SVA MFA IN DESIGN CRITICISM NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 2009

The new MFA in Design Criticism at the School of Visual Arts is now accepting applications for Fall 2009. This innovative two-year program trains students to research, analyze, and evaluate design and its social and environmental implications. Study with some of the best design writers and thinkers of our time, including: "Studio 360" host and author Kurt Andersen; MoMA's design curator Paola Antonelli; Pentagram partner and co-founder of Design Observer, Michael Bierut; former editor of I.D. Magazine Ralph Caplan; Metropolis contributing editor Karrie Jacobs; and architecture critic Philip Nobel.

[Click here for information about applying]

[Download a PDF fact sheet here]

PROGRAM OUTLINE: SVA MFA IN DESIGN CRITICISM

Situated at the intersection of commerce and culture, design is a field of activity that touches the lives of everyone. Its role as an aesthetic, social and economic force is the subject of increasing attention: mainstream news outlets, the business press and lifestyle magazines routinely cover design, and it is the focus of major exhibitions and even entire museums. Yet, while forums for design commentary have increased, there is a crucial need for more intellectually rigorous approaches to design criticism.

The SVA MFA in Design Criticism—the first of its kind in the United States—seeks to cultivate design criticism as a discipline and contribute to public discourse with new writing and thinking that is imaginative, historically informed and socially accountable. Drawing on the broadest possible definition of design, the curriculum includes graphic, web and product design, as well as fashion, urban planning and networked systems. The course of study couples a theoretical framework with significant opportunities for practical experience. In providing the tools for researching, analyzing, evaluating and chronicling all aspects of design, students will prepare for careers as design critics, journalists, editors, curators, educators and design managers.

We welcome students from a range of academic backgrounds whose diverse perspectives and experiences enrich the debate. The program is equally well suited to designers, who want to hone their skills in writing and critical thinking, as it is to journalists and writers, who wish to deepen their understanding of design. Students will learn skills and techniques for the uncovering of data, the development of a story and for communicating with different audiences. The two-year program places significant emphasis on the practical application of the many methodologies it teaches. Students will produce tangible documents of their critical practice, such as books, blogs, documentaries, course syllabi, conferences and exhibitions.

It's an exciting time to be involved in design criticism; students of this program will be instrumental in shaping its formats, directing its priorities and negotiating the ways it is encountered by its many publics.

Welcome to the website and we look forward to hearing from you!

Alice Twemlow, Chair