Does anyone have any experience with this major? My daughter is interested in becoming a product designer and is trying to compare this major to RIT’s industrial design program.
The field of product design is rather broad given the wide range of products and potential users of those products.
As a result products are more often than not designed by teams of people with varied backgrounds.
Industrial Design is an applied art degree focused on the aesthetic element of design and the “form” of the product. The majority of the courses will be art related such as Drawing, 2D and 3D design, using computers in the design process (CAD) and art history. Typically a course in “human factors” is included.
Engineering is an applied science degree focused on the technology element of design and the “function” of the product. The majority of the courses will be science/technology related such as the theory of computing and how to integrate computers into products, the theory and behavior of materials used to build products and the theory and behavior of energies that can be harnessed to build products.
Engineering Psychology is an applied social/health science focused on the relationship between the product and its user and how that impacts its “function”. The majority of the courses will be related to human behavior, sensory systems and anatomy and how they relate to product “function” and “form”.
At Tufts, Engineering Psychology can be studied either within the School of Engineering (as a specialty within Mechanical Engineering) or within the School of Liberal Arts (as a concentration within Psychology). As you might expect, the balance between traditional Engineering and Psychology shifts depending on which option is pursued.
If one attends Tufts and wants exposure to the more “artsy” elements of design provided by an Industrial Design degree, then one can take courses in Drawing, 2D and 3D design and art history through the Art and Art History Department. Studio art classes such as Drawing, 2D and 3D design are actually taught (on campus) by the faculty of the Museum School of the Museum of Fine Arts (located next to the MFA in Boston).
Last December, Tufts announced that it will be taking over responsibility for the Museum School and there has been some mention by the new Dean of Engineering of expanding joint offerings between the School of engineering and the Museum School. Currently, the joint offerings are a Minor in Multimedia Arts and a Major in Architectural Studies (which also can be studied either within the School of Engineering or the School of Liberal Arts).
In an ideal world, a product designer would have a strong sense of the science and technology of the medium(s) that make up the product, a strong sense of the user and how they interact with the product, a strong sense of the aesthetics of a product and a strong sense of the markets that the product can serve. In the real world, you cover all the bases by forming design teams and the most important area of design expertise varies with the type of product one is designing and the type of market one is targeting.
Good Luck, and feel free to ask more questions.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a5589/3491456/
http://ase.tufts.edu/psychology/undergraduate/concEngineeringPsych.htm
http://engineering.tufts.edu/me/undergraduate/bs/
http://www.smfa.edu/files/SP-16-Courses-for-Tufts-Students-v5.pdf
Thank you @Mastadon, your reply was extremely helpful. It looks like my D has some big decisions to make. If anyone is a graduate or student of this major, I would welcome an opportunity to hear about your experience. I think Tufts would be a wonderful fit for her.
@Mastadon gave a pretty good summary covering my understanding of all the relevant areas. It hadn’t occurred to me that the merger with SMFA would be an opportunity in this area but that’s a good point - all the more reason to be excited about it!
While I had fairly little experience with the Engineering Psychology program at Tufts (despite spending four years in the ME department) I thought I’d add an example as a little more context. The company I work for now as both an Industrial Design group and a Human Factors group. While they have overlapping responsibilities (both are concerned with how elements of the design of our products shape the way our customers interact with them) the industrial designers are typically more focused on the aesthetics of the product while the human factors group spends more time studying users’ interactions and learning how to shape them.
Thank you for your comments @hebrewhammer. It helps to get a real world perspective. Does the human factors group ever sketch or make prototypes?
Hmm, I honestly haven’t had enough depth of interactions with them to know. My company makes fairly complex products though so I think people tend to be in more defined roles than you would be at a smaller company.
@Pepper17 if your Daughter knows she wants to do ID, I don’t think Tufts really has a strong enough program for her. Sure you can cobble something together, but it’s not the same as a school with a dedicated program like RIT. Eng Psych is really more user interaction than design.
If you have large bags of cash lying around, you could just plan on doing a Masters in ID, which is pretty much required these days unless you go to RISD, CMU, Art Center, Pratt, SCAD etc. RIT may be on that list also. If you went to Tufts you’d definitely be looking at getting a Masters to get a more focused Design education.
I think Tufts Eng Psych/SMFA would be a great undergrad foundation for an ID career, assuming this includes a Masters. Who knows, she might take an IR class and completely change courses. That probably won’t happen at RIT.
My Daughter is a CS major at Tufts and my Son will have RIT in his top 5 next year for ID. They are pretty different kids and students, and I couldn’t really see either at the other school.
@ormdad , I’ll send you a PM