Interdisciplinary Certificate in Social Design
For students interested in combining human-centeredness with social impact design
Social Design is a growing discipline that focuses on inclusive expressions of design intended to equitably bring about social change and well-being for people and communities. In social design, change makers critically examine their roles and responsibilities for addressing challenges in society and prioritize the incorporation of marginalized voices in design processes.
Program Overview
Purpose:
Interdisciplinary Certificate in Social Design. The 12 credit interdisciplinary undergraduate certificate will scaffold a cohesive set of courses relevant to social impact design. The proposed curriculum will combine creative and human-centered design classroom content with immersive experiential methods to accommodate growing interest and demand among students across campus interested in designing innovative and socially impactful programs.
Key Learning Outcomes
- Gain a foundational understanding of the essential principles and values of social design.
- Demonstrate empathy with stakeholders, especially those who are typically underrepresented, to understand their needs
- Define social problems and opportunities by working closely with people often left out of design processes.
- Apply inclusive ideation techniques to develop social design solutions.
- Understand how to ethically prototype a solution.
- Learn how to use evaluation and testing techniques in social design efforts
- Practice applying design skills and knowledge within community-based service-learning projects.
Coursework
Required Courses:
- DTX 210: Introduction to Social Design (3 credits)
- DTX 455: Design Thinking for Social Impact (3-credits)
- DTX 499: Multidisciplinary Innovation Studio (3-credits)
Potential Elective Courses:
- ARCH 321: Environment, Architecture, & Global Health
- ARCH 423: Social and Behavioral Factors in Design
- ARCH 424/GWS 424: Gender and Race in Contemporary Architecture
- CMN 312: Communicating for Innovation
- EDUC 201: Identity and Difference in Education
- EDUC 202: Social Justice, School, and Society
- LA 480: Sustainable Design Principles
- LA 270: Behavioral Factors in Design
- LA 221: History of the Prison
- LA 446: Sustainable Planning Seminar (Same as GEOG 446, NRES 446, and UP 446)
- RST 199: Inclusive by Design
- RST 230: Diversity in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism
- RST 317: Designing Parks and Recreation Experiences
- RST 335: Leisure and Consumer Culture
- SOCW 312: Social Entrepreneurship and Social Change
- SOCW 375: Social Enterprise Lab
- UP 136: Urban Sustainability
- CS 470: Social and Information Networks
- CS 467 KGK: Social Visualization – Social Computing
- CS469: Computational Advertising Infrastructure
- DTX 499: Innovation Studio
Start here to initialize the Certificate
Complete the Certificate here
For more information, Contact Amber Dewey Schultz, SCD’s Academic Program Developer, amber@illinois.edu