DGR-601 GRADUATE COMMUNICATION

Strong English language skills are essential for,success at CCS and in a future career as an,international designer. In this course, students,will develop and improve English communication,skills. Using a wide range of tools and,assignments, students will talk and write about,design with focus on planning and organization,,visual aids, audience, appropriate vocabulary,,revising based on feedback, and presenting before,a group. The skills acquired in this course will,enable students to produce a presentation on,design research conducted throughout the semester.

Credits: 1

Prerequisites:

DGR-613 GRADUATE SEMINAR

The Graduate Seminar course brings together the,full cohort of CCS graduate design students to,discuss and debate key contextual issues in and,around design, and advance critical thinking,skills. Students explore how engagement with key,contextual themes informs and enriches the design,process and design leadership. Students attend,lectures and seminars and undertake visits to key,exhibitions, galleries and/or public talks.,Graduate Seminar serves to advance both critical,inquiry and critical writing skills of students,,and enable the cross-referencing of theory to,practice. Weekly classes are led by debates in,areas including climate change, economics, social,justice, globalization and emerging technology.,This course involves extensive reading, research,,group presentations, short written assignments and,one longer written assignment.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites:

DGR-620 GRADUATE RESEARCH METHODS

The Graduate Research Methods course equips,students with the knowledge and skills required to,undertake a range of advanced research methods,appropriate to practice and critical inquiry in,art and design. The course covers primary research,methods, including design ethnography, field,research, case studies, interviews, reflective,practice, and practice-based methods. The,knowledge acquired throughout the course will,support students in the formulation of,sophisticated, reflective and fully reference,proposals for research-led creative practice, and,a rigorously informed critical discourse.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DGR 613 GRADUATE SEMINAR

DGR-631 WRITTEN THESIS

The Written Thesis is a self-directed,,academically rigorous and fully referenced,8,000-10,000 word document providing a critical,appraisal of primary and secondary research,sources, and theoretical discussion and debate on,the over-arching context of the Final Project. It,runs concurrently with the Final Project 1 course,in semester 1.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DGR 613 DGR 620

DGR-635 DESIGN THINKING

Students learn to use Design Thinking as a,cross-disciplinary method for problem solving. ,Design Thinking is characterized by a non-linear,,creative, playful, and collaborative approach for,generating and testing ideas through rapid,ideation and prototyping. Students learn to,challenge assumptions, take risks, and adopt,unconventional perspectives in the process of,problem solving. The class teaches students to,take a human-centered approach, led by user,empathy to (re)define problems, generate ideas,,prototype, model, and test concepts and ideas for,new products, services, processes, and strategies.,Students do not need any formal design training to,take this course, but will be required to,visualize, map, enact, and document thinking and,ideas in collaborative spaces.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites:

DGR-744 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

This course facilitates an ontological exploration,of creative thought, and asks students to consider,what it is to think like an artist and/or,designer, and how such thinking can converge with,other fields. With references to key texts and,works, students will be challenged to debate,,defend, and expound an epistemology on creative,thought with a clear treatise on leadership,predicated in creative thinking.

Credits: 3

Prerequisites: DGR 613