<p>The Design, Innovation, and Society major (B.S. degree) at RPI seems perfect for me but does anyone know anything about the program?</p>
<p>My daughter is in the program. Almost all people in the major have it as a double major with Mechanical Engineering (the majority) or Business. My daughter loves it, lots of studio classes.</p>
<p>Went with S on a campus tour (asking specifically about hands-on opportunities and design), heard the desultory introductory talk, read all the brochures, looked over the website, and never heard of this program until the above post. S interested in R&D and was most interested in WPI due to collaborative project focus. We never got a sense of a unique approach at RPI; they just tout their reputation among recruiters and vaguely cite a history of innovation. Located DIS major on the web, however, and it sounds fantastic. S thought it looked right up his alley. Is the low “marketing” profile of the major due to RPI’s obvious ineptness at conveying a message to its applicants, or is this a program that has not yet hit its stride and therefore not ready for prime time? This major could change S’s thinking about his college rank list, but would like some assurance that it’s legit.</p>
<p>It is a very legit major but since it is studio based, it has a limited number of students that can enroll - about 30-40 a year. It is important to start out in the major if possible since studio classes are sequential. Sometimes there is a waiting list for people to switch into this major. I think it is best combined as a double major with engineering or business. Otherwise you should be looking at Rhode Island school of design or Carnegie Mellon’s arty design school. If you read about a very successful startup using mushrooms as insulation, that came from this program. (they have a TED talk). It is very entrepreneurial and patent oriented. If a project is marketable, there is a cone of silence until patents are filed.</p>
<p>Thanks! Sounds cool.</p>
<p>Sandpit, I emailed the person running the program to find out about it and it does sound like a really wonderful blend of Mech Eng. and Design. My son was originally interested in industrial design so it could be an option.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, you can only take it as a double major, there is no option to take it as a minor. I got the impression from the head of the program that the work load is definitely tougher. </p>
<p>How has your daughter found the work load to be like?</p>
<p>Lakemom,</p>
<p>Not in the program, but I have a few friends that are.</p>
<p>It is a lot of work. Since it is mostly studio classes, they have to do lots of group projects that involve actually coming up with a concept and designing/building a prototype. They have 6 or 8 studios, where an ME will take only 2 classes that really revolves around building a project like that.</p>
<p>Of course, there are tons of student run design clubs on campus like Formula Hybrid, Steel Bridge, Design/Build/Fly… and students should definitely join those for a look at what the real engineering design process is like. There’s a lot more on the line too – your reputation at a competition vs. just a grade on a piece of paper.</p>
<p>Thanks AeroRPI. The program does sound intense, would be nice if a product design minor was offered like a few other schools I have researched. Glad to hear there are other opportunities to be involved in design instead.</p>
<p>My daughter loves the studio classes, much prefers them to the standard engineering physics/calculus learning formats It depends on the student. The main thing about the work load of the double major is that all electives are pre specified, i.e. it would be hard to fit in a music minor, etc. on top of it. Many students do co-ops which either delays graduation a semester, they attend a summer, or if they take a slightly heavier course load and/or have AP, they can still graduate on time. From what I can tell, employers like the graduates of this program. There’s quite a few going to Hasbro, the toy company, for co-ops this spring. Imagine working on nerf guns for a job! 
</p>
<p>If the design part sounds better than the double major, check out Carnegie Mellon, Syracuse, Rhode Island School of Design. They approach product design from the artist point of view and don’t cover the engineering aspect.</p>
<p>Actually, we’ve “been there and done that” and that is how my son got back to Mech engineering. He is taking CAD in HS and his teacher is an architect. So my son went from engineering to ARch engineering to Industrial design in his interest and now realizes he needs engineering mixed with design, so more engineering less art. </p>
<p>Syracuse’s program which is 5 yr btw has a broader future of design focus instead of as much hands on you be the designer emphasis. RIT has a very good ID program for those who want hands on because it is a Tech school. I’m sure CMU has a great program. The only school in the US that has ID inside their engineering school is in Bellingham Washington and you don’t know if you are accepted to it until soph year so you have to do the wait and see. </p>
<p>When I was doing a lot of ID program research I came across RPI’s but since it is not a true accredited ID program, I just noted it but didn’t pursue it. Now that my son is really interested in RPI, I reexamined it. I wish they had it as a minor. Lehigh and Drexel let you minor in Product Design while majoring in Engineering.</p>
<p>I consider Stanford’s program in Mechanical Engineering the most similar to RPI’s (it is a subset of their Mech E department) David Kelley’s D-School is pretty amazing. If your son likes studio classes, like my daughter does, then it won’t seem like extra work. I don’t think it is more work than doing a design club like the solar car, etc. on top of classes. She credits them with changing how she thinks and solves problems. They are taught how to design to follow criteria necessary for patents and entrepreneuring is a big part of it.</p>
<p>I read about Stanford’s program. I imagine David Kelley’s D-School is amazing. If my son is accepted when he goes back up to revisit RPI, I will have him explore the dual degree more. Obviously, one could drop if it was too much, but I think that would feel awful so he would need a good idea of whether he felt the workload was manageable. </p>
<p>Maybe I will PM you and he can contact your daughter.</p>
<p>I remember my daughter had to indicate on her admission papers that she was interested in PDI, I think it was a check box that year. Not sure how it is done now. She won’t be on campus next spring (co-op) but we could put him in touch with others in the program if he’s interested. Since there’s a limited # allowed in the program and you need to get in early to graduate on time, might be worth it to ask for admissions to the program ASAP if at all interested. Good luck!</p>
<p>I know from emailing the head person they only take 25 each year so it is pretty restrictive. If my son is accepted then I can discuss the next step further with him.
Thanks!</p>