Design and Technology Curriculum

New Media and Digital Design (NMDD) is changing to the Design and Technology (DEST) program. While NMDD will remain available for current students through 2032, new students entering in Fall 2026 will join the reimagined Design and Technology program.

Design & Technology is an interdisciplinary program with a clear social and creative mission: to explore how design and technology shape culture, community, and everyday life.

Our program brings together faculty from Communication and Media Studies, Visual Arts, Computer Science, and the Gabelli School of Business. Courses balance creative practice with critical reflection, encouraging students to approach design as both a tool for making and a lens for understanding the world. The program creates a community where faculty and students explore how design and technology can shape culture, address social challenges, and open new possibilities for innovation and expression.

The major consists of eleven courses (36 credits). Three are required core courses—Fundamentals of Media Design (DEST 1001), Fundamentals of Interaction Design (DEST 1002), and the Capstone Studio (DEST 4600). The remaining eight are chosen across four competencies that reflect the breadth of design practice:

Social Responsibility (Design as Social): how design shapes, and is shaped by, society, justice, and community.
Business Strategy (Design as Product): design in organizational and market contexts, including branding, entrepreneurship, and sustainability.
Design Methods (Design as Process): research practices and creative frameworks that generate ideas and solutions.
Making (Design as Material): hands-on creation of digital and physical artifacts, building mastery of tools and technologies.

Students take two courses in each competency, creating flexible, individualized pathways. Students emerge with a broad foundation for thinking and making, equipped to use design and technology as lenses for inquiry, collaboration, and creative expression across diverse contexts.

Program Goals

Students in the Design & Technology program will:

Integrate design, technology, and justice to address societal challenges creatively and effectively.
Commit to ethical, inclusive, and sustainable practices that prioritize community well-being and social impact.
Engage in experiential learning that bridges academic concepts with real-world practice, fostering professional readiness.
Develop leadership, cultural sensitivity, and lifelong learning skills to navigate and shape evolving design and technology landscapes.