Post pictures of your awesome hats to instagram or instagram stories & tag @stanforddesignprogram! Feel free to use the hashtag #StanfordDesignInfoSession

adrienne

That was just for us

Post pictures of your awesome hats to instagram or instagram stories & tag @stanforddesignprogram! Feel free to use the hashtag #StanfordDesignInfoSession

Thanks olga!

Nice!

Gotchu

can we do this program part time?

hello - curious if you can elaborate on specific positions alumni from the new program are in?

Link to Intro Video: https://vimeo.com/471532023

Renee, do you want us to answer the qs coming up in the tab?

your muted

❤️

how relevant the impact design program is for human computer interaction or user experience design?

Does a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration count?

what if it’s a bachelors of design?

Would you accept students with a BS in Design?

Annie asked: Does a B.S. in Information Systems count - I have a B.S. In InfoSys, so yes (:

will i be eligible with a Bachelor of Design in Industrial Design?

If I provide a official document from my undergraduate college which states that Bachelors of Architecture in equivalent to Bachelors of Science. Will I be still be considered in application process? I really want to attend Design Impact! I feel it's the right course for me

Is there an age limit? I have 14 years experience which I know it’s quite above the average

Does our website need to be fully deployed? or does a wireframe/prototype suffice?

I do not believe there is an age limit.

A degree in computer science should be OK. When we see your transcript we can determine your eligibility

Do we include transcripts from a university we attended for a year during high school?

If it is B.S. it should count, even if it is buisiness

If we are coming directly out of an undergraduate degree (BS in MechE and Psychology), is there any hope of being admitted to the program? Or is the period of life/professional experience a pretty hard rule?

I have been in 6 schools before college, are all of those required, or just the final high school transcript?

There is no age limit - we accept all ages. Our “oldest” student was 61. our youngest - I’m not sure…

Do you accept MyBest Score from TOEFL? And what’s the minimum and desired score for TOEFL?

If we took a university extension course/obtained a certificate from an extension program, is that appropriate to send a transcript for?

I am a graduate student at the Pratt Institute studying User Experience Design. The credit culture is of 36 credits over 4 semesters. I am looking to undertake a second Master’s at Stanford in Design Impact Engineering. Would I be able to get any credits for the course?

When do we decide upon on our impact area? Is there a selection process for that?

Is the GRE not required just for this year or every year?

Hello! The translation of the transcripts can be unofficial aswell?

The GRE’s are not required - permanently. We have no plans to accept them in the future.

About the life experience, is it ok if I just graduated in July this year, but have been doing many internships during the last four years?

Also how flexible is the impact area of healthcare and energy?

I have a BA in Global Health and an MSc in Entrepreneurship (from my university’s School of Engineering). In total, due to UK university structure, this took 4 years (3 yrs + 1 yr) which is the length of a US degree. Due to my background in both arts and science, would I be eligible to apply?

how much is the tuition fee ?

If we applied for the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program, is it okay if we use the same letter of recommendation writers for our Design Impact application?

Yes.

Bill mentioned that the program won't be like the Industrial Design program, the focus is not on the skills. So, what is the program outcome? Are we going to learn about the design process irrespective of the medium we going to use?

How much weight does service design have on the projects being done in Standford? Are all projects done with a physical form? can we do system/service innovation?

What design skills and software knowledge are expected from applicants? What will be the upcoming themes besides energy and healthcare? What career path does Stanford expect the students to take after they graduate?

Thank you so much for your time and for the information! It had helped immensely!

Is TOEFL required if you got your undergrad from an English speaking university?

Please look at the recorded talk which goes into much more detail on the topics covered in the program - but they include User Research techniques (need finding), Prototyping techniques (Physical manufacturing design and engineering and digital prototyping), Designing experiments to test and evaluate products systems and services, Design leadership, Business factors, as well as 5 elective courses which you work together with your advisor to define.

Yes, we will make the slides available

Do research assistantships provide salary and tuition assistance as well?

“Exemptions are granted to applicants who have earned (or will earn, before enrolling at Stanford) a U.S. bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association in the United States, or the international equivalent degree from a university of recognized standing in a country in which all instruction is provided in English. Therefore, applicants with degrees from the U.S., Australia, Canada (except Quebec), New Zealand, Singapore, Ireland, and the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales) are exempt from taking the TOEFL and do not need to submit the TOEFL waiver request form. If you are offered admission, the official transcript must be received showing the conferral of the degree from the qualifying institution or TOEFL exam scores will be required to enroll.” https://gradadmissions.stanford.edu/applying/starting-your-application/required-exams

how much students get course assistantship?

If I have experience working as a freelancer and working part-time with startups when in undergrad, does that count as work experience and given that preferrence?

