Give
GIVE
Support the Future of Human-Centered Design at Illinois
A gift to the Siebel Center for Design is an investment in creativity, collaboration, and the kind of hands-on learning that empowers students to solve real-world challenges. Your support enables students, faculty, and community members to learn design by doing—and to do it with empathy.
Whether you want to support future engineers learning human-centered practices or help us expand access to one-of-a-kind student experiences, your gift directly contributes to programs that shape how design lives and grows at Illinois.
Ways to Give
SCD currently accepts contributions to two primary funds:
Annual Gift Fund
This fund supports our most urgent priorities and allows us to grow programs across four key focus areas:
Human-Centered Engineering
With internal funding from The Grainger College of Engineering, we’ve launched a growing collaboration to embed human-centered design into engineering education. That includes new curriculum, faculty partnerships, and cross-disciplinary student experiences. To continue and scale this nationally distinctive work, we need sustained donor support.Seed Funding for Faculty Affiliates
Nearly 100 faculty from across the university are now part of the SCD Affiliate Program, exploring how design can enrich teaching and research. With targeted seed funding, we can support affiliated faculty as they launch collaborative, interdisciplinary initiatives focused on design and impact.
Workshops & Trainings
SCD workshops in design thinking, maker skills, and educator development reach students, staff, faculty, and community partners. Demand for these offerings is high—and we’ve reached the limit of what we can provide without additional support.Experiential Learning
Through paid opportunities like our Concierge Team, Lab Attendants, Research Scholars, and Teaching Scholars, students engage in immersive, hands-on learning at SCD.
SCD truly opened my eyes to the design world in a way I hadn’t experienced before. It introduced me to areas like UX and human-centered design that I wouldn’t have explored through my major alone. Being part of SCD gave me a creative community where I felt supported and inspired.
Giovanna Gutierrez
B.A. 2025, Concierge & Communications Specialist
I've grown so much from working at SCD! I’ve been able to explore my passions while building my skills through technical work. I’ve also met many people and learned from them as mentors.
Anne Schmidt
B.F.A. 2025, Concierge Manager
SCD has contributed to my personal and professional growth by providing me with the foundational tools to approach solving complex challenges in a human-centered manner.
Lucia Moss
B.S. 2025, Teaching Scholar, Research Assistant & Marketing Team Member
Working at SCD for the past 3 years has been a wild ride. I learned from upperclassmen and started using The Shop to pursue hobbies I had never been able to before. Now, as a senior, I try to pay that forward and teach new staff members new skills.
Keegan Teal
B.S. 2025, Shop Supervisor
UX Days Conference Gift Fund
Gifts to this fund directly support UX Days, a professional development conference designed for students and early-career professionals pursuing work in user experience (UX). Since UIUC does not offer a UX major, this event bridges the gap between classroom knowledge and real-world UX practice.
UX Days provides students with hands-on skill-building, exposure to industry roles, mentorship opportunities, and direct access to professionals in the field. Currently, we charge a modest registration fee for attendees. With donor support, we hope to offer this event for free—or provide scholarships to make it more accessible for all students.
What Your Support Makes Possible
Students often tell us that SCD is where they found a sense of belonging, purpose, and confidence to lead.
Joining the team at SCD taught me a new understanding about empathy and inclusion that I did not realize I needed. One of my favorite parts about undergrad was working here.
Darina Lubenov
B.S. 2025, Marketing Team Member
I've made great friends at SCD and it has been a huge part of my college experience.
Keegan Teal
B.S. 2025, Shop Supervisor