Bachelor of Design

The Bachelor of Design (BDes) degree is a four-year degree that offers three tracks for specialization: Products (industrial design), Communications (graphic design), and Environments (both physical and digital). Our curriculum emphasizes the importance of designing for interactions between people, the built world, and the natural world. (Learn more about our program framework.)

Working in collaborative, dedicated studio spaces, students cultivate skills and learn design theories, methods, and processes that help develop and refine their ideas. They craft objects, communicate concepts and develop complex systems that facilitate meaningful interactions.

We encourage critical inquiry and creative production, melding CMU with society and culture.

At the College of Fine Arts, we cultivate a community of nationally and internationally recognized artists and professionals within our five schools (Architecture, Art, Design, Drama and Music), our associated programs (BXA Intercollege Degree Programs and Arts & Entertainment Management), the Miller Institute for Contemporary Art and the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry.