Classes

Required for doctoral students in HTC as a prerequisite for work on the doctoral dissertation. Prior to candidacy, doctoral students are required to write and orally defend a proposal laying out the scope of their thesis, its significance, a survey of existing research and literature, the methods of research to be adopted, a bibliography and plan of work. Work is done in consultation with HTC Faculty, in accordance with the HTC PhD Degree Program guidelines.

Design+ is a first-year undergraduate advising seminar made up of approximately 30 first-year undergraduate students, 4 faculty advisors, and 4 or more undergraduate associate advisors.

The academic program is flexible to account for diverse student interests within the field of design, and students work with advisors to select a mix of academic and experiential opportunities.

Design+ assists incoming first-year students in their exploration of possibilities in design across MIT. 

Design+ includes a dedicated study space, kitchen, lounge, and a variety of maker spaces which offer Design+ students a second campus home for making and braking.

Design+ introduces first year undergraduate students to opportunities 
Design+ around design such as internships, international travel, and 
Design+ UROPs with some of the most exciting design labs at MIT

For registration and other administrative questions contact The Office of the First Year.

If Maria Montessori designed the tools and environment to meet the cognitive and physical stages of children, how might we similarly design our environment to meet the needs of the "Young Old"?

If Maria Montessori designed the tools and environment to meet the cognitive and physical stages of children, how might we similarly design our environment to meet the needs of the "Young Old"?

This workshop involves collecting, analyzing and drawing examples of designs for older adults from around the world across three ‘scales’: the body, the room, the street. Students in this course will help build an architectural index useful to help navigate the unprecedented "Silver Tsunami" that the United States and other industrialized countries have never before encountered, students will develop a variety of new designs on that can aid in alleviating the double housing and care crises that financially cripples 90% of older adults. Unless redressed, these financial burdens will in turn, fall on the shoulders of younger generations. How can we use architecture to reframe this opportunity and redesign our environments to fully embrace the cognitive, perceptual, and physical changes of humans across all ages — and thrive at each stage?

How do you go from a moment of obligation to starting or accelerating a movement?

This course explores the difference between innovation, social innovation, and systems change for social impact. Students interested in navigating complex environmental and social problems will explore frameworks and case studies from real systems change innovators to develop a more comprehensive view of complex problems and the systems they are part of —systems that often keep those problems in place.

In the course, you will apply experiential tools and methods to interrogate your own call to action, strengths, and gaps to address complex problems or needs. You will gain an understanding of the importance of understanding problems from the impact target’s perspective and explore innovative ways to create a scalable movement that ultimately can change a system. The final deliverable from the course is writing a case study on system change based on detailed actor mapping and interviews where you share your deeper understanding of a system you care about.

How can you build your own creative practice in today’s international landscape—one that is sustainable, leverages innovation, and contributes meaningfully to the future of the cultural and creative sectors?

This half-semester course offers you, as a student in the arts, cultural, and creative fields, fundamental tools and strategies for designing your career as an independent professional or studio founder.

You will:

A) Develop an understanding of the international framework of institutions, relationships, and policies that support professionals aiming to create impact through their creative practice—and learn how this knowledge can help you shape offerings that stand out and create a competitive advantage.
B) Learn concepts and mechanisms commonly found in the economics of art and culture, and explore how critical issues can be transformed into strategic opportunities.
C) Examine the diverse types of value generated by cultural production, discover how to combine them into distinctive offerings, and effectively communicate and market your work. You’ll also study business models within the creative industries and develop the adaptability to navigate evolving markets.
D) Acquire practical skills in branding, legal business structures, and intellectual property—enabling you to protect and leverage your creative output while building a sustainable professional practice.
 

In an AI-enhanced future, humans will become better at everything. The machine targets real-world artificial intelligence challenges designed to help address issues related to climate change, and urbanization in cities. X Machine is a mini accelerator workshop course designed to unite computer science and design/architecture together to design and create innovative and impactful technological solutions to problems in the built and human environment. This half-semester course promotes the development of strategic thinking and technical exploration in the realm of AI, focusing on problem framing and early-stage ideation.

The course will allow students to develop a foundational knowledge of AI within an interdisciplinary context. Students will learn how to design and create a prototype, learn how to maximize their engagement with their users/customers, and learn how to determine the value proposition that will make an AI-empowered startup successful. By the end of this class, students will be able to develop a conceptual business plan for an AI-based technology solution and apply to other programs at MIT such as DesignX, Sandbox, Delta V, The Engine, and more. 

This course investigates the interdisciplinary and generative possibilities of publication, emphasizing its role as a practice of expanding public engagement and imagination. Throughout the semester, students will explore worldmaking strategies, speculative fiction and an array of publication methods ranging from traditional techniques—leveraging ACT and MIT’s extensive resources such as riso printing, book binding and maker labs—to experimental approaches in digital media, performance, political systems, architecture, contemporary art, design and AI.Specific expectations and/or deliverable product resulting from course.

Considers the multiple trade-offs at various abstraction levels and scales when designing complex, multi-component systems. Covers topics from foundational principles to advanced applications, emphasizing the role of compositional thinking in engineering. Introduces category theory as a mathematical framework for abstraction and composition, enabling a unified and modular approach to modeling, analyzing, and designing interconnected systems. Showcases successful applications in areas such as dynamical systems and automated system design optimization, with a focus on autonomous robotics and mobility. Offers students the opportunity to work on their own application through a dedicated project in the second half of the term. 

Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.

This seminar examines the relationship between political ecology, ecological crises, and the process of (de)colonization. Students will critically analyze historical understandings of decolonization and contemporary proposals for decolonial ecologies. Following Stefanie K. Dunning’s invocation “May our egos die so that the world may live,” this seminar asks, how can we continually transform our praxis on a personal and structural level to create the possibility and space for decolonial ecologies? And whose imaginations are presently shaping our collective futures? Open for cross-registration. And open to undergraduates with instructor’s permission.

Program of research and writing of thesis; to be arranged by the student with supervising committee. 

Designed for students writing a thesis in Urban Studies and Planning or Architecture. Develop research topics, review relevant research and scholarship, frame research questions and arguments, choose an appropriate methodology for analysis, and draft introductory and methodology sections.

Program of thesis research leading to the writing of an SB thesis. Intended for seniors. Twelve units recommended.