Master of Design in Design for Health
Toronto, Canada
Master degree
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: OCAD University's Master of Design (MDes) in Design for Health trains designers to create ethical, sustainable solutions for health systems, services, products and programs. The studio-based, cross-disciplinary programme offers full or part-time study on campus near hospitals and research institutes, addressing chronic disease, aging, infections, health inequities, social and environmental determinants, diversity, consumer involvement, multi-setting care, cost pressures and digital health.
Career Outcomes: Graduates find roles in health and private sectors as health designers, service designers, UX designers, product designers, design researchers, innovation consultants and design strategists; they use systems thinking, user-centered design, prototyping and research to improve care delivery.
Design for Health
Responding to the complexity of health care through a comprehensive, academically-rich design approach. Empowering designers to create ethical, sustainable solutions to pressing challenges across the health sector.
Become an expert in the fast-growing area of health design in OCAD University’s Master of Design (MDes) in Design for Health. Study full or part-time at our campus just a short walk from world-caliber hospitals and health research institutes.
Nearly every aspect of health care needs design expertise, including systems, service, program, and product design. Health challenges considered in the program include:
- Increases in chronic diseases
- An aging population
- The emergence of new infections
- Health inequities
- Social and environmental determinants of health
- Growing cultural diversity
- Consumer demand for more involvement in care planning and delivery
- A shift to multi-setting and multi-disciplinary health-care delivery
- Escalating costs and shrinking budgets
- The spread of digital health and wellness technologies
Program Features
- Studio-based learning with local and national health sector partners in order to design innovative solutions to complex and contemporary health design challenges.
- Guest lectures by designers, scholars, and industry experts.
- Elective and shared courses from other graduate programs at OCAD University and other post-secondary institutions.
- Dynamic and interdisciplinary cohorts.
In order to support the needs of part-time students who may be working full or part-time while completing the program, courses are frequently clustered on one weekday per term and run during the day. The day of the week may vary between terms and academic years.
What You'll Do In The Program
The interdisciplinary Design for Health program has four main themes delivered primarily through studio-based learning:
- Health contexts: Develop domain knowledge in health, healthcare delivery, communications, technology, and innovation.
- Research and application: Identify, design, conduct, and apply qualitative, co-design, and evidence-based techniques to health challenges.
- Design and innovation: Create new, ethical, and sustainable solutions with health sector stakeholders, patients, and partners.
- Proficiency and leadership within interdisciplinary collaborations: Be embedded in interdisciplinary teams which include patients, health service providers, and designers to develop design solutions and to communicate outcomes.
Who Should Apply
We developed the MDes in Design for Health primarily for people who already have educational and practical experience in an area of design. The program is also for people in the health sector who are committed to design.
Most students will hold an undergraduate degree in design or a related field. Some will have experience in health administration, patient advocacy, health services, or health technology.