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Undergraduate Studies

Bachelor of Science in Design (BSD)

When choosing a university setting in which to study Design, it is important to look at the ways in which a program organizes its educational approach. The Department of Design's undergraduate activities fall into three major programs, each leading to the Bachelor of Science in Design (BSD) degree: Industrial DesignInterior Design, and Visual Communication Design.

The BSD provides focused professional study in one of three areas: Industrial Design, Interior Design, or Visual Communication Design. Our undergraduate degree programs provide comprehensive, professional training in the design disciplines, while also emphasizing collaboration between each of the areas of study. Our curriculum is built around the principle that design research is central to the design process, and should always take into account the complexities that come from making the world a better place - ecologically, economically, and socially. Students develop projects that demonstrate their abilities to create solutions that meet or exceed professional expectations. The degree prepares students to enter the workforce directly upon graduation. 

BSD Major Programs

At the end of the Design Foundation year, students submit a portfolio for review. The portfolio consists primarily of work completed in the Design Foundations courses, though there is opportunity for supplemental work as well. From the portfolio review, finalists for each major are selected and given opportunity to interview with the major area faculty. Through this process, no more than 54 students are selected to become Design majors (16-18 in each of the three design disciplines). At this point, students begin their major specific course work, but there continues to be an emphasis on collaboration between each of the areas of study. 

Undergraduate Minors

An undergraduate minor consists of a coherent curricular program designed to allow students to pursue academic interests that go beyond their major.

Students pursue minors to complement their major's area of specialization, to better define themselves academically and to employers, to gain credit for classes previously taken that do not count towards a major, or merely to pursue other interests. 

From our flagship Design Thinking minor to one of the many interdisciplinary minors we participate in, there is surely a way to incorporate design into just about any academic experience at Ohio State.