The Drucker School and Art Center Launch Dual Degree in Innovation Systems Design (ISD)
Art Center College of Design and the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University (CGU) today announced the new Innovation Systems Design (ISD) MS/MBA degree program launching in fall 2014.
The ISD dual-degree program marries Art Center’s renowned design and innovation curriculum with the Drucker School’s acclaimed business and management acumen to meet the needs of early- to mid-career level professionals who see the value in applying design-thinking methodology to business strategy.
Students who graduate from the rigorous program will earn a Master of Science (MS) degree in Industrial Design from Art Center and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Drucker School.
“One of the many differentiators of this program is that it’s a truly immersive experience to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of both business and design culture,” said Hideki Yamawaki, co-executive director of the ISD program and Ito Chair of International Business and Professor of Management at the Drucker School. “Ultimately, our graduates will be MBAs who have a robust portfolio that shows examples of their ability to create the future.”
The rapid advance of new technologies continues to heighten competition and accelerate the rate of change in the global marketplace. Companies have to reinvent their business models at an ever-increasing pace to remain competitive.
“The ISD program will prepare graduates to take on these types of complex and unstructured problems by merging the curricula of two distinct disciplines that have not traditionally been combined,” said Andy Ogden, co-executive director of the ISD program and chair of the Graduate Industrial Design Department (Grad ID) at Art Center.
“What we see going forward is that, if you are going to be able to create the future, you need to have knowledge and understanding of business dynamics, an ability to think strategically and the skills and knowledge of a designer to realize a vision,” Ogden said.
Individuals best suited for this program are those who have a deep desire to be involved at the front end, to look forward, to dive into the analysis of trends, and to figure out the best strategy in order to make a company successful. Students will tackle real-world design projects that allow them to practice and apply new skills, theories, and methods.