Design can be found in almost all UC San Diego degree programs. Courses enable students from any division and major to diversify their studies and incorporate design thinking skills into their academic experience.
Visit the UCSD Course Catalog to view the courses, faculty listings, curricular and degree requirements for the Minor in Design. The Design Lab faculty hold regular office hours for student mentorship.
- COGS 10 Cognitive Consequences of Technology
- COGS 100 Cyborgs Now and in the Future
- COGS 102a Distributed Cognition
- COGS 102b Cognitive Ethnography
- COGS 102c Cognitive Design Studio
- COGS 120 Interaction Design
- COGS 121 Human Computer Interaction Portfolio Design Studio
- COGS 122 Startup Studio
- COGS 123 Social Computing
- COGS 124 HCI Technical Systems Research
- COGS 125 Advanced Interaction Design
- COGS 126 Thinking with Computers
- COGS 127 Data-Driven UX/Product Design
- COGS 128 Information Visualization
- COGS 160 Interaction Design Research
- COGS 187a Usability and Information Architecture
- COGS 187b Practicum in Professional Web Design
- COGS 220 Information Visualization
- COGS 229/CSE 219 Design at Large seminar
- COGS 230/CSE 216 Interaction Design Research
- COGS 231 Design Seminar on Human-Centered Programming Tools
- COGS 234 Distributed Cognition
- COMM 10 Introduction to Communication
- COMM 100A Communication and Everyday Life
- COMM 102c Practicum in New Media & Community Life
- COMM 106E Data Science & Society
- COMM 106i Internet Industries
- COMM 108D Disability
- COMM 111d Critical Design/Intermediate Studio
- COMM 112t Interaction with Technology
- COMM 114D New Media, Youth, and Democracy
- COMM 124A Critical Design Practice/Advanced Studio
- COMM 124B Critical Design Practice/Topic Studio
- COMM 146 Advance Studies in Cultural Product
- COMM 173 Interaction with Technology
- COMM 174 Comm & Social Machines
- COGR275 Mediated Ability: Media, Technology, and [Dis]ability
COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
- CSE 110 Software Engineering
- CSE 118 Ubiquitous Computing
- CSE 134b Client-Side Web Programming
- CSE 165 VR User Interaction and Technology
- CSE 176A/276D Healthcare Robotics
- CSE 170 Human-Computer Interaction Design
- CSE 190 Human-Centered AI
- CSE 210 Principles of Software Engineering
- CSE 216/COGS 230 Interaction Design Research
- CSE 217 Human-Centered Computing for Health
- CSE 218 Advanced Topics in Software Engineering
- CSE 219/COGS 229 Design at Large seminar
- CSE 237d Design Automation & Prototyping for Embedded System Design
- CSE 239c Human-Computer Interaction Seminar
- CSE 276B Human Robot Interaction
- CSE 276D Healthcare Robotics
- CSE 291 Antisocial Computing
ICAM 110 Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts
VIS 30 Introduction to Speculative DesignVIS 102 Cross-Border Urbanization
VIS 141a Computer Programming/Arts II
VIS147a Electronic Technologies for Art I
VIS 215 Human Interface
- CAT 124s/CAT 198s Culture, Art and Technology Practicum
- DSC 266R Human-Centered AI
- DSGN 1 Design of Everyday Things
- DSGN 90 Undergraduate Seminar
- DSGN 99 Independent Study
- DSGN 100 Prototyping
- DSGN 118 Design for Creativity and Productivity
- DSGN 119 Design at Large seminar
- DSGN 160 Special Topics in Design
- DSGN 161 Design Project
- DSGN 195 Instructional Apprenticeship in Design
- DSGN 198 Directed Group Study
- DSGN 199 Independent Project
- DSGN 201 Human-Centered Design and Complex Sociotechnical Systems
- DSGN 260 Advanced Topics in Design
- DSGN 261 Advanced Design Project
- DSGN 299 Independent Project
- EDS 114 Cognitive Development & Interactive Computing Environments
- EDS 260/287a Educational Research & Evaluation Design
ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
- ECE 284 Mobile Health Device Design
- ENG 100D Design for Development
- GLBH 201 Design thinking for global health and health systems strengthening
MECHANICAL & AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
- MAE 3 Introduction to Engineering Graphics and Design
- MDE 266 Biomaterials for Medical Device Design
- PSYC 272 Selected Topics in Cognitive Psychology
- FMPH191 Critical Digital Health
- MGT 412 New Venture Design
- MGT 452 New Product Development
- TDDE 1 Introduction to Design for the Theatre
