Virtual Open House
Tuesday, December 14, 1–2:30pm (PST)
RSVP for Zoom link

Our Virtual Open House on December 14 is a great opportunity to learn more about the Design MFA program at UC Davis. We will give an overview of the program and curriculum, answer questions about the admissions process, and touch upon life as an MFA student at UC Davis. There will be a chance to ask your specific questions to a panel of faculty and current MFA candidates.

The UC Davis Department of Design is the only comprehensive academic design department in the University of California system. Our MFA in Design is a two-year program that guides students to develop their research and creative practices based on key understandings of design issues in history, theory, and practice. Through a series of carefully designed core courses, students progress alongside their cohort members while simultaneously advancing their individual theses. The MFA program culminates in a written thesis and a thesis project in a widely publicized thesis exhibition.

January 15, 2022, is the priority application deadline. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through May 1, 2022.

Benefits and opportunities offered by the Design MFA program at UC Davis include:

  • Fully-funded MFA with tuition and health insurance paid
  • Teaching Assistant (TA) and Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) positions
  • State-of-the-art Makerspace, shops, labs, critique, and studio spaces
  • Travel and production stipends and fellowships
  • Interdisciplinary learning across the university
  • Deeply engaged and highly active faculty
  • Associate Instructor teaching opportunities
  • Lecture series featuring renowned speakers
  • Collaborative exchange opportunities
  • Yearly exhibition opportunities

UC Davis Design is also pleased to announce a new pilot initiative on international exchange: the Design MFA International Sponsored Exchange Program. Our inaugural international exchange is with the School of Architecture at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico, with generous funding support from the Mexican energy agency.

We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This commitment is reflected in our efforts to recruit more faculty of color and the diverse makeup of the student body, as well as in our varied research interests contributing to conversations in social justice, sustainability, public interest, and public-engaged scholarship.

To learn more, RSVP for the Virtual Open House on December 14.

Questions? Contact Melany Miners, Graduate Program Coordinator, by emailing mjminers@ucdavis.edu or calling (530) 752-8710.

Follow us on Instagram at @ucdavisdesign.