UIC Master of Design (MDes)
in Industrial Design
The UIC MDes is a two-year professional degree program focused on an independent masters research project that offers students the opportunity to explore a topic of inquiry with the potential to inform and shape disciplinary knowledge. Graduate courses are designed to guide students through thesis development and to augment this process through the introduction of topics and projects related to design theory and practice.
Felicia Ferrone served as Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) in Industrial Design from Spring of 2015 through August 2022, overseeing curricular development, recruitment, and instruction for the ID MDes program. In the role of DGS Ferrone led the development of an ID MDes mission statement and the detailed development of individual courses that had been established concurrently to the formation of the UIC School of Design, established 2013. The current ID MDes program, implemented in the Fall of 2018, provides a framework of interconnectivity between research courses (DES 501, DES 502, DES 531, DES 532) and studio courses (DES 500, DES 550, DES 551) over the four semesters. This framework strengthened formal design development opportunities and brought more structured guidance to thesis development.
In addition to leading overall revisions to the ID MDes program, Ferrone co-developed course materials and instructional techniques for several of individual courses: DES 531 ID Master Project Research I (4hrs), DE532 ID Masters Project Research II (4hrs), and DES550 ID Masters Project Studio (12 hrs).