Nicky, nice to meet you. We have students with very different backgrounds, so there is no one skillset that is required coming in. This year the themes will remain as energy and healthcare. Career paths, we will cover speaking to all

Yes, RA (research assistantships) also provide salary and tuition assistance.

Bill, Stanford has a minimum woeful score

In the statement of purpose, should we include what we have learned in our experience through internships/full-time?

toefl

Thanks, Renee!

Its 89

Dear Rohan, nice to meet you. Usually, we do not think this counts - we really want full time employment outside of your university.

@Sophia, absolutely!

Around 13 people

What kinds of jobs do graduates of this program get?

I finished my undergraduate degree about 4 years ago. I know that you'd like at least 1 letter of recommendation from someone who knows you in an academic capacity. If I took professional courses after college and submit a letter of recommendation from one of my teachers, would that fulfill the requirement? Or do you significantly prefer letters from professors who taught you specifically for your undergraduate degree?

@aksay, nope, the tracks are super flexible!

Most my product design projects are oriented around health, wellbeing and healthcare. I’m currently studying B.Des but I have studied for bachelors in 3 different continents so I have a lot of cultural experience. Does that weight in at all?

@Kaitlyn — you choose

I have a similar question, I have professional engineering experience during my time as an undergrad, probably combined of about 2 years (not internships). Would I still be at a disadvantage if I apply straight after graduating as an undergrad?

hey I have taken lot of classes at Stanford CCRMA..is it possible to work with that dept or take classes outside of your dept? I would like to build a music instrument using IOT..took some CCRMA workshops around that this summer loved it

Is there a limit to cohort size? if yes, does that mean the intake for 2021 will be less than usual as few applicants from 2020 batch would have opted for deferral?

@Kaitlyn — you choose

@aksay, nope, the tracks are very flexible

@nikhil, not really, at least not from an application standpoint. We are interested in who you are and what’s your story and what you want to do

Is it common to see students with a BS is psychology in the Design Impact program and how have they adjusted going from a social science to a program within engineering?

I love that this program focuses on inclusive and human center design, what methods of research are done to use these ideals in designed products and services? Is there a course taught in research methods?

Does a Bachelor's in Design degree make me eligible to apply for Design Impact?

@Nikhil: No, it does not matter if you do not have an undergraduate degree from a well known college. We are interested in YOU.

Are you expecting the 2 design themes to shift in their project focus heading into Fall 2021? I saw somewhere that they were being switched out?

If I am not admitted into d.School, can I still take d.School courses?

In the prep work video shared earlier about the program, there was a comment on the quality of the content of the portfolio over the quantity.Is there then a minimum quantity of projects you would like to see on that portfolio?

curious if theresome dents y’all are proud of that designimpact students has made?

I’ve been working on a project for 2 years. Working independently, my process has been messy but in a way that I understand. You mentioned you want to see our design process in our portfolio. Should I include a sample of my messy original thinking or synthesize it to be more presentable?

Can the electives be from any engineering department?

You can have as many as you want. However, a successful strategy is to focus and highlight your best projects. Showing 2 or 3 really strong projects is much better than showing 10 ok ones

Can you please elaborate what you mean by life experience?

The electives can be from across the university, not just Engineering school

* curious if you can talk about dents y’all are proud of that designimpact students have made? Trying to see where the cohort ends up after the program.

@Gabriela, people who know you well are the best recommenders. If academic recommendations are no longer relevant than that’s fine

I am dyslexic, have any other students been neurodivergent in this program?

How does the design course work align to the themes listed? I am very interested in making an impact in sustainability to help reverse global climate change and I want to know how this program will help me do so

We want to see your thinking and how you approach problems, but communicating your process, insights and outcomes in a clear and understandable way is important

Can we test our final projects abroad (if the issue we are tackling are not necessarily predominant in the US)?

I am from Nigeria.We were taught in English. Our official language is English and do I still need to write TOEFL?

can you tell us more what aerated great applications that get in from those that don’t make it in? what is acceptance rate?

Do you have a recommendation for tools for creating a portfolio? I am currently using Adobe Portfolio, but curious what tools you would propose?

are there any linkages with this program and the Institute for Human-centered AI at Stanford?

Has there been any thought towards the impact of COVID19 on your academic plans for Fall of 2021? I'm trying to stay optimistic, but curious if you have contingency plans for online learning

I’m really interested in the prototyping pillar of the program. Do you have any interesting examples of surprising or scrappy prototypes students have made - surprising ways of paring down a question into a prototype?

can you share some great application websites?

Design Impact used to consider B.Des Product Design earlier. Is this something that changed recently?

To what extent would you consider millitary service as "industry experience"?

How has the program adapted to covid and being online?

Dear Magnus, yes, Military experience definitely counts

Suyash, you can find the websites of the current cohorts on the Design Impact website.

Can you talk more about the corporate partnerships? How do you select high quality companies to work with? What’s an example of a corporate partnership that you rejected?

