Graduate Field
Design Technology
Program Description
The design technology program is a two-year research and project degree offered jointly by the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) and Cornell Tech which culminates in a master of science (M.S. DT). Core faculty bring expertise from AAP, the Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Bowers CIS), Cornell Human Ecology (CHE), the David A. Duffield College of Engineering, and Cornell Tech. Students with an undergraduate or graduate degree in architecture, design disciplines, engineering, biological or materials science, or computer science are likely candidates for the design tech program.
Students pursue research in areas that bridge disciplines and domains with the aim of generating innovations across science and design for applications spanning digital tools, products, responsive materials, and the built environment. All students spend the first year in Ithaca; the second year is spent at either the Ithaca or Cornell Tech campus, depending on the student's track.
In an era when we are witnessing one of the most significant paradigm shifts in the conceptualization and creation of our environments, objects, and interfaces, the M.S. DT program, co-directed by Jenny Sabin and Wendy Ju, catalyzes multidisciplinary expertise, exploration, innovation, and collaboration in several emerging technology areas, including design + interaction, design + materials, design + media, and design + environments. This synergistic and cross-disciplinary approach will pioneer new modes, methods, and applications, and redefine existing practices in the advancement of experimental design and technology.
All students in the M.S. DT program will spend their first year in Ithaca taking foundational studios and courses and electives. In the second year of the program, students will pursue one of two tracks, a thesis-centered research track (Ithaca-based) or a studio professional track (Cornell Tech-based). Students in the studio professional track at Cornell Tech will take the studio sequence, which includes Product Studio in the fall and either Startup, BigCo, or PiTech studio in the spring. In this track, students will develop a collaborative specialization project in teams.
Students in both tracks work closely with their special committee, take electives in support of their research during the fall term as necessary, and complete a capstone project in the spring semester.
Program Information
- Program Mode of Delivery: In Person
- Program Location: Ithaca, NY and New York City, NY
Program Requirements
- Minimum Semesters for Degree: 4
Graduate School Milestones
- Responsible Conduct of Research Training: Required
- Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID): Required
Course Requirements
Additional course requirements may be set by the student’s Special Committee. Program specific requirements that apply to all students are included below.
Year 1 (Fall)
Year 1 (Spring)
Year 2 (Fall)
Year 2 (Spring)
University Graduation Requirements
Requirements for All Students
In order to receive a Cornell degree, a student must satisfy academic and non-academic requirements.
Academic Requirements
A student’s college determines degree requirements such as residency, number of credits, distribution of credits, and grade averages. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the specific major, degree, distribution, college, and graduation requirements for completing their chosen program of study. See the individual requirements listed by each college or school or contact the college registrar’s office for more information.
Non-academic Requirements
Conduct Matters. Students must satisfy any outstanding sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed or agreed to under the Student Code of Conduct (Code) or Policy 6.4. Where a formal complaint under the Code or Policy 6.4 is pending, the University will withhold awarding a degree otherwise earned until the adjudication process set forth in those procedures is complete, including the satisfaction of any sanctions, penalties or remedies imposed.
Financial Obligations. Outstanding financial obligations will not impact the awarding of a degree otherwise earned or a student’s ability to access their official transcript. However, the University may withhold issuing a diploma until any outstanding financial obligations owing to the University are satisfied.
Admissions
Application Requirements and Deadlines
Application Deadlines
Fall, January 4
Requirements Summary
- A portfolio of creative work or equivalent must be submitted online via the CollegeNET application. Portfolios must be no larger than 20 MB or they will not successfully upload. All applicants are required to submit a portfolio that should represent the applicant's best work, including prior academic or professional work in the areas of design and emerging technologies or design adjacent fields. For applicants with prior degrees outside of design disciplines, published scientific and technical papers may be submitted in addition to or in lieu of a portfolio. The entire portfolio must be uploaded as one PDF file, using a landscape (horizontal) format for each page, to ensure that the width of the screen is maximally used to view each portfolio page (approximately a 4:3 ratio). If any portfolio project, drawing, or model has been produced by several designers or if the design was produced in a professional setting, each drawing must be labeled, clearly stating the number of designers, which drawings or details of drawings were produced by the applicant and a list of the names of all members of the group project. If the project was produced in an office, an office setting, or as an assistant to an author, the office name, supervisor, and all members of the team must be identified. Please note: The portfolio must be uploaded at the same time as the application is submitted (deadline January 3). Please plan your application process accordingly.
- All Graduate School requirements, including the English language proficiency requirement for all applicants
- Two letters of recommendation
- Academic/project statement of purpose and personal statement
- In addition to describing your academic/project goals in your statement, please address the following questions:
- Have you worked in a team environment? If yes, please describe your role and the results of the collaboration.
- How do you handle challenges in a team environment?
- What are your career aspirations?
- Transcripts
- International transcripts and international degree equivalencies
- GRE scores are not required or accepted.
Admissions Contact Information
Email: aap-grad-admissions@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-255-4376
Website: https://designtech.cornell.edu/academics/designtech/master-science-design-technology
