Industrial Design
Mackenzie Building 3470
Telephone: 613-520-5672
Fax: 613-520-4465
id.carleton.ca
The School
Director of the School: Thomas Garvey
Graduate Program Coordinator:
Gitte Lindgaard
 Master of Design (M.Des.)
The School of Industrial Design offers a program of study and research leading to the Master of Design degree. The M.Des. requires the successful completion of 5.0 credits, including a 1.5 credit thesis. The program is project-based, with a strong theoretical focus, and is normally completed after two years of study.
The focus of the M.Des. program is to advance the knowledge of design by building on the School’s experience and strengths in the field of design education. The primary objectives of the program are to promote design research, strategic design planning, knowledge creation and dissemination, and interdisciplinary design development.
Students examine and incorporate multifaceted design principles and practices that contribute to the strategic value of design with particular focus on the following key areas: advanced materials and manufacturing processes, advanced visualization, design and culture, design management, extreme environments, human-oriented design, product interaction design, sustainable design, and strategic design research.
The School provides a collaborative graduate studio space, a sensor lab and prototyping labs. In addition, students have an opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary interactions with faculty from the School as well as faculty and students from a diverse range of disciplines, all linked to the design development process.
Qualifying-Year Program
Candidates with admission deficiencies would be required to successfully complete additional prescribed courses to qualify for admission. Applicants without a degree in design may be required to register for up to 2.0 credits of courses selected from the undergraduate Bachelor of Industrial Design program, in consultation with the Graduate Program Coordinator.
All courses must be approved by the Graduate Program Coordinator of the School in consultation with the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research. (See General Regulations Section 2.3, “Completion of the Qualifying Year”, for more details.) Completion of the Qualifying Year is not a guarantee of admission to the Master of Design. Re-application to the M.Des. program is required.
Admission Requirements
The University’s general requirements for admission are outlined in Section 2.1 of the General Regulations in the Graduate Calendar. For admission to the Master of Design program, applicants must have successfully completed a bachelor’s degree in a design discipline, or the equivalent, with B- or better overall.
Applicants with a design-related background, but not a degree in design, will be required to demonstrate significant links between their academic background and professional experience in the design development process.
In addition to these academic credentials, applicants must submit the following materials to the School of Industrial Design.
Application Form
Statement of Intent (One page)
The quality of the statement of intent is critical to the likelihood of an applicant’s admission. The writing should be succinct and as carefully considered as the content of the statement, which should address at least the four following areas:
- What is the area of intended research with specific reference to the program courses and the expertise of the faculty members
- How the applicant’s academic background and professional experience relates to the program with reference to any previous research, scholarship, or project experience with interdisciplinary or collaborative teams
- How the intended research program will align with the objectives of the program relating to: design research, strategic design planning, knowledge creation and dissemination, and interdisciplinary design development
- An explanation of the specific reasons for choosing the School of Industrial Design at Carleton University.
Portfolio
The portfolio should provide the best examples of creative intellectual activity and recent professional work that indicates the applicant is sufficiently prepared to pursue studies in the program. These activities may be represented by proposals, reports, and/or analysis documents. Emphasis should be placed on evidence of understanding the communication of design ideas in visual form.
The presentation of the portfolio should be professional and facilitate the review process of the content, and should be submitted in prescribed format.
Three Letters of Recommendation
Applicants must provide three (3) confidential letters of reference appended to prescribed recommendation forms.
Language Proficiency
Proficiency in English is necessary to pursue graduate studies at Carleton University. All applicants are required to meet the requirements set out in Section 3.6 of the General Regulations of this Calendar.
Program Requirements
Master of Design
The Master of Design program requires the successful completion of 5.0 credits with at least 4.0 credits taken at the 5000 level or higher. The Graduate Program Coordinator must approve course selections. The program may be completed in four terms of study.
Specific requirements:
Year 1
Fall Term
IDES 5101 Interdisciplinary Design
Development Seminar
IDES 5102 Research Methods
Winter Term
IDES 5103 Interdisciplinary Design
Development Studio
1.0 credit of elective courses
Year 2
Fall Term
IDES 5201 Thesis Proposal
0.5 credit elective course
Winter Term
IDES 5202 Thesis
Academic Regulations
See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
Industrial Design does not permit the C+ option as stipulated in Section 11.2 of the General Regulations.
Graduate Courses
Not all of the following courses are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date statement of current course offerings and to determine the term of offering, consult central.carleton.ca.
Qualified students in other departments may, with permission of the School, enrol in IDES 5103.
- IDES 5000 [0.5 credit]
- Directed Studies in Industrial Design
- Reading and research tutorials.
- IDES 5101 [0.5 credit]
- Interdisciplinary Design Development Seminar
- Investigation of disciplines involved in design development, with experts in business, engineering, sociology/anthropology, architecture, psychology, human factors, industrial design, and others. Critical examination of methods used to integrate different approaches, and roles that personality, leadership, negotiation, conflict management, and teambuilding play in collaboration.
- IDES 5102 [0.5 credit]
- Research Methods
- Critical analysis of research methods in design and disciplines contributing to design including anthropology, psychology, sociology, and business. Application areas include advanced materials and manufacturing processes, advanced visualization, product interaction design, extreme environments, sustainable design, design and culture, design management, and human-oriented design.
- IDES 5103 [0.5 credit]
- Interdisciplinary Design Development Studio
- Team-based studio projects draw on interdisciplinary design development methods in achieving a common design objective. Projects will be supervised by academic and industry advisors from a wide range of disciplines, and conducted in collaboration with professionals from external organizations. Open to students from other programs.
Prerequisite: IDES 5101 and IDES 5102 or permission of the School of Industrial Design.
- IDES 5201 [0.5 credit]
- Thesis Proposal
- Investigation into a theoretically and practically relevant research problem. Students will analyze and synthesize findings involving interdisciplinary design development processes and develop these into a thesis proposal. This is a directed study with specific content, objectives, and scheduling arranged between student and academic advisors.
Prerequisites: IDES 5101, IDES 5102, and IDES 5103.
- IDES 5202 [1.5 credits]
- Thesis
- A comprehensive project that demonstrates the student’s ability to conduct critical research in a specific area in which design can contribute to competitive advantage through design planning and interdisciplinary design development processes.
Prerequisites: IDES 5101, IDES 5102, IDES 5103, and IDES 5201.
Faculty interest and expertise lie in the
following areas:
- Advanced materials and manufacturing
processes
- Advanced visualization
- Design and culture
- Design management
- Extreme environments
- Human-oriented design
- Product interaction design
- Sustainable design
- Strategic design research
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