The Department of Design at UC Davis is the only comprehensive
academic design unit in the University of California system. The
major delivers a research-focused undergraduate (B.A.) curriculum
that fully integrates design history, theory and criticism, with
design thinking, making, writing, visual literacy, and creative
practice. Design students benefit from a dedicated faculty with
expertise in many areas of the visual arts. Our studio courses
include design as practiced in exhibition, fashion, information,
interior architecture and product (lighting and furniture),
textiles, visual communications (digital, environmental, and
print) and sustainable design. The Department of Design offers a
creative, challenging, and flexible approach to the study of
design with emphasis on socially responsible, human centered, and
sustainable practice.
We are currently offering remote and in person. Please make an
appointment online.
The undergraduate advising office for the Department of Design is
located in ART
101. To set up an appointment, please click here.
You may want to set up a 30 min appointment for the following
situations:
You are trying to declare a double major
You are a prospective student who wants more information
about the major
You have an athletic plan form
You are on academic probation or have been disqualified and
are working with a Dean’s Office counselor to be readmitted and
need an academic plan or have a “pass through” form
The department also has peer advisers who are in the advising
office. Hours will be posted at the start of each
quarter.
Design Honors Program Option
Undergraduate Design majors who meet university requirements and
successfully complete the application process can complete an
honors project thesis in order to be eligible for high honors or
highest honors upon graduation from UC Davis. A student will
enroll in DES 194HA (3 units) and DES 194HB (3 units) for this
honors project, and the courses are typically graded using
deferred grading where students receive a grade only at the
completion of the project after 6 units of work. In addition, the
UC Davis Department of Design requires honors students to apply
to the Undergraduate Research Conference with their honors
project (application in February).
By the fourth week of the last quarter of the junior year,
students potentially eligible for high or highest honors at
graduation may petition the Design faculty for tentative
acceptance into the Design honors program. Final admission will
depend upon the faculty’s approval of a senior thesis proposal
that has been agreed upon by the student and a faculty adviser.
The proposal must be presented to the Committee by the
end of the fourth full week of instruction of the first quarter
of the senior year. Graduation with high or highest
honors will be conditional upon both the maintenance of the
required grade point average and the completion of the senior
thesis project. Students who anticipate doing a senior honors
thesis should allow up to 3 units of independent study in the
program during each of two quarters in the senior year as course
options.
The minimum GPA to qualify for acceptance into the honors program
changes yearly, so please contact the advising office for this
information.
Written honors proposal requirements:
Proposed research/creative activity to be undertaken
including questions to be answered in the process
Methodologies employed in the process as well as a statement
of available resources (archival materials, computer access)
necessary for the project
Tentative statement of the scope and nature of the final
product
Online submission requirements:
Agreement of a faculty member who will serve as the major
adviser
Written Honors Proposal (stated above)
Portfolio of 10-15 works that show visual and
conceptual skill as related to proposal
NOTE: All Honors Projects in Design will include a written
component that contains some element of self-reflection. Each
thesis will have a major adviser and a second adviser. The major
adviser will be the instructor of record for both quarters of the
194H course. Upon completion of the project the major adviser and
second adviser will make a recommendation to the entire faculty
as to the student’s eligibility for high or highest honors at
which time the faculty will take a formal vote. Typically, “A”
quality work will be considered for high honors and “A+” quality
work for highest honors. The awarding of either of these
categories of distinction is further contingent upon the
student’s GPA based on the guidelines of the College of Letters
and Sciences. In some cases, students may not receive honors
because their overall GPA is not sufficiently high. In this
instance, the student will still have the notation of completing
an honors project on their transcript plus knowing all this extra
creative effort is a good preparation for Graduate School.
Proposals will be evaluated primarily for:
Significant importance of contribution to the field of
knowledge
Scope of project that reflects work beyond the undergraduate
classroom experience
Feasibility of timely completion
Availability of student resources for successful completion
Internships and Independent Studies
Please click
here for internships, independent study and tutor in Design
forms.
Student Led Courses
The Design faculty is pleased to offer undergraduate Design
students the opportunity to teach their peers under the auspices
of the Student Facilitated Course (SLC). To qualify, students
must have a minimum GPA of 3.25. Proposals to teach an SLC can be
submitted by individuals or teams of two.
Click here to
learn more about the student groups in our department.
Course Equivalency Request Process
In order to request the substitution of a lower division studio
course students must have completed a equivalent course for
college credit (AP credits, IB credits or
unarticulated community college or 4 year college
credits). You may submit a portfolio of no more than 10
examples of coursework (organized and labeled with name or
purpose of assignment, see example) in addition to a copy of
the syllabus. The portfolio will be evaluated by Design faculty
to determine if the quality of work and breadth of knowledge
gained are equivalent to the UCD course. You may request an
equivalency for the following courses:
DES 14: Design Drawing
DES 15: Form & Color
DES 16: Graphic Design & Computer Technology
DES 21: Drafting & Perspective
DES 50: 3-D Object Design
DES 51: Computer-Assisted Drawing for Designers
DES 70: Introduction to Textile Design Structures
DES 77: Introduction to Structural Design for Fashion
DES 1 does not have an equivalency process and this course must
be taken at UCD. Submission periods are listed as
follows; please do not submit materials outside of these
dates. Questions: contact
Ariel Collatz
Undergraduate Design majors who meet College of Letters and Science GPA requirements and successfully complete the application process can complete 194HA (3 units) and 194HB (3 units) in order to be eligible for high honors or highest honors upon graduation from UC Davis. The courses are graded using deferred grading where students receive a grade only at the completion of the project after 6 units of work.
The Design faculty strongly encourages students to study abroad.
Through this experience students can gain valuable knowledge
about design in other cultures and can develop a much richer
understanding of design. Interaction with design students and
faculty world-wide provides a distinctive approach and diverse
perspective to design problems and their creative solutions.
Different geographical and cultural regions offer unique
environmental and cultural elements that can greatly enrich the
design process, for students and future design professionals.
