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Master of Industrial Design

Master of Industrial Design

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

The multidisciplinary nature of design thinking and design research, combined with students with unique academic and professional experiences create an educationally-rich space of interdisciplinary minds 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.

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Applicant Resources

MID Curriculum

Application Deadlines

Applications for Fall 2024 admissions to the Master of Industrial Design (MID) program have closed. Please check in at a later time for finalized Fall 2025 admissions cycle deadlines and information.

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.

Tentative Fall 2025 Admissions Priority Deadline: December 15, 2024
Tentative Fall 2025 Admissions Regular Deadline: January 15, 2025

 

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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.

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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.

Our Multi-Disciplinary Approach

Applicants for the Master of Industrial Design can come from any background. We offer a two-year degree and a three-year degree. Students who do not already have a bachelor's in industrial design take the three-year Master of Industrial Design program to build up their design skills.

Our Multi-Disciplinary Approach

There will always be a need for specialists who are supremely talented at creating solutions that fall within a particular domain. However, many of the most important problems today do not fall neatly into single disciplinary buckets that can effectively be addressed with a one-dimensional approach. Solving these will require leaders with the ability to synthesize ideas from multiple domains and apply them in a creative, user-centered and evidence-based way. Those who are able to do this are in high demand in any number of industries.

The goal of the Master of Industrial Design program at Georgia Tech is to equip design leaders to meet these challenges. The program stresses a human-centered, research-focused and evidence-based approach to design in a highly multi-disciplinary environment. Whether your goal is to specialize in areas such as design research, healthcare/medical device design, or interaction design, you will find the resources to explore new frontiers. As a tier-one research institution, our faculty are continually investigating new areas in design and technology. We work with industry sponsors to tackle real-world issues while leveraging the strengths on campus in areas such as engineering and computing.

Other Graduate Options

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MS-HCI

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

Be a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) or a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA).
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Labs and Research

Learn more about the different ways our faculty and students are engaging in research.

Graduate Academic Support

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Tim Purdy

Graduate Program Coordinator & Senior Lecturer

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Tamika Blanks

Graduate Academic Advisor

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