Launch a Community-Centered Design Career with an MDes From the University of Arkansas

"The Master of Design in Communication Design (MDes) at the University of Arkansas School of Art, housed in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, is now accepting applications through January 15, 2026. This two-year, terminal degree prepares students for a collaborative, studio-driven, and research-led approach to advanced design study. Located in one of the fastest-growing regions in the US and near the headquarters of three Fortune 500 companies, students gain professional experience in conceptual exploration and hands-on making."

""What sets our program apart is our strong community-centered design focus," said Ryan Slone, interim MDes graduate director and assistant professor of graphic design. "Students regularly work with nonprofits, businesses, and cultural partners, plus participatory and social-impact experiences are built directly into the curriculum.""

"The program combines intensive design studios with seminar courses in ways uncommon in other graduate programs. Studios such as Design and Communities, Design and Futures, and Design and Technology create speculative, technologically engaged environments, while rotating special topics courses - Design and the Poster, Handmaking for the Digital World, Speculative Wayfinding, and Design and Maternal Health - allow students to explore specific areas of i"

A two-year, tuition-free Master of Design in Communication Design prepares students for advanced, collaborative, studio-driven, and research-led design practice. The program emphasizes community-centered design through regular partnerships with nonprofits, businesses, cultural organizations, and direct participatory and social-impact experiences built into the curriculum. Students engage with emerging technologies, speculative design, and design futures while gaining hands-on making and conceptual exploration opportunities near major corporate headquarters. Curriculum combines intensive design studios with seminar courses and rotating special topics to enable focused exploration of areas such as poster design, handmaking for the digital world, wayfinding, and maternal health.

Read at Hyperallergic