Design Major

The BA in Design is a 14-credit** major available to students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. The major in Design innovatively explores the expansive nature of contemporary design and its relationship to the humanities, the sciences, and emerging technologies. The major’s curriculum emphasizes an integrated understanding of design that brings together different disciplinary approaches that respond to complex social, cultural, and environmental challenges. Students studying design acquire contemporary representation, prototyping, and fabrication skills, while engaging with theoretical frameworks yielding advanced research and knowledge production. These skill-sets are gained through exposure to diverse approaches to design methodologies, histories, and theories. Learning outcomes are evident through individual and collaborative projects utilizing conceptual, technological, and speculative approaches that emerge from the core and integrative studios. Design electives and seminars enrich, complicate, and expand disciplinary modalities, while engaging in deeper explorations of positionality within a global climate. Ultimately, the Design Major guides students through a process of learning to independently question, interpret, and analyze integrative design.

**The 14-credit major is available for students graduating Spring 2025 and beyond. Students graduating in Spring 2023 - Fall 2024 are declared into the 16-credit major.

Core Studio Requirements (2)
Students are encouraged to take these classes their freshman and sophomore year.

DSGN 0010  Art, Design & Digital Culture *
DSGN 0020 Design 21: Design After the Digital

*Course fulfills a College of Arts and Sciences sector requirement (Sector IV: Humanities and Social Science).

Integrative Design Studio Requirements (3)
Select four integrative design studios, such as:

DSGN 1011 (also offered as ARCH 1010) Intro to Design
DSGN 1020 Art of the Web: Interactive Concepts for Art & Design
DSGN 1070 Graphic Design I: Creative Technologies
DSGN 1200 Procedural Design Systems
DSGN 2040 Environmental Animation
DSGN 2070 Graphic Design II
FNAR 2100 Computer Animation
DSGN 2220 Immersive Media Studio
DSGN 2260 Pixel to Print
DSGN 2500 Cultures of Making
DSGN 2510 Biological Design
DSGN 2530 Functions for Form and Material
DSGN 2540 Information Design and Visualization
DSGN 2550 Interfacing Cultures: Designing for Mobile, Web and Public Media
DSGN 2570 UX/UI Design
DSGN 2580 Artificial Intelligence in Art
DSGN 3050 Design Tools & Tech
DSGN 3250 MATTERS
 

Art History & Theory Requirements (3)
Select 1 course in Art History (ARTH), and

Select two Theory Courses, such as:
Design or Fine Arts Seminar: DSGN 3000-3999 OR FNAR 3000-3999
-OR-
VLST 1010 Eye Mind Image
URBS 2050 Intro to Environmental Design
ARCH 4110 Geometry in Design
EAS 2030 Engineering Ethics
CIS 1070 Visual Culture

Design Seminar Requirements (2)

DSGN 4020 Senior Seminar -  Fall
DSGN 4030 Senior Seminar - Spring

Art and Design Electives (4)

Select any combination of four FNAR and DSGN courses to fulfill this requirement.

The Design Minor is a six-credit program available to undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, Wharton and the School of Nursing. The curriculum emphasizes an integrated understanding of design as a tool for inquiry that responds to social, cultural, and environmental challenges. Students minoring in design will engage in theoretical frameworks that utilize contemporary methods of representation, technology, and fabrication with a focus on knowledge production.

Core Studio Requirements (1cu)

DSGN 0010  Art, Design & Digital Culture *

*Course fulfills a College of Arts and Sciences sector requirement (Sector IV: Humanities and Social Science).

Integrative Design Studio Requirements (2cu)
SELECT TWO OF THE FOLLOWING:
DSGN 1011 (also offered as ARCH 1010) INTRO TO DESIGN
DSGN 1020 Art of the Web: Interactive Concepts for Art & Design
DSGN 1070 Graphic Design I: Creative Technologies
DSGN 2040 ENVIRONMENTAL ANIMATION
DSGN 2070 Graphic Design II
DSGN 2260 Pixel to Print
DSGN 2500 Cultures of Making
DSGN 2510 Biological Design
DSGN 2530 Functions for Form and Material
DSGN 2540 Information Design and Visualization
DSGN 2550 Interfacing Cultures: Designing for Mobile, Web and Public Media
DSGN 2570 UX/UI Design
DSGN 2580 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ART
DSGN 3050 DESIGN TOOLS AND TECH
DSGN 3250 MATTERS
 

History & Theory Requirements (1cu)

SELECT 1 OF THE FOLLOWING:
DSGN 0020 DESIGN 21
-OR-
Design or Fine Arts Seminar: DSGN 3000-3999 OR FNAR 3000-3999
-OR-
VLST 1010 EYE MIND IMAGE
URBS 2050 INTRO TO ENV DESIGN
ARCH 4110 GEOMETRY IN DESIGN
EAS 2030 ENGINEERING ETHICS
CIS 1070 VISUAL CULTURE
 

Design Electives (2cu)

Select any FNAR and DSGN courses to fulfill this requirement.

Majoring and Minoring in Design and Fine Arts
If a student chooses to major in Fine Arts and minor in Design or major in Design and minor in Fine Arts,  a maximum of 2 courses can be double counted for the major and minor. Four of the six courses in the minor must be unique.

To declare a Design major, schedule an advising appointment with Matt Neff, Director Undergraduate Fine Arts & Design (mneff@design.upenn.edu) or Kate Lawrence, Associate Director Undergraduate Fine Arts & Design (klawr@upenn.edu).

To declare a Design minor, submit the request in PATHForms. You do not need an advising appointment in order to declare a minor, but advisors are available through email and appointment to answer any questions.

The Undergraduate Program in Fine Arts & Design accepts transfer credits, credit away credits, as well as study abroad credits. To request a transfer, credit away, or study abroad credit to be reviewed by the Fine Arts Department, students must submit all course syllabi and other supporting materials from the respective institution using the College of Arts and Sciences External Course Approval Tool (XCAT). Credits will be evaluated and approved on a case-by-case basis, and must align with current Undergraduate Fine Arts curriculum and course offerings. 

Students must confer with College of Arts and Sciences policies governing credits