MFA in Collaborative Design (Portland, OR) Due: Apr. 1

MFA in Collaborative Design at PNCA
Design Ecologies, Systems Thinking and Cultural Entrepreneurship
PNCA introduces its newest graduate program, the Master of Fine Arts in Collaborative Design, to commence in the Fall 2011 semester.
Utilizing design ecologies, collaborative research and art, design, and systems thinking, the MFA in Collaborative Design prepares students to lead efforts to promote positive change by aligning design with the goals and needs of diverse human and nonhuman stakeholders. Participants will encounter and co-create a series of expanded design practices and will develop skills to meaningfully address the emerging challenges of the 21st century.
Working in transdisciplinary studio teams, students will respond to design briefs containing challenges such as resource depletion, emerging technologies, urban demographic change, and global climatic shifts. These environmental, social and technological challenges demand design practices that assemble and maintain networks of people, places and artifacts in order to develop non-trivial solutions.
Students will graduate with a portfolio of projects that feature design as a process for considering and acting in a complex and highly interconnected world. 
The MFA in Collaborative Design, a two-year, 60-credit program, is open to students of varying backgrounds who demonstrate their inclination toward an expanded design practice including collaboration, working across disciplines and as advocates for communities. They will be passionate about making a significant impact and understanding its effect on the local, regional and international challenges of tomorrow.  
PNCA seeks highly motivated students from a variety of disciplinary and professional backgrounds to apply for this unique Master's program by April 1, 2011. http://pnca.edu/collaborativedesign 
Follow the Collaborative Design blog at: http://pncacd.tumblr.com/