welcome to the MASTER IN DESIGN STUDIES (MDesS) program

The Master in Design Studies (MDesS) is a one-and-a-half year, postprofessional, non-studio degree program designed to enable students with specialized interests to pursue advanced studies through course work and independent study in the areas of history and philosophy of design, technology, urbanism, landscape, ecology, energy, conservation, art, design and the public domain, risk and resilience, and real estate. These areas of study complement the traditional elements of the GSD curriculum and allow students to customize a cross-disciplinary course of study with a high level of specialization. The MDesS program seeks highly motivated students with a keen commitment to rigorous research in emerging domains of design.
 
Program Directors 
Martin Bechthold, Professor of Architectural Technology
Sanford Kwinter, Professor of Architectural Theory and Criticism

Concentration Areas

We are currently offering eight different concentration areas (at left). These interdisciplinary areas of study are designed to reflect the diversity and evolving interests of the students participating in the MDesS program, as well as the changing nature of professional practice and scholarly research in the field of design. The research topics pursued by MDesS students are diverse and highly interdisciplinary.

Contact Us

For more information about the program, please visit us in Gund Hall at 48 Quincy Street, Room 334 or email us at mdes@gsd.harvard.edu.

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Barbara Elfman, Administrative Director
Gund Hall, Room 334 
617-495-2337 
belfman@gsd.harvard.edu