Summer 2022 program dates will be made public and listed here in early January 2022!

Are you interested in learning how to use digital media software to visualize your design responses to contemporary global topics?  If so, check out our Design Discovery Virtual program! 

Need some help deciding between the GSD’s Design Discovery programs? See this FAQ:

Design Discovery students represent a broad range of ages, lifestyles, and training (most have no previous design experience), and this contributes to a stimulating environment. Many are college students or recent graduates, but the program is also helpful to professionals in their 30s, 40s, or older who are interested in learning about design and/or who are considering a career change. We host an average of 225 participants per year.

Please note that a valid visa for study within the U.S. is required to be supplied by international student participants of the Design Discovery in-person program. Harvard will not sponsor visas for enrollment in the Design Discovery in-person program. We invite international students who not hold such visa status to enroll in our fantastic Design Discovery Virtual program. Please see more information about that program at this link!

Participants in our program commit themselves fully to a path of intensive work thinking through making within the studio of Gund Hall at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. The program complements studio design time at the desk with a series of lectures and workshops on the process of design, representation of ideas and intentions, as well as fabrication and modeling workshops. Deeply immersed in a culture that is both challenging and rewarding, participants experience what education and work are like in the design and planning professions. They emerge — many of them exhilarated — with a more profound understanding of the possibilities ahead and with more information about their relationship with the potentials of design in order to inform their choices.

Studio Format

Design Discovery studios focus on short, intensive projects similar to first-year graduate school projects within one of three selected design disciplines – Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning and Design. Studios involve one-on-one guidance from design instructors, group discussions and reviews about design work, training sessions in graphics and model making skills, and individual presentations to instructors and guest professionals. Participants have direct access to select spaces within the GSD’s Fabrication Lab and Frances Loeb Library — one of the country’s foremost design and planning libraries.

Concentrations

As a Design Discovery student, you will engage in an iterative exploratory design process of drawing, fabrication and model making within the context of a design studio. This process will help build your ability to translate observations about the world into a visual and spatial language. We ask all Design Discovery in-person participants to select a single concentration for their study among three possible design disciplines described below. You will receive instruction in the fundamental design methodologies specific to each of the following disciplines, and you will select one of them as your program concentration:

• Architecture is the design of individual buildings and their settings, with the understanding that buildings are the choreographers of dynamic conditions inside their walls and in their outside surroundings.
• Landscape Architecture is the planning, design, and preservation of built and natural landscapes, from rural landscapes to urban parks and infrastructure projects.
• Urban Planning & Design is the analysis and synthesis of forces that shape and reshape the built environment, with a focus on envisioning and illustrating places that reflect and support the diverse needs of society.

Most students work evenings and weekends in the studio.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
9:00-11:00am Lecture by design or planning professional	9:00-11:00am Lecture by design or planning professional	9:00-11:00am Lecture by design or planning professional	9:00-11:00am Career Panel Career Options	9:00-11:00am Review of studio problem	Studios open all weekend 7:00am-10:00pm
11:15am-Noon Introduction to studio problem	11:15am-Noon Representation skills lecture	11:15am-Noon Media design and techniques lecture
Noon-1:00pm Lunch	Noon-1:00pm Lunch	Noon-1:00pm Lunch	Noon-1:00pm Lunch
1:00-6:00pm Studio	1:00-6:00pm Studio	1:00-6:00pm Studio	1:00-6:00pm Studio	1:00-6:00pm Review of studio problem
Studios open until 12:00am	Studios open until 12:00am	Studios open until 12:00am	Studios open until 12:00am	8:00pm Movie night

Each successful Design Discovery participant receives a written evaluation from his or her instructor and a certificate from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Although the GSD cannot offer undergraduate academic credit for Design Discovery, some colleges and universities will award academic credit for a student’s participation in our program, including Harvard College, which awards eight (8) credits (or the equivalent of two courses).

Requesting a copy of your evaluation

Participants will receive a digital copy of the written evaluation following the conclusion of the program.

Although we cannot provide an official transcript of your work in the program, we can send a letter explaining the nature of the program and a copy of your evaluation. If you would like to request this letter and/or a copy of your evaluation, please email [email protected], including the following information:

• Full Name
• Email Address
• Year attended CD/DD
• Number of copies of evaluation written by studio instructor
• Number of copies of written explanation of program
• Names and addresses of document recipients
• Other comments

Section Instructors

Design Discovery sections are taught by graduating or advanced GSD students who have a concentration in the field they are teaching. Sections have a maximum of ten students per instructor. Each section is coordinated by current GSD faculty.

Coordinating Faculty

Lecturers

Design Discovery invites exceptional professionals and academics to give lectures and join career panel discussions on design, history, theory, office practice, and other aspects of each profession. Speakers are often available for informal conversations afterward.

