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Rutgers MFA in Design accepting applications

Work by Sophie Auger, 2022.
Work by Corina Coughlan, 2022.
Work by Saba Maheen, 2024.

The MFA in Design at Rutgers University is an innovative program that situates a critical, experimental, and speculative studio practice within a major public Research University. Through close personal attention in studio and seminar classes, we enable designers and artists to develop and realize their distinct research directions. The MFA encourages work that is grounded in scientific, aesthetic, political, or social research. All admitted students receive scholarship support, and other opportunities including teaching where appropriate.   

Our dedicated studios and excellent facilities are on our campus in New Brunswick, an hour from New York and Philadelphia. The curriculum interweaves studio work and theory with opportunities for collaboration with scholars across Rutgers. The program is at the heart of an interdisciplinary department that fosters and integrates a dynamic range of art and design practices. The MFA encourages applications from designers, artists, and interdisciplinary practitioners. Further details on the program and how to apply are here. 

Short Description for Advanced Design Class

Spring 2013

Advanced Design in Spring 2013 will be a practicum, in collaboration with biomedical engineering department of Rutgers University.
Throughout this course, design students will work on a research project to build a mobile game/ application which will be used to monitor kids at early ages for detecting autism and some other neuro-developmental abnormalities. As previously discussed in interaction design classes, these new digital artifacts and gadgets are equipped with a wide range of sensor set, that they can sense human body and its reactions. Designers’ challenge here is not only creating an attractive, fun and friendly interface but also trying to reduce the noise in the data set by iterating the interaction design with the user feedback.

Design crew will specifically work on:
‣ visual identity for the project
‣ designing the keyframes and animations ‣ improvement biometric space around
‣ reducing the data noise
‣ producing printed and video tutorial sets
This game like application will hep to establish a foundation to systematically answer questions about the developmental trajectories and genetic influences that characterize autism spectrum disorder, and, ultimately, apply these answers toward cost-effective platforms that enable early-stage intervention and improve quality of care.
Working on this project will improve designers’ skills on:
‣ interdisciplinary research ‣ teamwork
‣ game design
‣ user interface design
‣ interaction design
Most importantly, students will have the chance to help an healthcare project which can dramatically reduce the costs of these kind of detection practices and make it available to economically or geographically challenged communities.
Please contact Atif Akin [atif.akin [at] rutgers.edu] for further inquiries.

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