Design Research and the Academy: Research Driven Community Facing Work

This paper examines the work of community facing faculty research in service to the formation of a new Master’s of Science in Design Research (DSRE). A shared core curriculum, diverse faculty research, and existing labs, centers, and consortia, all combine to offer a unique, intellectually stimulating collaborative environment substantiated by a philosophy of investigative research and community projects. The DSRE program is interdisciplinary and evidence-based, with the potential to lead to considerable research and collaboration with other disciplines. DSRE builds on multiple ongoing public interest projects. This design research degree fosters a pioneering environment for cross-college collaborations and community engagement and builds on the ongoing work of standing faculty detailed here. Standing faculty research practices, projects, and the research of industry trends indicate a demand for the fusion of disciplines and inventive, disruptive, an exploratory design that positively impacts the user experience and the environment laying the groundwork for this program.