Want to infuse design innovation into your undergraduate curriculum? We believe that linking domain expertise with a broad base of design skills and approaches powerfully prepares you for innovation. Below, you can learn about several programs at Berkeley that offer opportunities to complement your major, exploring design in depth. Many courses that take place in Jacobs Hall (see the current listing of courses held in Jacobs Hall here) count toward undergraduate certificates or otherwise have connections with these campus programs.
To learn more about opportunities for graduate education at the Jacobs Institute, please visit the Berkeley Master of Design website.
Berkeley Certificate in Design InnovationIn today’s world, innovations require weaving together the knowledge, theories, and skills of different disciplines. The Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation, jointly offered and administrated by four colleges (College of Engineering, College of Environmental Design, College of Letters and Science – Arts and Humanities Division, and the Haas School of Business), introduces design as the creative and critical means to innovate — to define, to imagine, and to advance a globally just future. This undergraduate certificate program assumes that innovation will not come from any one discipline, but rather from the meaningful integration of methods, technologies, knowledge, and thought from a wide range of different disciplines. As such, the certificate connects the design approaches and disciplines from four schools to ensure that students know how to innovate. The program trains students to take responsibility for the entire life cycle of innovation, from idea to execution and beyond.
The course sequence for the certificate consists of four courses: one foundation, two design skills, and one advanced design. The certificate allows students to take a range of courses outside of their major disciplines to introduce them to, or expand, their context for design. Approved courses include existing courses in a variety of departments as well as newly developed courses in Design Innovation (DES INV). To learn more about the certificate curriculum and how to enroll, visit the BCDI website. If you would like to meet with an advisor to discuss the certificate in detail, you can book an appointment with Tyshon Rogers, the BCDI student services advisor, here. Tyshon is located at 234 Jacobs Hall.
Opportunities in related fieldsIn addition to these design-focused programs, several certificate programs are run by centers with which the Jacobs Institute often partners and focus on skills frequently used in design fields.
Certificate in New Media: Offered through the Berkeley Center for New Media, this undergraduate certificate program emphasizes the critical understanding and practice of new media through interdisciplinary perspectives. Learn more.
Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Technology: The Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology’s certificate program allows students to explore technology-centric entrepreneurship and innovation. Learn more.