Do these project involve the people they are made for?

The design themes are energy and healthcare and most of my experience is working with digital financial product. Is this a problem for me?

How does one apply for assistantships?

No, this is not a problem, However you have to have a passion or excitement for one of the themes broadly speaking

I am curious about the themes (energy, healthcare), will it be better to showcase case studies about these topics? If we do not have a specific background in these fields, what can applicants do to show their interest in either of these areas?

Can you please inform a little more on how Design Impact is different, if it is not a skill-based one, what kind of roles do graduates go to after this?

it's heartwarming to know how supportive Stanford has been to the students, through the pandemic!

can we get internship at IDEO?

Jessica, we have been working with our international graduate students to help them get visas and join us in the US. However, if students cannot get visas or there are travel restrictions in place we will help support students remotely. Normally our program requires students to be in person, but COVID-19 and travel restrictions has required changes. However, when selecting students for admission we do not take this into consideration we want to find the best students possible.

Thanks @David - this is a perfect answer. Love that these partnerships are super student driven :)

Can you talk more about how you support students in starting their own businesses?

why are there only 3 faculty members..seems rather small compared to other programs?

do they teach all classes?

capstone projects that centralise around problems in other countries, how are they tackled? is there any on field research for the same? how is this being taken into consideration this quarter?

What do the research projects look like for those going into PhDs? I have no trouble imagining startups & products to build. How does this fit with research?

It’s a bummer that I can’t attend the program because I have a degree in Arts. 😞

STAMPS school at Uni. of Michigan has a similar programme, any thoughts about the same?

Can you talk a little more about the "Reframe" project exhibitions? This sounds like a unique experience somewhat outside the described curriculum. What role does it play in the program?

@Vidit Gupta— perhaps there are other programs at Stanford that are a better fit, and then you’d still be able to take classes at the d.school!

the themes seems to limit freedom ..for example if I want to build game or something fun..seems no place right?

What d.school recourses can non-d.school-students access? They still can take d.school courses, attend its seminars, visit faculty's office hour, right?

or music intrument

Michael Barry and Michelle Jia

Most people who would apply may have a BS and work experience, what more do you look for in students and any tips on what we can do to stand out?

@Shao: Yes, all Stanford graduate students may apply for a d.school course or attend “pop-out” courses that are open to students. Design Impact students do that d.school classes as electives.

Hi Adrienne, are we allowed to email you photos of our hats instead of posting on social? Thanks!

bio mechanics sounds fun

Hi Jennifer - sure! apbaer@stanford.edu

Can students take other courses in their first year without getting credits for them ??

@Prathamesh auditing is a possibility!

can we put hat ad one project 😛

Thank you all for being here! Could you speak a little bit about where you see students grow the most over the two years in the program?

if we don’t have a very polished project..it’s thought prototype..ok to show?

a prototype

Please feel free to email me directly after this about individual eligibility if you still have questions. Thank you.

Is the admission process rolling?

No the admissions are not rolling. They close on a specific date and then we review them

when do you tell admission outcome to students?

What are you most excited about with the Design Impact program heading into 2021 / 2022?

We notify applicants by mid-March

For Dec 1, 2020 deadline, it is Pacific Standard Time.

what kind of questions can be expected from the interview? thanks

around how many applicants get an interview?

A mix is good, but really we want to hear from the people that know you best

how have you all evolved as a person into where you are now? have you always wanted to be a designer?

Can you recommended other design courses at Stanford for ineligible people?

@Saurabh Harvard has a cool one that’s more art focused. CMU, Univ of Washington, and GATech all have top design/HCI programs :)

to add to my question: i remember david mentioning that he was glad he ended up finding what he really likes to do. Was wondering how that process was for everyone as well?

no problem -we’ve had a bunch of McKinsey et al consultants apply. we still need to see something in your website that speaks to your design skills, but include case studies related to innovation in the mix

That is not a problem, however you want to be able to share your process and approach in your current work and then in your Statement of Purpose be able to describe why you are excited about expanding your toolkit and make impact

I have to go to class, but thank you very much for this info session. I'm very excited to apply to the program!

@Yunwei: email me directly, I have to reach out to the alumni to get their Ok first. Thank you.

Can we submit a BS equivalent degree document from a professor who was the director of the department, instead of the department itself? Because the department that I graduated got abolished. :(

Thank you so much! :)

thanks y’all

Thank you for the webinar

Thank you!

thanks!

Thanks a lot!

Thank you!!

Thank you all - it was informative

Thank you - so informative

Thank you

Thank you!

Thank you!!!

Thanks so much for this! This session was super helpful and fun!!

thank you so much!

Thank you!

Thanks!

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Thanks so much!

Thank you!

Thank you!!!

Thank you!

thanks all good info!

Thank you!!

Thank you all so much!

Thank you!!

Thank you so much :)

Thank you so much!