The Master of Science in Design Technology course at Cornell University empowers students to address design-led issues through cross-disciplinary and collaborative research and practice.

The Master of Science in Design Technology programme (M.S. DT) at Cornell University is a two-year research and project degree offered jointly by the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and Cornell Tech that brings faculty and students together across disciplines to identify and address design problems through collaborative research and making.

The M.S. DT catalyses multidisciplinary expertise, exploration, innovation and collaboration across design and interaction, design and materials, design and media and design and environments.

All students spend the first year in Ithaca (NY) and the second year at either the Ithaca or Cornell Tech campus in New York City, depending on the student's track.

The M.S. DT is administered by the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) and the core faculty bring expertise from AAP and partner colleges, including the Ann S Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, Cornell Human Ecology, Cornell Engineering and Cornell Tech.

For more information, join us for a virtual information session on 4 November 2025 at 11 am EST.

School: Cornell University's Multicollege Department of Design Tech
Course: Master of Science in Design Technology
Type: Postgraduate
Location: Ithaca and New York, USA
Course dates: August 2026 to May 2028
Application deadline: 3 January 2026

Find out more about the course and apply ›

What will I learn during this course?

– Expand creative potential by deepening knowledge and understanding of material and computational design, AI and design, digital fabrication and emerging materials and technologies
– Students pursue research with the aim of advancing innovations across science and design for applications spanning digital tools, products, responsive materials and the built environment

What are the requirements?

– Students with an undergraduate or graduate degree in architecture, design disciplines, engineering, biological or materials science, computer science or design-adjacent degrees are strong candidates for the M.S. DT programme

What facilities and resources are available?

– New studios in Sibley Dome, the Autodesk Design and Make Space and faculty labs on Cornell's Ithaca campus (NY)
– Recently renovated floor in the Tata Innovation Centre and Maker Lab at Cornell Tech, Roosevelt Island in New York City
– Across Cornell University, Design Tech students also have access to extraordinary facilities at our partner colleges, including the Digital Design and Fabrication Studio and Knit Lab at Cornell Human Ecology
- Fabrication spaces, including the Digital Fabrication Lab, D2FS-HQ, the Taylor Design Studio, and the Rapid Prototyping Lab at Cornell Engineering
– Cornell provides a variety of cloud computing resources for research, education and outreach, including its own Red Cloud service, and access to others such as AWS and Azure
– The university is a leader in materials and making across scales, and the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science (KIC) develops and utilises next-generation tools for exploring the nanoscale world

What career prospects can I expect upon graduating?

In industry and practice, our graduates will lead new companies, design units in the tech sector, shape alternative forms of practice and build foundations that have a positive impact in a changing world.

In academia, our graduates will pursue PhDs and lead cutting-edge research and teaching to innovate and invent new products, tools, materials and interfaces.

Who teaches this course?

– Jenny Sabin, professor and chair
– Tiffany Cheng, assistant professor
– Timur Dogan, associate professor
– François Guimbretière, professor
– Wendy Ju, associate professor
– Heeju Terry Park, professor
– Jose Sanchez, associate professor
– James Weaver, associate professor
– Uli B Wiesner, professor
– Marirena Kladeftira, assistant professor

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