Where creativity meets academic excellence and entrepreneurial spirit.
Drawing from the world-class resources of The University of Texas at Austin and the rapidly growing economy of Central Texas, we advance transformative education, research, and creative practice. Our faculty includes award-winning designers and published scholars who merge theory with practice to redefine contemporary design. Sharing facilities with the Department of Arts and Art History, the Department of Arts and Entertainment Technologies and Texas Robotics, we offer students, faculty and staff access to exceptional resources — including two digital fabrication labs, two woodshops and a print studio featuring the nationally renowned Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection.
Our Stories
Design undergrad shares insights, takeaways from attending design conference in Iceland
Jude Swagel is a third-year B.A. in Design student pursuing a Minor in Art History. He recently attended the AGI Open in Reykjavík, Iceland in early October. Here, he writes about how he pursued funding for this experience and the professional development opportunities the conference offered to him.
Design professor’s research contributions drive narratives in major exhibition, catalog at LACMA
After six years of work, Associate Professor Monica Penick saw a project come to fruition this fall as the exhibition Home of the Future, 1925–1985: Designing Domestic Utopias opened in September at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
The show, which runs through March 14, was curated by Wendy Kaplan, department head and curator of Decorative Arts and Design at LACMA. Penick and UT Architecture Professor Christopher Long served as exhibition advisors and contributed original essays to a catalog with the same name.
Design alumnus Adraint Bereal returns to UT Austin for new solo exhibition
Adraint Bereal: As It Appears opens Oct. 16 at the Visual Arts Center, bringing the artist’s nationally recognized The Black Yearbook project back to the campus where it began.
Explore Our Degrees & Programs
Important
Admission
Deadlines
Undergraduate
First-Year: December 1, 2025
External Transfer: March 1, 2026
Internal Transfer: May 1, 2026
Graduate
M.F.A. in Design: January 27, 2026
Ready to join the Department of Design?
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at our program and creative spaces in Austin.
Tuition & Funding
Find out more about investing in your future through an education at UT.
From Campus to Career
“The industry is always changing and Design reflects that in our classes to keep students on top. I also like that early on faculty and professors encourage you to start networking, getting internships and they keep you focused on the industry.”
“Now recently graduated, I wanted to thank you and express how [Design] was the first place at UT that really scratched the itch I was looking for in college that matched my passions.”
Upcoming Events
Are you considering pursuing an advanced degree in design? As a student in the M.F.A. in Design at The University of Texas at Austin, you’ll develop a design process to creatively solve complex 21st-century challenges from health and wellbeing to social justice, sustainability, education, and more. Our rigorous studio and project-based courses are taught by award-winning design practitioners who emphasize design-led research, critical inquiry, prototyping, and advanced making skills to help you gain real-world experience that can be applied to a variety of global contexts. We are a full-time, on-campus, 21-month graduate program for highly motivated, intellectually curious designers.
Are you considering pursuing an advanced degree in design? As a student in the M.F.A. in Design at The University of Texas at Austin, you’ll develop a design process to creatively solve complex 21st-century challenges from health and wellbeing to social justice, sustainability, education, and more. Our rigorous studio and project-based courses are taught by award-winning design practitioners who emphasize design-led research, critical inquiry, prototyping, and advanced making skills to help you gain real-world experience that can be applied to a variety of global contexts. We are a full-time, on-campus, 21-month graduate program for highly motivated, intellectually curious designers.
Are you considering pursuing an advanced degree in design? As a student in the M.F.A. in Design at The University of Texas at Austin, you’ll develop a design process to creatively solve complex 21st-century challenges from health and wellbeing to social justice, sustainability, education, and more. Our rigorous studio and project-based courses are taught by award-winning design practitioners who emphasize design-led research, critical inquiry, prototyping, and advanced making skills to help you gain real-world experience that can be applied to a variety of global contexts. We are a full-time, on-campus, 21-month graduate program for highly motivated, intellectually curious designers.