Department Blog
Department news, events, and snapshots of student life at SVA in New York City.
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Oscar Night 2026: Another year, another unforgettable night of student films!
Each year, PoD’s first-year students are tasked with scripting, storyboarding, pitching, and producing a 3–5 minute film in just seven weeks. Over the course of the class, each student pitches their concept, and with the support of collaborating teams, seven final films make it into production and premiere at Oscar Night. The only guiding prompt: Each film must center around a designed object or experience from the student’s body of work, building a world where that design can flourish and tell its story.
Craft, Noise, and the Things We Make: POD Visits the Cooper Hewitt Museum
Last week, POD's first-year students headed uptown to the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, one of New York's great design institutions tucked into Carnegie Mansion on Fifth Avenue. Students were there to see two exhibitions both circling a question that sits at the heart of what we study at POD: Does the human shape the object, or does the object shape the human?
MoMA’s 2025 Gift Guide Is Here—And PoD Alumni Are In It!
We’re beyond thrilled to see SVA Products of Design alumni take center stage in MoMA’s newly released 2025 Gift Guide. Each featured piece reflects the ingenuity, clarity, and playful rigor at the heart of the PoD community—turning everyday objects into moments of design delight.
Halloween Night with our ‘Glowing’ Year One Product Designers
A few snapshots from Halloween at SVA’s MFA Products of Design program: Year 1 turned Becky Stern’s Making Studio class into a glowing, buzzing, overachieving costume lab
Applying to Grad School? We Have Tips!
If you are reading this, it probably means you are starting to think seriously about graduate school. Applying to a program like the MFA Products of Design at the School of Visual Arts is not just about preparing materials or checking requirements. It is about exploring who you are as a designer, a thinker, and a changemaker. Whether you are just starting out or polishing your final submission, we hope these tips will help you approach the process with confidence and creativity.
Speaker Series: Christa May on the Commodification of Reproductive Biology
Join us tomorrow to hear from the first in an exciting lineup of speakers this fall! Christa May (she/they) is a Brooklyn-based designer, researcher, and cultural worker.
Wanna Help Us With Our Thesis Projects?
Join the Class of 2026 on their thesis journeys and detours, as they document weekly progress, experiments, and reflections on Medium!
Snapshots from 12ELVE: Our 2025 Thesis Presentations!
On May 7th, 2024, the eleventh group of MFA Products of Design graduates presented their final thesis projects. Friends, family, design professionals, faculty, and staff gathered at the SVA Theatre in New York City to watch and share in the festivities. Ranging in topics from Designing for Esport Althetes and Exploring Therapeutic Avenues for Nightmares, to Menstrual Confidence and Elevating Women as Climate Change Agents, the graduates shared hundreds of products, services, apps, platforms, and experiences throughout the day-long event. Check out more projects from this year’s graduates, here, and enjoy some snapshots of the day below!