Design (M.Des.)/Business Administration (M.B.A.)
This dual-degree program combines a user-centered, methods-based approach with core management education.
IIT Institute of Design’s dual-degree Master of Design and Master of Business Administration program combines a user-centered, methods-based approach with a core management education. It’s ideal for professionals who aspire to lead collaborative, interdisciplinary innovation initiatives within global organizations. In this unique program, students pursue two graduate degrees simultaneously, one with IIT Institute of Design (ID) and one with Stuart School of Business.
ID prepares students to effectively address dynamic and complex business, civic, and social challenges with rigor, depth, and imagination. Our M.Des. and M.B.A. program curriculum gives students the real-world skills needed to integrate, interconnect, and innovate beyond common design practice.
ID students are taught to shape compelling opportunities through actively developing insight from multiple perspectives, exploring options through aggressive prototyping and critique, and identifying valuable directions that prompt action and support resilient change. Students learn through hands-on projects and real-world challenges, both individually and in team collaborations.
Program Overview
This dual-degree program combines a user-centered, methods-based approach with a management education, making it ideal for professionals who aspire to lead innovation initiatives within global organizations. Students pursue two graduate degrees simultaneously: one with IIT Institute of Design and one with Stuart School of Business.
Career Opportunities
Employers come to campus in the fall and spring for recruitID, when students can interview for internship and career opportunities. And, through regular careerID programming, students receive ongoing support and guidance on the hiring process and in planning their professional paths. As such, our students enjoy more than a 90 percent placement rate within six months of graduation. ID alumni are leaders across the private and public sectors, serving at the director and executive level in roles like:
- UX designer
- Innovation consultant
- Design strategist
- Design researcher
- Educator
- Entrepreneur
- Interaction designer
- Product designer
- Service designer
This full-time program consists of 42 credit hours from IIT Institute of Design (an additional 15 credit hours are needed if taking the Design Foundation program) and 36 credit hours from Stuart School of Business. The design courses are the same as those found in the Master of Design program.
Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree and are required to submit transcript(s), full mark sheets, and degree/diploma certificates from each institution attended—regardless of whether or not a degree was earned—as well as three letters of recommendation, a portfolio, statement of interest, and a resume or curriculum vitae. There is no minimum work experience requirement, although two to four years of professional experience is preferred. ID considers full-time internships, volunteer work, and freelance projects as formal work experience. We do not require a GRE or GMAT score for any application. However, if you have a score you would like to submit we are happy to include that in your application evaluation. We will accept either the GRE or the GMAT. If required, applicants must submit English proficiency exam scores.