Format & Focus

The Brown RISD Masters of Art in Design Engineering (MADE) Program is designed as an intensive, 11-month residential experience. Cohorts are intentionally limited to around 20 students. The program’s curriculum is based on the experiential pedagogy of studio courses, enhanced with electives offered by Brown and RISD.  MADE is unique in that students experience the culture and utilize the resources of both institutions.

The goal of this program is to enable competent, humble, and effective action by graduates. This means working across disciplinary and ideological boundaries, accepting the validity of multiple perspectives; starting with design and engineering, and moving forward to a fuller integration of people, places, and perspectives.

2024-25 Studio Calendar & Course Structure

For the 2024-25 academic year, applications are due December 15th, 2024 (priority deadline) and January 15, 2025 (regular deadline). MADE Orientation is on July 3, 2025 and the program culminates with Brown Commencement on May 25, 2025, and RISD Commencement on May 31, 2025.

Studios

MADE Studio courses emphasize design thinking, iteration and collaboration. Each studio emphasizes skillsets relevant to a design trajectory and features mentoring relationships with Brown and RISD faculty members.

Measure and Make (MADE Core Summer Studio):

How to Measure, Make Meaning of, and Implement Almost Anything

We practice our process - observing, understanding, changing, testing, and iterating. Along the way we learn about measuring, making, and each other. We also plan your trajectory through the program, identifying areas of interest and choosing electives.

8 week duration

Iterate With Intention (MADE Core Fall Studio):

Design Engineering Research and Practice

We work on a sequence of user experience design research projects and engage with professionals and partner organizations. As we move through the projects, groups become increasingly independent in their problem setting and solution finding.

14 week duration

Design Engineering Visual & Interactive Communication (MADE Core Winter Studio + Seminar):

Identifying and Engaging Different Audiences

We take on the challenge of combining data and design to create materials that communicate our products and processes in ways that align with diverse audiences. We plan our trajectory through the second half of the program, choosing electives, and exploring potential project directions for the spring semester.

4 week duration + Summer Studio Sessions

Integrate and Implement (MADE Core Spring Studio):

Integrate and Implement

We embark on a semester-long project to collaboratively develop proposals into a proven, credible product implementation plan. These group-based, research-driven design engineering projects serve to illuminate skills and professional ambitions. They become the basis for building portfolios and integrate prior components of the program into a coherent whole.

14 week duration

Electives

In addition to the core studios, MADE students will take electives in the Fall and Spring semesters. As MADE is a joint-degree program, students have the ability to enroll in electives in Brown and RISD. Below are the course catalogs for the two institutions. To learn more about how electives allow MADE students to shape their experience in the program, see the Trajectories page. 

RISD Course Catalog   Brown Course Catalog