The Graduate Program in Design regards the designer as a thinker as well as a maker, working conceptually and strategically across the fading boundaries of traditional design disciplines. We challenge students to create work that fuels the evolution of design and demonstrates the power of design to meet the challenges of the contemporary world, generating engagement, evoking delight, and fostering social change.

The graduate thesis project is where philosophy and practice meet, serving as a demonstration of the designer’s process and promise. The work embodies research and vision, strategy and craft, beauty and function. This year’s graduating class has used transdisciplinary methods in the service of design goals as diverse as strengthening local community connections through food, exploring visual alternatives to email communication, helping kids learn math through dance and movement, and improving dental health in aboriginal Alaskan communities. The students’ visionary work provokes us to acknowledge design as both personal and public, innovative and experimental.

For more information about the Graduate Design program, please visit: http://www.cca.edu/academics/graduate/design.

Please join us in celebrating the work of the next generation of design leaders.

2010 Design Thesis Timeline
Presentations (Timken Hall): May 5, 7 - 9 pm, May 6, 1:30-5 pm
Gallery Talks (Grad Design Studio): May 4, 2 - 7 pm, May 5, 3 - 5 pm, May 6, 12 - 2 and 7 - 9 pm
Exhibition: May 4 - 9, 12 p.m. - 9 p.m. daily
Thesis Reception: May 5, 6 - 7 p.m.
Opening: May 6, 6 - 9 p.m.