Master of Science in Design Technology

Graduate students pursue research in areas that bridge disciplines and domains to innovate across science and design for applications spanning digital tools, products, responsive materials, and the built environment. All students spend their first year in Ithaca; the second year is spent at either the Ithaca or Cornell Tech campus, depending on the student’s track.

As we witness one of the most significant paradigm shifts in the conceptualization and creation of our environments, objects, and interfaces, the M.S. DT program, codirected by Jenny Sabin and Wendy Ju, catalyzes multi-disciplinary expertise, exploration, innovation, and collaboration across design + interaction, design + materials, design + media, and design + environments. This synergistic and cross-disciplinary approach pioneers new modes, methods, and applications, redefining practices that advance experimental design and technology.

The M.S. DT is an interdisciplinary graduate program administered by the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP). Core faculty bring expertise from AAP, Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Cornell Bowers), Cornell Human Ecology (CHE), Cornell Engineering, and Cornell Tech. Students with an undergraduate or graduate degree in architecture or the design disciplines, engineering, biological or materials science, or computer science are likely M.S. DT candidates. The program is designated as a STEM program in Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology (CIP code 04.0902), making international M.S. DT graduates eligible to extend their F-1 visas for up to three years in order to work in the United States.

M.S. Design Technology Program Objectives

Our Master of Science in Design Technology is specifically designed to: 

• Afford students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds opportunities to expand their creative potential by increasing their knowledge and understanding of material and computational design, digital fabrication, and emerging materials and technologies at the nexus of biology, materials science, and design.
• Bridge disciplines and domains to generating innovations across science and design for applications spanning digital tools, products, responsive materials, and the built environment.
• Promote a culture of multi-disciplinary teaching and training across departments and colleges in Ithaca and New York City, including co-mentoring students in project-based design learning to expand offerings in emerging technology in areas critical to enhancing the university’s impact on this growing field.
• Foster transdisciplinary collaboration and hybrid thinking to prepare students for emerging design careers in the academy, in practice, and allied industries.
• Train cross-disciplinary leaders to engage and develop hybrid creative synthetic thinking in design through generative processes, digital fabrication, emerging technologies, and applications across disciplines.

The M.S. DT program prepares students and graduates to make meaningful impacts both within and well beyond our labs, studios, and classrooms. For example:

• Our graduate curriculum teaches students to be adept at using design to make use of leading-edge technology.
• Students are equipped with the knowledge and tools to pursue key roles in technology, product, and service companies, as well as to start technology-driven entrepreneurial ventures.
• Our cross-disciplinary ethos and emphasis on applied research give Design Tech Department faculty and students a unique edge in research.
• Design is taught as critical to the synthesis and application of research across disciplines to become and advance impactful technology.

Design Technology Faculty

Program Directors

Current Teaching Faculty in Design Technology

• Tiffany Cheng, Assistant Professor
• Marcelo Coelho, Design Tech Innovation Fellow / Visiting Lecturer
• François Guimbretière, Professor
• Harald Haraldsson, Associate Professor of the Practice
• Wendy Ju, Associate Professor
• Marirena Kladeftira, Assistant Professor
• Daniel Leithinger, Design Tech Innovation Fellow
• Jenny Sabin, Professor
• Jose Sanchez, Associate Professor
• Lawson Spencer, Instructor
• James Weaver, Associate Professor
• Uli B. Wiesner, Professor

Where will Design Tech graduates end up?

In industry and practice, our graduates can and do lead new companies, design units in the tech sector, shape alternative forms of practice, and build foundations that have a positive impact on a changing world. In academia, our graduates can pursue doctoral degrees, lead cutting-edge research, and teaching others to innovate and invent new products, tools, materials, and interfaces.