Admission Requirements

The University's general requirements for admission are outlined in Section 2.1 of the General Regulations in the Graduate Calendar.

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, interdisciplinary design development, strategic design planning, knowledge creation and dissemination.

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.

• Two Letters of Recommendation

Applicants must provide two (2) 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.

• 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.