Call for applications: MFA Program in Design

Priority deadline: January 5, 2021
Rolling deadline ends: May 1, 2021

Information to apply for fall 2021

The Design MFA Program 
–Fully funded MFA with tuition and health insurance paid
–Teaching Assistant (TA) and Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) positions
–Newly renovated shop, lab, critique, and studio spaces
–State-of-the-art equipment 
–Travel and production stipends and fellowships
–Interdisciplinary learning across the university 
–Deeply engaged and highly active faculty
–Associate Instructor teaching opportunities
–Lecture Series featuring renowned speakers
–Collaborative exchange opportunities 
–Yearly exhibition opportunities

The MFA in Design at UC Davis is a two-year program that encourages an interdisciplinary approach through research and practice that align with social and environmental responsibilities. We offer graduate students a unique opportunity to work with a dedicated and renowned design faculty within one of the nation’s top public research universities. 

Students work with outstanding faculty within the Design Department and the greater university. Design faculty expertise includes design theory, exhibition, fashion, history, information, interactivity, interior architecture, immersion, lighting, product, textiles, time-base, visual communication, wearables, and more. Students are encouraged to build connections across campus to expand perspectives and deepen understandings. 

Our two-year program guides students to develop their research and creative practices based on key understandings of design issues in history, theory, and practice. Through a series of carefully designed core courses, students progress alongside their cohort members while simultaneously advancing their individual theses. The MFA core courses are augmented by graduate-level independent and group studies and upper-division undergraduate level electives. The MFA program culminates in a written thesis and a thesis project in a widely publicized thesis exhibition. 

We are committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion. This commitment is reflected in the makeup of our faculty and student body, as well as in our varied research interests contributing to conversations in social justice, sustainability, public interest and public-engaged scholarship. 

Rankings
A focus on innovation and excellence distinguishes UC Davis, which is highly ranked in the nation and the world, according to influential university ranking publications like U.S. News & World Report (national and global), QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and The Princeton Review. The Wall Street Journal recognized UC Davis as the fifth-best public university in the United States in its Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Ranking (2018). Washington Monthly magazine ranked UC Davis second nationally among Affordable Elite Colleges in 2019. The UC Davis Department of Design is the only comprehensive academic design department in the University of California system.

Questions?
Contact Melany Miners, the Graduate Programs Administrator, at mjminers [​at​] ucdavis.edu or T 530-752-8710.