- TDDE 101 Theatre Process-Scenic Design
- TDDE 130 Assistant Designer
- TDDE 131 Special Topics in Design-Storyboarding and Concept Art
- TDDE 132 Mainstage Production Design
- TDDE 141 Theatre Process-Sound Design
- TDDE 151 Digital Video Design
- TDDE 169a Digital Rendering (aka Photoshop)
- TDDE 169b Digital Rendering (aka Photoshop)
- TDGR 268 Storyboarding
- TDGR 278 Special Topics in Design: History of the Transformation of Design in Performance
- TDGR 278 Special Topics in Design-Kinetic Design (1-3)
- TDGR 278 Kinetic Design 1-Motion in Multimedia
- TDGR 278 Kinetic Design 2-Designing New Worlds
- TDGR 278 Kinetic Design 3-Utopian Design Explorations
VISUAL ARTS – SPECULATIVE DESIGN MAJOR
- VIS 11 Introduction to Visual Culture
- VIS 30 Introduction to Speculative Design
- VIS 41 Design Communication
- VIS 100 Introduction to Public Culture
- VIS 100A Design of Public Culture
- VIS 101 Intro to Urban Ecologies
- VIS 101A Designing Urban Ecologies
- VIS 102 Democratizing the City
- VIS 103 Architectural practices
- VIS 103B Architecture and Urbanism of Korea (4)
- VIS 103C Silk Roads: A Critical Study (4)
- VIS 133 Lecture Topics in Speculative Design
- VIS 133A Studio Topics in Speculative Design
- VIS 136A Speculative Fiction Seminar
- VIS 159 History of Art and Technology
- VIS 161 Systems and Networks at Scale
- VIS 162 Speculative Science and Design Invention
- VIS 163 Design research and criticism
- VIS 190 Design Master Studio
VISUAL ARTS – COMPUTING AND THE ARTS MAJOR
- ICAM 110 Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts
- VIS 10 Computing in the Arts Lecture Series
- VIS 30 Introduction to Speculative Design
- VIS 102 Cross-Border Urbanization
- VIS 141A Intro to computer programming in the arts
- VIS 141B Computer Programming for the Arts II
- VIS 142 Practice in Computing Arts
- VIS 143 Virtual Environments
- VIS 145A Time and Process: Digital Media I
- VIS 145B Time- and Process-Based Digital Media II
- VIS 147A Electronic Technologies for Art I
- VIS 147B Electronic Technologies for Art II
- VIS 148 Visualizing Art Practice
- VIS 149 Seminar in Contemporary Computer Topics
- VIS 215 Human Interface
VISUAL ARTS – STUDIO ART MAJOR
- VIS 105D Art Forms and Chinese Calligraphy
- VIS 105E Chinese Calligraphy as Installation
- VIS 110A Contemporary Issues and Practices
- VIS 110B Professional Practice in the Visual Arts
- VIS 110C Proposals, Plans, Presentations
- VIS 110D Visual Narrative
- VIS 110E Art in Public Spaces/Site-Specific Art
- VIS 110F Installation: Cross-Disciplinary Projects
- VIS 110G The Natural and Altered Environment
- VIS 110H Art and Text
- VIS 110K Digital Studio
- VIS 130 Special Projects in Visual Arts
- VIS 131 Special Projects in Media
- VIS 132 Installation Production and Studio
- USP 2 Urban World System
- USP 3 The City and Social Theory
- USP 4 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
- USP 5 Introduction to the Real Estate and Development Process
- USP 6 Introduction to Global Architecture
- USP 100 Introduction to Urban Planning
- USP 120 Urban Planning, Infrastructure, and Real Estate
- USP 164 Cities in Film
- USP 165A Advanced Special Topics in Housing
- USP 165B Advanced Special Topics in Sustainability
- USP 165C Advanced Special Topics in Transportation
- USP 165D Advanced Special Topics in Urban Design and Land Use
- USP 169 Introduction to Green Building
- USP 170 Planning for Sustainable Communities
- USP 171 Sustainable Development
- USP 171GS International Sustainable Development
- USP 172 Graphics, Visual Communication, and Urban Information
USP 173 History of Urban Planning and Design - USP 175 Site Analysis
- USP 176 International Planning and Development: U.S.-Mexico Border
- USP 177A Urban Design Practicum
- USP 177B Advanced Urban Design
- USP 179 Urban Design, Theory, and Practice
- USP 180 Transportation Planning
- USP 181 Public Transportation
- USP 183GS International Urban Design Practicum
- USP 184 Decolonizing Design: Histories and Theories
- USP 191A Intermediate GIS for Urban and Community Planning
- USP 191B Advanced GIS for Urban and Community Planning
- USP 224 Land Use Planning
- USP 265C Advanced Special Topics in Transportation
- USP 271 Sustainable Development