Undergraduate Program in Design

In our global knowledge economy, ideas flow fast and far, creating extraordinarily elaborate systems of human connection. As designers, we facilitate understanding through devising objects, environments, and innovative platforms for interaction.

In AMPD’s Department of Design, students actively explore and expand the boundaries of design in managing and communicating complex bodies of information for meaningful human experiences in our increasingly visual world. Grounded in an understanding of the designer’s specialized knowledge, methods, and skills, students learn to recognize complex problems as being comprised of systems of social, cultural, and technological networks. By identifying points of entry for design intervention, students acquire the agency to define their role as an inventor, author, curator, entrepreneur, advocate, and social innovator in the rapidly expanding world of design opportunities.

York’s Bachelor of Design (BDes Specialized Honours) program recognizes that design is by nature an interdisciplinary endeavor. York Design draws strength from its home in a robust research university, offering students exposure and collaborative opportunities in areas such as business, engineering, technology, health, and more broadly, the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Students in the Department of Design pursue creative solutions to real-world problems involving users, their contexts, and interactions; design for immersive experiences and intelligent technologies; the discovery of new knowledge through the visual presentation of complex information.

Our world increasingly needs creative thinkers to ignite bold new ideas, invent transformative experiences, and develop innovative solutions for global challenges. As one of North America’s premier centers for education in the arts, York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD) will unleash your creativity and prepare you to thrive in a world where the single most valuable asset is creativity.

This is your opportunity to join Debra Brown (Cirque du Soleil choreographer), David Quilico (Vice-President of Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada), Georgiana Uhlyarik (Associate Curator of Canadian Art, Art Gallery of Ontario), and Hael Kobayashi (Executive Director of Creative Intelligence, University of Technology, Sydney), as York AMPD graduates, uniquely defining what creativity means today and how it will be imagined tomorrow.

Our School is committed to excellence, experimentation, and leadership. Learning by doing is the hallmark of our programs. We offer intensive professional training and in-depth academic studies in dance, design, digital media, film, music, theatre, and visual arts.

But disciplinary rigor is only one part of the AMPD experience. Guided by award-winning artists and leading scholars with real-world experience, you’ll push the boundaries between artistic media, explore emerging technologies, and discover the creative side of other fields. You will gain practical experience, explore career options, and build relationships with prospective employers through field placements, internships, and the School’s partnerships with creative industries and arts organizations, from Facebook to the Canadian Stage.

You have a dream. This is your time and this is the place to transform that dream into new ways of thinking, new avenues for your creativity, and new paths to success after graduation.