Past speakers have included:

• Alex Anmahian, Principal of Anmahian Winton Architects
• Maurice Cox, director of planning and development for the city of Detroit
• Gary Hilderbrand; partner at Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architecture
• D’Wayne Edwards, footwear designer and founder Pensole Footwear Design Academy
• Seth Gordon, Film Director and Producer
• Alex Krieger, professor in Practice of Urban Planning and Design at Harvard Graduate School of Design
• Christian Long: Design Share
• Kathryn Madden, Critic in Urban Planning and Design at Harvard University Graduate School of Design; Principal of Madden Planning Group
• Thomas Lyons Mills, Professor of Foundation Studies at the Rhode Island School of Design
• David Saladik: MASS Design Group
• Kirk A. Sykes, Senior Vice President and President of Urban Strategy America Fund
• Maryann Thompson, Adjunct Professor at Harvard University Graduate School of Design; Founder of Maryann Thompson Architects
• Charles Waldheim, John E. Irving Professor of Landscape Architecture and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Tuition for the 2022 Design Discovery Program is $2,500. Please expect to purchase additional materials and supplies for projects throughout the course of the program. Depending on your location this could be as much as an additional 250.00 USD.

Payment Policy

A nonrefundable application fee of $80 must accompany each application. If admitted, your decision and tuition are due within two weeks.

Financial Assistance

Financial aid takes into account many factors; however, as a guide, if the applicant and/or parents (if appropriate) have a combined gross income that exceeds $40,000, an aid award is unlikely.

To apply, please submit a Financial Aid Application Form along with the required documentation by the deadline of April 30, 2022. Please see the application for more information.

Please Note: Design Discovery financial aid is not federally subsidized and is available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. International students are not eligible to apply. Requests for aid will not be considered without a completed program application. Late applications will not be considered.

Tuition and Financial Aid FAQ

Due to the impact of the global pandemic, participants of the Design Discovery In-Person program at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design will be required to follow Harvard University protocols with respect to health and safety when convening on campus for the summer of 2022.

Participants who wish to participate in the summer 2022 in-person program will be required to share vaccination status with Harvard University and will be required to following COVID-19 self-administered testing according to the University required testing cadence. Required test kits will be provided on campus throughout the duration of the summer program and testing will be managed through Harvard University channels at no cost to participants. Social distancing and masking protocols will also have to be followed as will restrictions regarding food and drink consumption in indoor campus settings.

Please check back for more current information, as updates occur on a rolling basis.

To apply for the Design Discovery program, please submit the following required materials:

• An essay (500 words max) that describes a particularly satisfying project you have undertaken. This project need not be related to design or planning, although this is preferable. You might, for example, write about participating in a political campaign, mastering a musical instrument, doing research on a special topic, or organizing a social event.
• A resume or CV which includes the following information: employment; education; extra-curricular collegiate and community activities (note whether an office held was elected or appointed); honors; awards; professional registration; professional societies; publications; avocations; hobbies; travel. If you served in the military, indicate rank on entry and rank on separation.
• Transcripts should be submitted online by the applicant and are required from all colleges and universities from which the applicant has received credit. When uploading a transcript, please make sure the scanned version is legible. Transcripts that are not in English must be accompanied by a certified English translation. If the university or college does not issue transcripts, a certified letter and certified English translation must be provided. It should list courses and examinations taken, grades, and degrees and dates of degrees received. Admitted students who have attended a school outside of the U.S. may be asked to submit a WES (World Education Service) certified transcript, at the applicant’s expense.
• A non-refundable $80 application fee is due upon application submission.
• International applicants, except those from countries where English is the native language, must submit ONE of the following:
  • Duolingo test
    The minimum required score is 115.
  • A valid score from the TOEFL internet-based test
    The minimum required TOEFL iBT total score is 92, with the following minimum section requirements: reading, 23; speaking, 23; listening, 23; writing, 23. Please have test results submitted to the Harvard Graduate School of Design, institution code 3455. For further information about the TOEFL exam, please visit www.ets.org/toefl. International applicants who are currently enrolled in a university within the United States are exempt from this requirement.

Application Deadlines

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in late February. Applications will continue to be reviewed until June 1 or until all spots are filled. Early submission is strongly encouraged.

Deadline	Date
Online Application Opens	February 15, 2022
Financial Aid Application Deadline	April 15, 2022
Application Deadline	May 23, 2022
Registration/Payment Deadline	Within two weeks following admission
Cancellation Deadline for Full (100%) Refund*	July 1, 2022
Withdrawal Deadline for Partial Refund**	July 15, 2022

*Contact Design Discovery to cancel your enrollment by this date to receive a full (100%) refund of the $2,500 program fee.

**Contact Design Discovery to cancel your enrollment by this date to receive a partial (50%) refund of the program fee (amounting to $1,250).