Program Overview

Design Strategy, Certificate

The Design Strategy Certificate is an 18-credit program housed in the School of Human Ecology. It provides undergraduate students from all majors with a hands-on, interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving for strategic change.

What is it about?

This certificate offers students a unique opportunity to apply Design Thinking techniques and explore the interconnections between people and built, natural, and financial environments. By doing so, students will learn to put ideas into action and develop forward-thinking approaches to a variety of issues.

What is Design Strategy?

Design Strategy is a successful approach to problem-solving with a focus on quality of life and sustainable futures. It begins with asking "better" questions to understand the root of the problem and why it is an issue. This approach is empathetic, human-centered, and draws from historical precedence and current research from various fields to help solve complex and persistent problems.

What will students gain?

Students will acquire concrete methodologies that enable them to apply what they have learned in their degree studies in a way that goes beyond the theoretical emphasis of most degree programs. Rather than adding additional expertise and knowledge in a particular field, this certificate gives students ways to apply what they have learned in their majors to real-world problems. As a result, they become confident and creative forward thinkers who are able to work in interdisciplinary teams.

Requirements

The certificate requires 18 credits, including:

• Foundational Course: 3 credits
• Selective Topics: 9 credits (choose one course from each of the three sections)
  • Consumer Behavior and Product Development
  • Communities and Social Change
  • Humans and the Environment
• Elective Topics: 3 credits
• Capstone: 3 credits

Course List

The following courses are part of the certificate program:

• DS 341: Design Thinking for Transformation
• CNSR SCI/RELIG ST 173: Consuming Happiness
• CNSR SCI 201: Consumer Insights
• CNSR SCI 255: Consumer Financial Services Innovation
• CNSR SCI 301: Consumer Analytics
• CNSR SCI 657: Consumer Behavior
• DS 527: Global Artisans
• CSCS 125: Community and Social Change
• CSCS 300: Nonprofit Sector: Overview and Foundations
• CSCS 335: Communicating with Key Audiences
• CSCS 460: Civil Society and Community Leadership
• CSCS 570: Community Based Research and Evaluation
• HDFS 469: Family and Community Influences on the Young Child
• DS 130: Introduction to Interior Architecture
• DS 221: Person and Environment Interactions
• DS/ANTHRO/ART HIST/HISTORY/LAND ARC 264: Dimensions of Material Culture
• DS/LAND ARC 639: Culture and Built Environment
• HDFS 425: Research Methods in Human Development and Family Studies
• HDFS/CNSR SCI 465: Families & Poverty
• HDFS 474: Racial Ethnic Families in the U.S.
• HDFS 516: Stress and Resilience in Families Across the Lifespan
• ANTHRO 104: Cultural Anthropology and Human Diversity
• ANTHRO 300: Cultural Anthropology: Theory and Ethnography
• ANTHRO 415: The Anthropological Study of Children & Youth
• COM ARTS 260: Communication and Human Behavior
• COM ARTS 325: Media and Human Behavior
• L I S 202: Informational Divides and Differences in a Multicultural Society
• ART 448: Special Topics
• DS 270: Design and Fashion Event Practicum
• DS/COMP SCI/I SY E 518: Wearable Technology
• DS/COMP SCI 579: Virtual Reality
• INTL ST 523: International Internship
• LAND ARC 210: Introduction to Landscape Architecture Design Studio
• LAND ARC 563: Designing Sustainable and Resilient Regions
• M E 351: Interdisciplinary Experiential Design Projects I
• THEATRE 234: Collaborative Problem Solving
• ART 346: Basic Graphic Design
• BSE 270: Introduction to Computer Aided Design
• COM ARTS 155: Introduction to Digital Media Production
• COM ARTS 200: Introduction to Digital Communication
• DS 120: Design: Fundamentals I
• L I S 351: Introduction to Digital Information
• CNSR SCI 555: Consumer Design Strategies & Evaluation
• DS 361: Design-Related International Experience
• DS 570: Design and Fashion Event Management
• DS 641: Advanced Design Thinking for Transformation
• HDFS 592: Research Experience in Human Development and Family Studies

Certificate Completion Requirement

This undergraduate certificate must be completed concurrently with the student's undergraduate degree. Students cannot delay degree completion to complete the certificate.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the certificate, students will be able to:

1. Develop and understand empathy mindsets through the practice of observation, interviewing skills, and other related techniques.
2. Recognize that theories, knowledge, and concepts intrinsic to the practice of design are relevant to informing new approaches to addressing topics that are difficult to formulate using traditional theories.
3. Incorporate methods that rely on teamwork, communication, and collaborative activity.
4. Examine a wide range of problems confronting society by looking at them in context, in order to uncover their roots, visualize their interconnections, and identify their interdependencies.
5. Become collaborative, divergent thinkers, able to generate and visually communicate multiple ideas.

Advising and Careers

The Advising & Career Center (ACC) fosters undergraduate students' personal, academic, and professional development. Through advising, academic planning, and career education, the ACC supports students as they navigate the college experience. Each Human Ecology student is assigned to an academic advisor and a career advisor in the ACC. The advisors support academic and personal success by partnering with current and prospective Human Ecology students to identify and clarify their educational goals, develop meaningful academic plans, and pursue their own Wisconsin Experience.

Resources and Scholarships

The School of Human Ecology awards many merit and need-based scholarships each year. Students can learn more about these opportunities on the Human Ecology scholarships webpage. To be eligible for these awards, scholarship recipients must be registered as full-time Human Ecology students. Human Ecology students experiencing personal, academic, or financial challenges can contact SoHE Academic Deans Services for support. Additional campus resources include the Financial Aid Basic Needs website, Office of Student Assistance and Support, and University Health Services.