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MFA in Design
The Master of Fine Arts in Design program, with a concentration in design studies, challenges students to think deeply and broadly about the role of design in society, with a focus on four objectives: creative production, integrated research, critical perspective and cultural impact.
Overview
Purpose
We intentionally recruit applicants from diverse disciplinary and cultural backgrounds to form an educational environment designed to expand and enrich students’ capability and awareness, training them to synthesize approaches from various fields to produce designed artifacts that showcase applied concepts that are innovative, culturally relevant and research-based.
Graduates of our program approach design on a strategic level to provide a high degree of constructive and sustainable value for the benefit of a diverse and inclusive society.
VCUarts Qatar Gallery, Annual MFA Exhibition
Image by: Raviv Cohen
Mission
The MFA in Design program is interdisciplinary because designers face complex problems that defy easy categorization. Increasingly, they need to navigate between and blend disciplines, maximizing resources and working adaptively to create new environments, visuals, messaging, and artifacts.
Our full-time, two-year graduate program trains students to understand clients, collaborators, and design challenges in original and authentic ways. The program combines aspects of fine arts studio practice, digital craft, architecture, and graphic, fashion, and product design, thereby providing a hybridized education.
Our program’s strength lies in its ability to support each student’s unique interests, providing a customized, educational experience tailored to the needs of each individual.
We set high expectations, encouraging discipline and rigor in the pursuit of nuanced, meaningful work. Our program attracts students who are inquisitive, open-minded, and eager to explore and experiment. Within the program, we nurture a practice-based approach, employing a variety of tools, materials, and fabrication methods in pursuit of thoughtful, authentic outcomes. We empower each student to develop a unique research focus and body of work.
MFA in Design Research
The MFA in Design program offers generous research support, fostering creative activity and encouraging innovative, authentic work. Students benefit from generous Graduate Fellowship funding, access to the Graduate Student Research Grant program, funded participation in MFA ON-THE-GO, our annual field study program, and special one-time research stipends designed to support eligible, individual opportunities. Faculty are eligible to apply for internal grant support funding through the peer-reviewed Faculty Research Grant process.
Student Thesis Projects
Faculty Research
Other Projects
Collaborative Matrix by Reema Abu Hassan
re:collections by Yasmeen Suleiman
Smart Block by Marco Bruno
Careers
Terminal Degree
The MFA in Design with a concentration in Design Studies is a terminal degree in the field of design; that is, it is the credential needed to teach at the university level. Graduates from our program pursue diverse and rewarding careers in art and design as practicing designers, independent makers, curators, business owners, entrepreneurs, academics, and researchers.
MFA Class of 2016, Assistant Professor, Department of Fashion Design + Merchandising, VCUarts, Richmond
Meet our Alumni
Prototypes for Humanity
VCUarts Qatar MFA in Design student Alaa Albarazy’s thesis project selected by an international jury for exhibition during Dubai Design Week, November 8-13, 2022, Dubai, UAE. His project was one of 100 projects selected from submissions from more than 500 universities and more than 100 countries.
Best of Class
VCUarts Qatar MFA in Design student Amna Yandarbin’s thesis project selected for top honor by an international jury consisting of Alberto Meda, Francesca Picchi, Giulio Iacchetti, and Marva Griffin at the Lost Graduation Show, curated by Anniina Koivu, which took place during the 2021 Supersalone, Salone del Mobile, Milano.
Judges Winner, Contemporary Craft
VCUarts Qatar MFA in Design student Reema Abu Hassan’s thesis project chosen by a panel of judges as the best overall project in the category of Contemporary Craft, at the Arts Thread Global Design Graduate Show 2020.
Our People
