MFA in Collaborative Design
Tito Jankowski
MFA in Collaborative Design at PNCA
Design Ecologies, Systems Thinking and Cultural Entrepreneurship
PNCA introduces its newest graduate program, the Master of Fine Arts in Collaborative Design, to commence in the Fall 2011 semester. (pnca.edu/collaborativedesign)
Utilizing design ecologies, collaborative research and art, design, and systems thinking, the MFA in Collaborative Design prepares students to lead efforts to promote positive change by aligning design with the goals and needs of diverse human and nonhuman stakeholders. Participants will encounter and co-create a series of expanded design practices and will develop skills to meaningfully address the emerging challenges of the 21st century.
Working in transdisciplinary studio teams, students will respond to and manage design briefs containing challenges such as resource depletion, emerging technologies, urban demographic change, and global climatic shifts. These environmental, social and technological challenges demand design practices that assemble and maintain networks of people, places and artifacts in order to develop non-trivial solutions.
Through the program's close partnerships and connections with local creative enterprises, the city of Portland, Oregon becomes the Collaborative Design learning lab. Students will graduate with a portfolio of projects that feature design as a process for considering and acting in a complex and highly interconnected world and the skills to deliver form and leadership using facilitation strategies and collaborative approaches.
The MFA in Collaborative Design, a two-year, 60-credit program, is open to students of varying backgrounds who demonstrate their inclination toward an expanded design practice including collaboration, working across disciplines and as advocates for communities. They will be passionate about making a significant impact and understanding its effect on the local, regional and international challenges of tomorrow.
PNCA seeks highly motivated students from a variety of disciplinary and professional backgrounds to apply for this unique Master's program by April 1, 2011. For more detailed information, visit pnca.edu/collaborativedesign. To receive information or updates on the MFA in Collaborative Design, contact the Admissions Office or visit the Collaborative Design blog. (http://pncacd.tumblr.com/)
The MFA in Collaborative Design complements PNCA's existing graduate programs in Visual Studies and Applied Crafts and Design by introducing the skills that students will need to address emerging challenges that span social, technological, ecological and economic contexts.
Fall 2011 Application Deadline: April 1, 2011
Pacific Northwest College of Art
1241 NW Johnson Street
Portland, OR 97209
About Pacific Northwest College of Art
Since its founding in 1909, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) has become a leader in innovative educational programs that connect students to a global perspective in the visual arts and design. In addition to its nine Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, PNCA offers graduate education with an MFA in Visual Studies and an MFA in Collaborative Design, as well as an MFA in Applied Craft and Design developed in collaboration with Oregon College of Art and Craft.
PNCA is actively involved in Portland's cultural life through exhibitions and a vibrant public program of lectures and internationally recognized visiting artists, designers and creative thinkers. With the support of PNCA+FIVE (Ford Institute for Visual Education), the College has a partnership with the nationally acclaimed Museum of Contemporary Craft. For more information, visit pnca.edu.