ABSTRACT
The Master of Design program in Design for Social Impact at the University of the Arts (UArts) emerged as the result of more than two decades of rethinking the university’s industrial design program. At a time when thoughtful design practitioners were addressing issues like the environmental impact of rampant consumerism and the challenges to managing humane work places within a global economy, UArts program directors engaged in a radical altering of what it meant to teach design skills in postindustrial Philadelphia. What evolved was a graduate program that balances classroom learning and real-world application through collaborative design partnerships. Recent projects have joined forces with local, national, and international organizations in sectors such as health care, social services, technology, and education. The program’s pedagogy puts learning into practice by focusing on project-based community collaborations that can produce meaningful change. A recent project provides illustration of the type of work done: working with immigrant migrant workers, students co-designed improvements in the ways workers sent home hard-earned remittances.
