Design Thinking Minor

Three students collaborating on a mind map at a chalkboard.

Design Thinking Minor

Design Thinking at Ohio State empowers students to approach complex challenges with creativity, curiosity, and confidence. Through the study of design processes and human-centered innovation, students gain the tools to navigate uncertainty, generate meaningful ideas, and create solutions that make a positive impact across disciplines and industries.

Students will build a solid understanding of basic principles, processes and applications of Design as related to a wide spectrum of disciplines. The focus on the student’s critical thinking development, to efficiently and effectively addressing the complexity that often surrounds unmet or unrealized needs of people. Each course invites students to discover the design thinking methodology—providing them with the tools and opportunities to practice, using their own voice to identify and quantify meaningful problems, offering their understanding towards establishing goals and developing their perspective towards different sets of solutions.

No permissions or approvals are required to enroll in any of these courses or to pursue the Design Thinking Minor, but students pursuing the minor should alert their college or school academic advisors of their intent, so that the correct plan (DSGNTHK-MN) can be assigned to their records and tracked in their Buckeye Degree Planner. Courses can be taken in any order. 

"Design Thinking trains students to face uncertainty with creativity and confidence, building skills to innovate in a rapidly changing world."

Adam Fromme, Design Thinking Coordinator 

Design Thinking Minor Requirements

  • Design 2700: Introduction to Design Practice 
  • Design 2750: Design History 
  • Design 3105: Exploring Design Thinking 
  • Design 3305: Visualization as Thinking 
  • Design 3505: Presentation as Thinking

Additional requirements can be found on the Design Thinking Minor Advising Sheet found on the College of Arts and Sciences website.