• Transdisciplinary Design MFA

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  • Contact Us

    [email protected] 
    212.229.5150 (U.S. only)

    Program Contacts
    John Bruce, Co-director
    Eduardo Staszowski, Co-director

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  • The Transdisciplinary Design MFA academic program, offered at our New York City campus, addresses pressing social, economic, political, and environmental issues by uniting the theoretical focus of the social sciences and the transformative possibilities of artistic and design practices.

    Our curriculum brings together research- and action-oriented approaches in the exploration of political and philosophical questions and develops operational capacities aimed at advancing equity and justice. Our students collaboratively consider issues from multiple perspectives and at a range of scales, generating theoretical discourses that radically critique while proposing alternatives through collective fabulations, strategic propositions, and aesthetic exploration.

    Program Highlights

    • Transdisciplinary

      Rooted in the Latin word trans, meaning "across and beyond," the program emphasizes transdisciplinarity and the integration of thinking and action. It invites you to navigate and connect across diverse fields and spaces, breaking down disciplinary boundaries and embracing varied perspectives, methodologies, and practices.

    • Expanding Practices and Careers

      Prepare to expand your practice and develop your career across diverse fields. Use your work to embody complex ideas, generate new knowledge, and shift consciousness around pressing societal challenges, while fostering meaningful engagement, provoking dialogue, and inspiring collective action.

    • Applicant Profile

      Although the degree is an MFA and includes "design" in its name, this program is not a traditional fine arts or design course of study. No prior art or design experience is required. We welcome applicants from diverse fields, including humanities, arts, social work, activism, politics, media, and public policy. 

    • External Guests

      Learn from prominent creative practitioners, scholars, activists, and industry and government leaders who contribute to the program's rich, dynamic learning environment.

    • Collaborative Ethos

      Develop relationships and collaborations through processes of worlding, being, and becoming together. Moving beyond outdated, intrusive, exploitative, and transactional client relationships, you learn to foster solidarity, decentralize authorship, and challenge privilege.

    • Opportunities for Research and Teaching

      Engage with initiatives through The New School' Consortium for Transdisciplinarity  and other centers, institutes, and labs across the university.

    • Degree Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
    • Format Full-time, on campus
    • Credits 60
    • Duration 2 years
    • Other program status STEM-designated

  • Curriculum

    Composed of interconnected seminar and collaborative studio courses, the curriculum fosters creative learning through making and action that build capacities including convening, facilitating, visualizing, analyzing, synthesizing, translating, and proposing. Studios feature an evolving array of thematic areas of inquiry aimed at building relationships and responses that enable social progress. They function as collectives of students, faculty, and external collaborators in which the line between expert, researcher, and participant often blurs. Work engages with speculative narratives and material explorations. 

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  • Career Paths

    Graduates pursue a variety of careers, including design consulting; post-secondary teaching and research, organizational development; international development; service design; in-house design leads within government organizations and other industries; and other roles related to transformational strategy. Recent graduates have presented at international conferences, opened consultancies, and taken leadership positions within community innovation labs.

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  • Student Work

      See Our Work

    • Parsons faculty represent a broad range of expertise and are acknowledged as leading practitioners and scholars in their fields.

    • Beyond the Classroom

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        Research Labs

        Research is integral to the Parsons learning experience, and students and faculty work together to challenge existing paradigms and advance emerging scholarship and practice. Explore the thematic research laboratories housed at Parsons and throughout The New School.

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        Industry Engagement

        Connect to the organizations, businesses, and entrepreneurs driving global creativity and commerce. In classes, internships, and extracurricular projects, you gain marketable problem-solving skills in sectors ranging from government and nonprofits to tech and creative industries.

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        Internships

        New York City’s thriving creative industry and cultural institutions are part of your Parsons education. Our Career Services Office is enmeshed in the art and design industries and can help you advance your career with industry-oriented internships. 

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        Funded Opportunities

        Funds are earmarked for graduate travel, research, and work to support your study. Opportunities include paid teaching assistantships, research fellowships and assistantships (including ones offered throughout The New School), ample student employment, and other grants available to U.S. domestic and international students alike.

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        Making & Academic Resources

        Enjoy access to extensive resources including New School libraries, computer labs, archives, and studios, along with Parsons’ state-of-the-art Making Center, facilities offering a broad array of tools to support your creative and academic growth.

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      • Take The Next Step

      Submit your application

      Undergraduates

      To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

      Undergraduate Adult Learners

      To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

      Graduates

      To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.