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Bachelor of Design Studies

The Bachelor of Design Studies (BDS) is an 8 semester degree that helps you develop as a designer able to achieve professional success through in-depth investigation, critical analysis, and creative inquiry. Focus your study in either Sustainable Building Technology or Computational Design.

*The BDS is undergoing a strategic repositioning to best meet student and design industry needs. While not accepting applications at this time, we will be in the near future and encourage you to contact Dean Don Hunsicker for information about the strategic process and timeline. Please contact Admissions for information about our related undergraduate programs.

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The BAC Difference

Study with working professionals: Your instructors are leaders in the field and bring current perspectives on design studies into the classroom.
Network across the College: During your first two semesters (known as Foundation), you’ll learn the fundamentals of design in multidisciplinary studios with students from across the BAC's four academic areas.
Real-world experience: Our graduates are putting their education to work in firms focused on building design, sustainability, construction project management, and graphic technology.

Wide-Ranging Curriculum

Studio, drawing, and digital media courses build your core skills in design and communication.
Courses in design history, art, humanities, and science equip you with practical and theoretical skills that can be applied in a wide range of creative industries.
Open electives give you the opportunity to explore your own interests related to Sustainable Building Technology or Computational Design.
Culminate your program with a thesis project that you create, develop, and complete under the guidance of faculty and your advisor.
Practicum Seminar—Design Studies’ unique applied-learning curriculum—sets students on a path toward a life of learning and growth.

Computation Design Program Details 🡢

Sustainable Building Technology Program Details 🡢

2022 Graduate Exhibit

Gabriella Lamoreux, BDS'22.

2022 Graduate Exhibit

Alex Southwell, BDS'22

Career Options

Created for students who want to explore design in all its possibilities, the BDS prepares you to pursue a variety of careers areas such as:

Building design
Sustainability program director
Retail design
Preservation advocacy
Construction project management
Graphic technology
Entrepreneur
Ecological design

2022 Graduate Exhibit

William Alloway, BDS'21.

2022 Graduate Exhibit

Giovanna Araujo, BDS'21

The Bachelor of Design Studies program emphasized process: analysis, criticism, and design thinking methodologies. Where other programs touch on these subjects, the BDS program thrives in them. This involvement in analysis gave me an edge in my career; it provided a foundation for my work in business and design.

Sara Massarsky (BDS ‘16)