SVA Product Design Master’s Program in NYC
Graduate Product Design at SVA is the most comprehensive product design program imaginable.
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Register for our Info Sessions & Open Houses 〰️
Designers don’t design things. They design consequences.
Complex challenges require many design disciplines—not just one. Located in New York City, the SVA Products of Design master’s program is STEM-Certified and provides the tools and methodologies from all the key design fields. We accept students with a bachelor’s degree, including those who did not previously study design.
We empower SVA MFA design graduates with the leadership abilities they need to solve global problems and create lasting social change.
1. We train "Multilingual Designers"
When you choose Product Design at SVA, you learn product design and more. We teach the most vital disciplines of design- from physical to digital product design, social impact design, and design management. Students also learn additional necessary skills such as the language of business, entrepreneurship, leadership, and more.
2. We don’t have grades
Here’s why: First, one of the reasons that education can fail is that it spends more time measuring people than mentoring them. Second, we want maximum risk from our students, and this allows them to spread their wings without fear. Thirdly, we want to build trusting a relationship between students and faculty that is collegial and professional.
3. We optimize being in New York City
Our campus serves as an unparalleled learning lab— our studio space features reconfigurable classrooms, state-of-the-art making labs, etc. We also teach in professional studios around NYC (i.e., frog Design, Johnson & Johnson), students attend studio space workshops, and meet with the leadership at companies such as Google Creative Lab, Lyft, and the New York Times.
4. Our faculty are working professionals
Our MFA design program faculty list reads like a who’s who of Design Industry champions. From Community Design leader to Sloan Leo, to Suma Reddy, to Antenna Design's Sigi Moeslinger & Masamichi Udagawa, our faculty are experts in their field, deeply involved in the design world. They bring both their hands-on methodologies and unique perspectives on the future of design into their classrooms.
5. We design for the MoMA
Alongside scholarship, research, and methods, we are devoted to the prototype— whether it’s a system, a user journey map, a mobile app, or a working, physical model. Every year, we work with the Museum of Modern Art to design products for their wholesale and retail channels. Our students learn to create compelling prototypes, that fit the fundamentals of manufacturing and distribution.
6. Everything we do has a moral center
Evidenced by the thesis topics, course work, and partnered projects, the beating heart of the program centers on social impact, design for justice, systems change, and the drive towards a more fair and equitable world. If you want to be a positive force, here’s where you’ll get fortified. We place moral integrity, empathy, and generosity over all other design skills as part of our master design program.
Where do our students get hired?
Graduates of our SVA MFA design program go on to work in top design organizations both in New York City and around the world. Just some of the places where our students are now working include Apple, Johnson & Johnson, IDEO, IDEO.org, Frog Design, Google, Microsoft, IBM, R/GA, Lyft, Vice Media, MoMA, JP Morgan, Pinterest, Method, Ziba, Bark & Co., SYPartners, 2X4, Pentagram, Local Projects, Deloitte, Arup, 18F, Code & Theory, American Express, Mythbusters, Tiffany, Argodesign, Madwell, and Landor.
What our alumni have said about our program
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Damon Aloha
“One of the main reasons I decided to attend Products of Design is the impressive faculty list of top industry leaders… I came away with a strong professional network that led to my position at Frog Design and next to Lyft.”
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Gustav Ole Dyrhauge
“Learning about physical and digital product design at the same time is very unique and incredibly important as the two worlds inform each other. I gained a skillset that set me up for success and has helped my career immensely.“
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Isioma Iyamah
Creative Director @ VICE Media
“Rigorous and nimble, the program engaged and taught a wealth of skills: from creative concepting, graphic design and art direction, to brand strategy and pitching; from user experience and interaction design, to video editing and storytelling––all of which I’ve employed and further developed both personally and professionally.”
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Souvik Paul
“Making the transition from Wall Street to design wasn't easy, but the Products of Design program provided me with the skills and confidence necessary to excel. The program will push you harder than you’ve ever worked before in your life, but there is always time afterwards to catch up on sleep.”
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![Charlotta Hellichius]()
Charlotta Hellichius
Senior Design Strategist @ Redscout
“What am I most proud of from my time at Products of Design? Well, I was unemployed for less than a week after graduating!”
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![Victoria Ayo]()
Victoria Ayo
"I would definitely not be where I am without the education I received at PoD. I learned invaluable design, strategy, and tech skills that helped shape how I work—both individually, with other designers and non-tech stakeholders.”
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![Xumeng Mou]()
Xumeng Mou
Product Designer @ Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
"At PoD, I enjoyed learning and exploring, connected with a diverse range of people in the creative industry, and presented projects at the intersection between what's valuable for others and meaningful for myself.”
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