will learn how natural systems can inform our design and practice. Weekly assignments will cover the principles of design science, the geometry of nature, and the ways to put these principles to work.

In this course, students will examine the history and rationale for emerging public policy frameworks that promote design for the environment, product stewardship, environmentally preferable purchasing, and other strategies embracing product policy. Students will investigate the business case for product stewardship and other strategies to reduce the environmental footprint of products. Students will hear from several leading product-policy experts from government, industry, and environmental advocacy communities. European, Canadian, and Asian policy experience with product policy will be considered as well as an analysis of the tools available to policymakers to promote product policy, including laws, voluntary agreements, and demonstration projects.

From production methods, business practices, and stakeholder relationships to corporate giving and vendor associations, people are paying attention to who is serving their needs as much as what they are being sold. More and more, consumers are searching for ethical values in the products and services they are buying. In this course, students will discover opportunities for applying ideas based on corporate values as well as how to establish and profit from healthy and long-term stakeholder relationships. 

Savvy designers, entrepreneurs, and business people go beyond typical green efforts and strive to underpin their businesses with sustainable values, principles, and actions. Inspiring examples drawn from eco-leaders will guide students with the development of best or better practices. Students will further their understandings of industry standards and green business certification components and put them into practice by developing written action plans and policies that can be tailored to their workflows or businesses. Students will learn how to grow their businesses in innovative ways, making a difference step by step, but with a smaller eco-footprint than ever before.

Sustainability is the commonsense notion that long-term prosperity, social equity, and ecological health not only go together but also depend on one another. Making a sustainable way of life requires changes in the design of most everything. In this introduction to sustainability, students will look at how to do this within their businesses, considering energy and materials use, how our cities and buildings are constructed, and how we live day to day. Students will study sustainability frameworks and patterns in economics and habitation in preparation for critiquing and redesigning organizations and places in their own communities. Design projects, weekly online discussions, essay quizzes, and brief visual presentations make up the course assignments.

This course will guide you through discovery and exploration of sustainable career choices in the growing green economy. Students will learn cutting-edge tips and strategies (i.e., employer assessments, market research, personal branding, and developing their T-shaped profiles) that they will use to make conscious career choices based on a better understanding of the changing marketplace, finding work-life balance, focusing their sustainability values, and creating a vision for the future.

Students will explore perspectives and strategies for the promotion of sustainable consumption. In this course, students will consider the impacts of everyday life as well as the larger societal drivers of unsustainable consumption. By reviewing various perspectives on consumption-related behavior and design, students will identify assumptions as well as the tensions and unintended effects of these assumptions. Fostering sustainable behavior is a pan-industry topic of great complexity and uncertainty that is at the forefront of sustainability studies today. Covering an evolving area for both policy and design, students will delve into groundbreaking concepts and approaches that will shape the world we will be living and working in tomorrow.

Students will use current sustainability frameworks (i.e., biomimicry, anthropogenic nature), material rating systems (life cycle analysis, cradle to cradle, SMART(c)), and analytical tools to practice designing with sustainable materials. Students will source and analyze materials with the help of product manufacturers, representatives, suppliers, and free or low-cost information available on the Internet. The tools provided in this course will help students to select and analyze materials for application to print, packaging, and product design.

We handle packages every day and they account for the majority of our waste stream. Using the format of a product-repositioning study, students will examine the core ideas of consumer perception and market triggers, material selection, environmental impact, and long-term strategic thinking. By the end of this course, students will be able to maximize a package's appeal while minimizing environmental impact.

The future of graphic design is sustainable design. Students will discover how to incorporate sustainable design principles into their graphic design work through pragmatic exercises. Students will learn the latest discipline-specific information while applying sustainable design principles and frameworks through design projects and exercises. Students will gain a solid understanding of design strategies, eco-labeling, materials, processes and techniques, and design tools and resources.