Get a fresh, distinctive take on design—a program that connects many disciplines and mirrors the real world. We equip you with the skills and insight to create from print and screen to products and services. With an emphasis on diverse, collaborative learning, you’ll strengthen your critical thinking and visual communication skills, developing the mindset and versatility that defines today’s most impactful designers.

Program Overview

Program
Degree
Campus
Program Length

Course + Content

Our four-year Interdisciplinary Design major opens the door to a broad spectrum of products and services. You’ll explore how people, technology, and aesthetics intersect to address modern social and environmental challenges. Guided by dedicated faculty and seasoned industry professionals, you will build a dynamic toolkit that includes design thinking methods, visualization techniques, user experience strategies, and production processes.

Throughout your studies, you’ll bring ideas to life through projects ranging from graphic posters, logos, books, and animations to interactive websites, apps, physical products, packaging, and exhibits. With a strong foundation in design thinking, you’ll learn to communicate and solve problems across multiple media and contexts. You can also tailor your interests through pathways in typography and illustration, digital and physical prototyping, and UI/UX design.

The program is anchored by six major design studios, offering a balance of guided instruction and self-directed exploration. A wide selection of electives allows you to deepen your technical abilities, expand your knowledge, and engage with pressing design issues. Our goal is simple: to cultivate informed, adaptable designers who can tackle challenges from graphic, interactive, product, and service design perspectives.

FOUNDATION PROGRAM: You will start your NSCAD degree with an immersive Foundation studies program. This first year introduces you to all the disciplines and practices we teach at NSCAD, and it will equip you with the critical and creative skills you need to thrive in art and design school.

In Studio

You’ll have access to extensive equipment and facilities run by knowledgeable and skilled technicians. The program is built around six major design studios, and allows for both instructor-led and individual-directed research or study. A range of electives are offered to help you develop your technical skills, expand your knowledge, and explore current issues and challenges.

Careers

As a graduate, you’ll join a vibrant and supportive alumni network. Graduates of the BDes program thrive in diverse roles—from large design and creative consultancies to agile startups that value multidisciplinary talent. Many also forge their own paths as freelance designers, embracing the freedom and flexibility of independent work.

Design skills open doors to an incredible range of opportunities—in marketing, branding, strategy, public relations, policy, product development, innovation management, and beyond. These abilities are in demand across industries including finance, education, healthcare, and government. With this foundation, the possibilities for your career are truly limitless.

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Jess Myra
Jess has worked for Google AI, Twitter and with well-known brands including Nike, Honda, and EA Sports, as an interaction design lead.
Alumna Rhonda Rubinstein on the Living Roof of the California Academy of Sciences, checking out an advance copy of my new book, Seeing It All: Women Photographers Expose Our Planet
Rhonda Rubinstein, BDes 1983
Rhonda has been a designer and art director at Esquire, New York Magazine, and Mother Jones, and is the Creative Director of the California Academy of Sciences.
A Black man poses in front of a back group full of clouds. He is wearing an orange shirt, glasses and African kufi cap
Henry Bishop, BVisComm 1974
Henry served as creative director and curator of the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia for 30 years and was the first African Nova Scotian to be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Art from NSCAD in 2000.
cropped Lynne-Rennie-1
Lynne Rennie, BDes, 1994
Lynne is design director of the Calgary-based chocolate company, Cococo, and teaches at the Alberta University of the Arts.
Luch Courchesne by Eric Labonté
Luc Courchesne, BDes 1974
Luc has received numerous awards, including the Grand Prix at the ICC Biennale in Tokyo (1997), the Prix Paul-Émile-Borduas (2019) and Canada’s Governor General’s Award in Media Arts (2021). He is a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.