500 17th Street, NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20006
United States
The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University is accepting applications to its first-ever program in Interaction Design. With classes beginning in fall 2018, the Masters of Arts degree in Interaction Design invites students to shape and design new technologies for problems that matter in an interdisciplinary, public service-oriented framework. Emerging from new design initiatives across the school, Interaction Design at the Corcoran is for students who are inspired by complexity and interested in exploring new interdisciplinary approaches to design solutions.
Information session
Join Kevin Patton, Assistant Professor of Interaction Design, on Thursday, February 8 from noon to 1pm for an online information session and Q&A about our new Master of Arts in Interaction Design. Register here!
Two-year program
Interaction design seeks solutions to complex human and environmental challenges—from designing smart devices to reimagining educational environments. A unique and growing field, it explores the ways people engage with technology and their environments in their daily lives.
The MA in Interaction Design explores the connections between design innovation and community engagement. It explores the ways that interaction designers shape digital and physical environments, services, products and systems. Over two years and 42 credits, the curriculum educates emerging designers to research, analyze, prototype and design concepts that influence people’s interactions and behaviors.
The program places a particular focus on the delivery of services and the role of interaction design in public policy, a crucial and under-recognized site of interaction, preparing students to become innovators who can make a difference in nonprofit, government and business sectors.
Engagement Lab
The Corcoran’s Engagement Lab is an incubator for design-based problem solving with a focus on design for multi-layered social, cultural and environmental contexts. During each semester in the program, students have the opportunity to collaboratively develop their design practice in a real-world context by working with community-based and nonprofit organizations. Designing with and for people in the Engagement Lab involves rigorous self-evaluation of the ethics and the social and environmental impacts of design processes and solutions.
Internationally recognized artists and design professionals
The degree launches in tandem with the Wernick-Richman Lecture Series on Professional Practices. New for the 2018–19 academic year, the series provides an opportunity for internationally recognized artists, curators, critics and design professionals from around the world to engage with students through the lens of professional practice.
Incredible opportunities
The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design is located in the heart of Washington, D.C., a global hub for policy makers, tech leaders, NGOs and cultural institutions. Graduates will be well positioned to pursue careers with the many companies looking for artists and designers with Interaction Design backgrounds, including Apple, Google, McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, NBC, 3M, Disney and financial institutions. Consultancies and nonprofit organizations also seek designers with Interaction Design experience to innovate around civic and equitable design.
About the Corcoran
The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University prepares its graduates to be the next generation of cultural leaders. Part of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the school functions as an incubator for artists, designers and scholars, who learn from internationally renowned faculty at the intersection of creativity and social innovation. It is an academic experience like no other—inspiring students to research, create and innovate with the potential to shape the world around them.
