北卡罗拉娜州立大学

The Master of Graphic Design (MGD) program helps move the passionate student toward a deeper knowledge of graphic and experience design and purposeful, individually driven design practices. Inquiry into contemporary and emergent design issues prepares graduates of the program for leadership positions that both evolve the profession and advance the discipline. Successful completion of the MGD results in a terminal degree, equal to the MFA, and qualifies graduates to teach at the university level or to pursue a PhD in Design.

Faculty charge graduate students to closely examine the cultural and technological situatedness of graphic design and its products, and to seek understanding of the people who use and interact with the things that graphic designers make. Coursework acquaints students with relevant theories and design research methods that frame and ground the design of propositional visual communication systems.

Varied topics prompt students to explore contemporary design concerns: the cultural contexts of design, the influence and experiences of end users, the social and technological environments within which designed artifacts operate. Subtopics within these broad concerns allow faculty and students the opportunity to frame, research, and respond to current and future design challenges.

The MGD program is consistently recognized as one of the top NASAD accredited graduate graphic design programs in the country and one of the few with STEM Classification (CIP). The faculty is nationally and internationally recognized (see Faculty at a Glance). Alumni are designers in leading professional offices around the world, faculty members in colleges and universities throughout the US and Canada, and doctoral students in PhD programs worldwide.

Affordable NC State tuition usually makes the cost of attending NC State well below that of equivalent graduate institutions. For out-of-state students, North Carolina residency laws recognize graduate students as residents after their first year.

Program Expectations

Graduate education differs from undergraduate study. The bachelor’s degree establishes core skills and general knowledge with which to build careers in mainstream design practice. Graduate education, by contrast, asks students to establish design and research agendas that will help shape the future of the profession as well as their own careers.

MGD faculty expect students to exhibit behaviors and fashion inquiries that deepen individual knowledge, further design making and thinking skills, and anticipate the future of graphic design practice. To this end, students should demonstrate:

Intellectual curiosity and independent thought;
Self-motivation for mastering literature and discourse in the discipline and related fields;
Processes for posing researchable questions and corresponding design studies;
The ability to analyze and synthesize current user experience principles;
Creativity and insight in the development and uses of form;
Time commitment that yields thoughtful, thorough, and sophisticated investigations;
A collaborative attitude.