PGTD
5220

Thesis 1

Parsons School of Design: School of Design Strategies

Non-Liberal Arts
Graduate Course
Majors Only
Thesis 1
Fall 2024
Taught By: Hala Abdel Malak
Section: A

CRN: 1992

Credits: 3

Building off of the research methods and design practices experimented with during the first year, the Thesis 1 course will require students (individually or in small groups) to independently develop a large, but focused design-led research project that emerges out of their stated research interests. Students are expected to initiate and outline this project during this first semester of their second year, with the expectation that they will devote the majority of their final semester to this project. The course will culminate in a presentation that articulates the scope and scale of the research project, identifies its relevance to an external community or public, sharing the process of prototyping and a work plan for the spring semester. Throughout the course the Faculty will review with students the nature and process of a master’s thesis and will help the students to craft a research project that is relevant, innovative, and original. Additionally, it is central to the working methodology of the MFA in Transdisciplinary Design that projects be collaborative, and for the thesis project students are expected to identify a team of “stakeholders”—whether internal (other students) or external to the program—that will form the basis of this collaborative effort. A special emphasis will be placed in this course on the early production of design-led research, engaging with communities, sketches, prototypes, and other forms of visualization and materialization that reinforce the design-led emphasis of the thesis project.

Open to: MFA in Transdisciplinary Design majors only. Pre-requisite(s): PGTD 5101 Projects Studio 2: Transdisciplinary Design Practice (Futures); PGTD 5130 Design-Led Research. Co-requisite(s): PGTD 5200 Projects Studio 3: Transdisciplinary Design Practice (Leadership); PGTD 5230 Professional Communication.

College: Parsons School of Design (PS)

Department: School of Design Strategies (SDS)

Campus: New York City (GV)

Course Format: Studio (S)

Modality: In-Person

Max Enrollment: 30

Add/Drop Deadline: September 15, 2024 (Sunday)

Online Withdrawal Deadline: November 19, 2024 (Tuesday)

Seats Available: Yes

Status: Open*

* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 7:00am EDT 3/19/2024

Meeting Info:
Days: Thursday
Times: 12:10pm - 2:50pm
Building: TBD
Room: TBD
Date Range: 9/2/2024 - 12/15/2024