ONLINE MASTER OF SCIENCE INTEGRATED DESIGN, BUSINESS, AND TECHNOLOGY

The Academy’s online Master of Science in Integrated Design, Business and Technology teaches students how to think critically and creatively at the intersection of arts and design, business, technology, and communications. Our students will develop high-level problem-solving abilities and skills that can be applied across a broad spectrum of industries, fields, and areas of endeavor, and a mindset that embraces lifelong learning. Through the strategic application of human-centered design fueled by diversity and inclusion, technology, agency, and unbridled creativity, Academy graduates will develop new ways of working, learning, collaborating, and engaging with our communities, and drive positive change for society and the environment.

The online Master of Science in Integrated Design, Business, and Technology is a 38-unit master’s program that can be completed in 19 months. Our classes are taught by esteemed USC faculty in a collaborative, interactive online setting. All class sessions are live, where students and professors share ideas and work through problems together. The cross-disciplinary curriculum also requires two (2) in-person residentials in which student teams work on real-world challenge prompts in collaboration with leading nonprofit and for-profit organizations in places such as San Francisco, Boston, Estonia, and Puerto Rico. These residentials are tremendously enriching and give graduate students the opportunity to encounter people and places that are changing the world.

As the speed and complexity of business and technology increases, cross-disciplinary thinking is more critical than ever. Today’s industry leaders are seeking talent whose mindset can connect the dots, synthesize information across disciplines, and transcend the technological trends. Data analysts have identified“problem-solving, critical and creative thinking, collaboration, communication, and ethical reasoning and mindset” as the most in-demand skills from all employers, but especially in STEM fields: 91% of STEM occupations cited those skills in a majority of their job descriptions compared to 55% of non-STEM occupations. In addition, 73% of companies report that they are investing in design, and half of all IT jobs now require digital design. Investment into creative thinking has led to the growth of “hybrid” jobs that require adaptive thinkers who can work across traditional domains: digital tools and data analysis, business and management, as well as creativity and design.