Design MDes

Additional Admission Requirements

Applicants with non fine arts degrees must demonstrate technical and artistic/scholarly competence in their desired research area and must exhibit a strong foundation in design practices from an interdisciplinary perspective. Qualified applicants requiring prerequisite courses may be required to take such courses in addition to their regular graduate program.

The letter of intent should contain a well-articulated description of the potential research foci, indicating a relevant contribution to design or design scholarship. The accompanying preliminary research proposal should include well-formulated research questions, addressing the theoretical frameworks in which question will be addressed, potential outcomes, and a justification of the relevance of the topic. The proposal must also include an assessment of the feasibility of the proposed research over three consecutive semesters, demonstrating evidence of knowledge and skills relevant to the program and proposed area of concentration. Admission is contingent on the availability of an appropriate faculty member in the Department of Design and Computation Arts who agrees to serve as thesis supervisor. Applicants are encouraged to select a supervisor in advance, before admission. In special circumstances, the supervisor can be selected at the latest by the end of the first semester.

In addition to the proposal documentation, applicants must arrange for official transcripts from all previous post-secondary studies and three letters of reference (at least two from academic sources) to be sent. Following initial review of the application dossiers, selected candidates will be invited to interview with the Admissions Committee. Local residents are expected to appear in person while remote applicants will have the option to be interviewed through teleconferencing or video conferencing. It is incumbent upon remote applicants to make financial arrangements should they choose to attend the interview in person.