Design

Master of Fine Arts
Master of Arts

For More Information

Campus address: Art Building (ART) 3.330, phone (512) 471-3377; campus mail code: D1300

Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Program in Design, School of Design and Creative Technologies, 2301 San Jacinto Boulevard Stop D1300, Austin TX 78712-1412

E-mail: Violet Cantu, Graduate Coordinator: vcantu@austin.utexas.edu

URL: https://designcreativetech.utexas.edu/mfa-design

Facilities for Graduate Work

After completing required safety training, graduate students in design may use the building’s woodshop, computer lab/digital printing lab, risograph lab, in-house fabrication lab (equipped with ABS-plastic and thermal 3D Printers, large-scale CNC router, laser cutters, and vinyl cutters), and letterpress printing lab (featuring platen presses, proofing presses, bookbinding equipment, and an extensive collection of metal and wood type), all housed in the Art Building.

Graduate students in design also have ready access to the book and periodical collections of the adjacent Fine Arts Library (FAL), where they may also check out photographic, video, audio, computer, and robotic equipment. The FAL is also home to the Foundry, a staffed maker space equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, VR headsets, sewing machines, mills, soldering guns, large-format printer, vinyl cutter, video wall, recording studio, and workstations with game development software.

Areas of Study

Through advanced studio courses in design, elective courses in related fields, and design history/theory/criticism courses, the curricula of the graduate programs in design encourage students to take full advantage of the programs' location within a top-tier research university. Rather than offering traditional medium-based specializations in communication design, interaction design, or industrial design, the programs instead encourage students to integrate knowledge and modes of inquiry from other disciplines into their design practice, and to develop mastery in a range of image-making, typographic, modeling, prototyping, and/or coding skills most appropriate to their own area of investigation.

Graduate Studies Committee

The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring 2019 semester.

Katherine Canales Kate Catterall Carma Ryanne Gorman

Jiwon Park Monica Penick James Walker