MDes in Design

Upload a scanned copy of your transcript and degree certificate for each institution after high school.

Upload a scanned copy of your transcript and degree certificate for each institution after high school.

The MDes accepts letters of recommendation from both academic and professional sources. You should select recommenders who can provide detailed, authentic responses regarding your potential to succeed in the MDes, which may include speaking to your intellectual ability; your design, technical, or professional skills; your character; the quality of your work; or alignment of your interests and goals with the program. We understand that the ideal people to provide such recommendations will be different for each applicant, and do not have a strict requirement or preference for whether recommenders are academic, professional, or a mix of both.

The Personal Statement provides an opportunity for the admissions committee to get to know you better on a personal level. Content should not duplicate what has been shared in the Statement of Purpose. In particular, your personal statement should answer the question “What do the other documents in your application do not fully capture about you?” These “other documents” would include items such as your portfolio, your CV, and your academic transcript. You might describe how your personal background and experiences have influenced your decision to pursue graduate studies and/or any relevant information on the following topics that you wish to share with the admissions committee: Defining experiences or challenges that have contributed to your development, your values, etc. How you have overcome barriers to access higher education How you have come to understand the barriers faced by others Your academic service to advance equitable access to high education for women, racial minorities, and individuals from other groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education Your research focusing on underserved populations or related issues of inequality Your leadership among such groups There is no specific word limit specified for the Personal Statement, but we echo the Graduate Division’s advice on essay length: “An ideal essay should say everything it needs to with brevity. Approximately 500 to 1000 well-selected words (1-2 single space pages in 12 point font) is better than more words with less clarity and poor organization.”

MDes applicants must submit a portfolio that demonstrates their creative and technical proficiency. A strong portfolio will: Describe a limited selection of projects in depth, rather than account for a large breadth of projects superficially. We suggest curating a selection of 3–5 of your most compelling projects. Showcase your technical skills, disciplinary strengths, and clearly communicate your experience and perspective. Demonstrate your interest and ability to move beyond your “home” discipline (i.e., if you are a mechanical engineer, do you have any projects showing your exploration of other engineering fields, design fields, and/or a synthesis of your skills from different disciplines?). Include both images and supporting text. Convey the context in which the projects were developed (e.g. did the project come from a class, work, personal exploration, etc.?) and the lens through which to understand and critique the work. Present final outcomes, as well as accounts of the design process and samples of earlier design iterations/stages.Be legible to a general audience of designers and technologists; remember the admissions committee are an interdisciplinary group from various design and engineering backgrounds. Formatting guidelines: Your portfolio must include a title page with your name and some description of the contents of the portfolio, such as a table of contents. Portfolios must be formatted as a single PDF. Web-based portfolios are not accepted or reviewed. Portfolios should be a maximum of 20 pages in length (inclusive of title page) and 20MB in size. Portfolios that are submitted in excess of this page and/or size limit will not be reviewed by the admissions committee. While the PDF portfolio will be viewed as the primary document, you may optionally include up to two minutes of supplementary time-based media (audio/video). See the Audio/Visual Uploads section of the page for more detail. Any URLs or links to outside materials, whether within your portfolio or elsewhere in your application, may not be reviewed.

Your resume or CV provides a succinct overview of your relevant academic training, work experience, and skills. Although other parts of your application can and should provide more detail about your relevant experience and skills, your resume or CV can highlight aspects that the admissions committee would be especially interested in. Optionally, you can also use this section to upload relevant certifications that are not reflected on your degree transcript; this content is not required. You can add this optional content as additional pages in your Resume or CV PDF.

Your Statement of Purpose should describe your relevant academic and professional experience and accomplishments, your future professional goals and interests, why you are drawn to the MDes program, and why you believe the MDes would be a good fit for you and your goals. In particular, the Statement of Purpose should address the question: “What do you want to contribute to the field of design during your time at Berkeley and after?” In answering this, describe how Berkeley will contribute to these goals, and how your experiences and accomplishments thus far will support your aspirations. There is no specific word limit specified for the Statement of Purpose, but we echo the Graduate Division’s advice on essay length: “An ideal essay should say everything it needs to with brevity. Approximately 500 to 1000 well-selected words (1-2 single space pages in 12 point font) is better than more words with less clarity and poor organization.”

TOEFL/IELTS

You may optionally use this section to include up to two minutes of time-based media (audio or video). For instance, you could submit a recording of a slide deck presentation with narration or a recording of an interactive piece.