pupal: student project aimed to provide elderly with a smart diaper solution

Master of Industrial Design

Master of Industrial Design

Our programs are recognized as Human-Centered Technology Design STEM degrees.

The inherently interdisciplinary nature of design thinking and design research, combined with students' diverse academic and professional backgrounds, creates an educationally-rich environment of interdisciplinary collaboration within the MID program. The curriculum specializes in fortifying the designer's role in humanizing connections between people and technology, with a focus on the areas of interaction design, healthcare design, service design, product design, and user-experience research.

The School of Industrial Design at Georgia Tech is among the distinct preeminent design programs in the U.S. with access to the resources of a top-tier research university. Access to distinguished faculty and emerging technologies present a highly favorable environment for discovery, innovation, and intellectual freedom.

Upon completion, MID graduates gain versatility in industry due to their unique blend of skills. From positions in UX/UI design and research, to strategy and consulting, our alumni are equipped to fill a critical and growing need for tech-savvy and data-driven user-first advocates.

Join Our Community

Program Catalog & Requirements

Apply Now

Applicant Resources

Admissions Deadline

The Master of Industrial Design program is a recognized Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degree - CIP code 11.0105. STEM designation makes our international students eligible to apply for a two-year OPT extension, as well as STEM-specific scholarships.

Fall 2025 Admissions Deadline: January 15, 2025

 

Certificate Year* - FallHoursCertificate Year* - SpringHours
ID 6102 Graduate Studio A4ID 6103 Graduate Studio B4
ID 6104 Rapid Design Visualization2ID 6106 3D Design Methods2
ID 6105 Brand & Visual Design3ID 6107 Integrated Product Design3
ID 6109 Human Factors & Ergonomics3ID 6108 Survey of ID History3
 12 12
*The MID Certificate Year is designed for incoming students with academic backgrounds outside of industrial design. It aims to equip them with the necessary skills to successfully engage in master's level studies in the field.
MID Year 1 - FallHoursMID Year 1 - SpringHours
ID 6211 Graduate Studio 14ID 6211 Graduate Studio 2: Health & Wellness OR
ID 6213 Graduate Studio 2: Interactive Products
4
ID 6100 Intro to Graduate Studies in ID3ID 6403 Intro to Thesis Studies3
ID 6216 Service Design, Brand and Value Creation3ID 6101 Human Centered Design3
Graduate Elective**3Graduate Elective**3
 13 13
MID Year 2 - FallHoursMID Year 2 - SpringHours
ID 7000 Master's Thesis OR
ID 6400 Master's Project (Non-Thesis)
6ID 7000 Master's Thesis OR
ID 6400 Master's Project (Non-Thesis)
6
Graduate Elective**3Graduate Elective**3
Graduate Elective**3Graduate Elective**3
 12 12
**Elective credit varies by class. These values have been given to give the student an idea of elective distribution. While 16 credits in electives is the minimum, students may find they need to exceed this amount. For a list of program requirements and electives, please refer to the Georgia Tech Course Catalog. Students can also explore electives from other Colleges and disciplines. To ensure your elective choices align with your degree requirements, we recommend consulting with your academic advisor.

MID Program Duration and Placement

The 2-year program is suitable for students with a design or industrial design background. Students without such a background will be placed into the 3-year program, which consists of the 1-year preparatory certificate year followed by the 2-year master's program. In the certificate year, students will develop design skills in preparation for the rest of the program. Placement into each program is determined on an individual basis during the application process.

Our Interdisciplinary Approach

Georgia Tech's Master of Industrial Design (MID) program cultivates leaders capable of addressing complex challenges through innovative design solutions, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary exposure. Our curriculum emphasizes human-centered, research-focused, and evidence-based approaches, preparing students to synthesize ideas across disciplines and apply them creatively. The program provides students with a broad understanding of how various disciplines intersect with industrial design, enhancing their ability to create holistic solutions and fortify the designer's role in humanizing connections between people and technology. This interdisciplinary exposure includes introducing concepts from areas like psychology and computer science in interaction design, exploring elements of business strategy and systems thinking in service design, touching on healthcare practices, engineering, and ergonomics in healthcare design, incorporating aspects of behavioral psychology and human factors engineering in user-experience research, and considering materials science alongside aesthetics in product design. This exposure to multiple perspectives enables students to approach complex challenges from various angles, fostering innovative thinking.

Leveraging Georgia Tech's strengths as a top-tier research institution, MID graduates emerge as versatile problem-solvers, adept at translating complex technical concepts into user-friendly designs, balancing aesthetic considerations with functional requirements, and navigating the ethical implications of emerging technologies. This unique skill set positions MID graduates as valuable assets across various industries, where the ability to understand and integrate diverse perspectives is key to driving meaningful innovation. By embracing this interdisciplinary approach, MID graduates are equipped to tackle pressing issues that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries, making them highly sought-after professionals in today's interconnected world.

student project with an interactive tag, kiosk and informational banner

Designing a Network that Works

Our design studios teach design thinking: empathy, creativity, design research, user experience. Together with classmates from around the world, our students learn to validate their ideas, build compelling design stories, and uncover new market opportunities.

These student design teams are the foundation of a lasting, international network. Georgia Tech facilitates the collaborative power of a top-tier research institute and our world-class expert faculty. Additionally, our students have access to the School's prestigious network through industry-sponsored projects and internships.

student health and wellness project: FitU

Learn With Us

The kinds of problems tackled by designers have always been complex. The steady advance of technology only adds complexity. A good design today must not only provide an effective solution to a real problem, it must also consider many other factors related to things such as the impact on society, the environment, level of sustainability, support for disability and aging, marketing, finance, materials, or engineering. This is an array of variables that no single technology or discipline can tackle on its own.

Explore More

Students pose with a gigantic wheel they built.

Assistantships & Fellowships

Be a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) or a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA).
Multi-colored lamps that change color based on human interaction.

Our Research

Learn more about the different ways our faculty and students are engaging in research.
A student wears sensors on all her fingers, held on with rubber bands.

MS-HCI

Another route to graduate studies in Industrial Design is through the Master of Science in Human-Centered Interaction.

Graduate Academic Support

Tim Purdy Headshot

Tim Purdy

Graduate Program Coordinator & Senior Lecturer

Tamika Blanks Headshot

Tamika Blanks

Graduate Academic Advisor

Have a Question for Us?

 
If you can't find the information you were looking for, we'll get you to the right place.
Contact Us