Designing in the age of AI — SDS Admissions Spring 2027, Open Now!

[Joe Austerweil]

Dear Colleagues,

Admissions are now open for the Master’s and PhD programs at the School of Design & Science (SDS), Chiba Tech, for Spring 2027.

SDS is an English-language, antidisciplinary graduate school based in the Chiba–Tokyo area. Our program is designed for people who want to create evidence-based products, services, and systems that have real-world impact.

We begin with the premise that AI is no longer just a tool. It is becoming a foundational medium for research, design, and social transformation. Based in Japan, where there is a distinctive openness to integrating new technologies across society, SDS gives students the opportunity to explore how AI is built, applied, governed, experienced, and diffused through real communities and institutions.

To learn more, please see the following booklet. It offers an inside look at who we are, who teaches at SDS, and what the program experience is like.

One of our first-year students, Kotaro Iwata, reflected on his second project this way: 

“For anything the parser can catch, AI finds the bug instantly. For ‘the code runs, no error appears,’ AI misses it too — unless the human has first verbalized the expected behavior.”

Meet the Faculty
Mizuki Oka, Joe Austerweil, Sputniko!, Catharina Maracke, Ira Winder, Hiroki Kojima, Daum Kim, and Joi Ito

Online Info Session
Join us to meet our faculty, learn more about the curriculum and current projects, and ask any questions you have regarding the admissions process.

June 22: 10:00–11:00 JST | June 21: 21:00–22:00 EDT

Register here to participate: Registration Link

Apply
Pre-applications open on June 1, 2026 and close on June 30, 2026.

Apply here: https://sds.chibatech.dev/apply

Questions?
Reply to this email or contact us at admis...@chibatech.dev.

Warm regards,
SDS Admissions
School of Design & Science
Chiba Tech