Master of Design / Master of Public Administration (Dual degree) Illinois Institute of Technology - Downtown Campus, USA

The Master of Design and Master of Public Administration (M.Des. and M.P.A.) dual-degree program—the first of its kind in the nation—prepares students to effectively address dynamic and complex civic and social challenges with rigor, depth, and imagination.

Students pursue two graduate degrees, one with the Institute of Design (ID) and one with Stuart School of Business, as they learn to move fluidly between strategic thinking and creative doing and to leverage the strengths of both.

Through the M.P.A. program’s applied approach, students develop their knowledge and skills in public and nonprofit management, analytics, policy analysis, strategic planning, and effective implementation strategies in the civic space.

At ID, students acquire emerging design competencies suited for work in the public sector, including:

Embracing Complexity: Understanding and articulating the context and systems surrounding a problem, creating a shared view of a challenge, converging on an approach, and activating a set of interventions
Cultivating Possibilities: Unlocking collective creativity, considering diverse interests, and building understanding—all while activating new ways for communities to come together and envision a path to an intelligent future
Driving Impactful Change: Making an evidence-based case for action and policy change; successfully moving stakeholders to action with data-driven insights and prototyping skills
In hands-on projects and internships in the global city of Chicago, collaborations in Illinois Tech’s inspiring and supportive community, and their individual work, students in the M.Des. and M.P.A. program apply design methods, theory, and knowledge to real-world challenges and opportunities, transforming ideas into realities in the civic and nonprofit sectors.

Producing sharp insights, tangible options, and actionable directives, they graduate able to substantially impact their colleagues and constituencies and to be leaders in their field.