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# Can Design Enrich Human Experience? Discover Innovative Graduate Programs at Parsons
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/can-design-enrich-human-experience-discover-innovative-graduate-programs-at-parsons/
- Published: 2016-09-20T16:10:18.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:28:48.000Z
- Description: Students at Parsons School of Design challenge conventional design to explore disruptive ideas from a human-centered perspective. Through focused training, experimentation, and exploration, they draw on all disciplines, harnessing innovation and creativity to design for a world that doesn’t exist ye
- Author: Parsons School of Design
- Tags: Announcement, Art Education, Parsons, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:17 (2016, 2017, part 1)

[![parsons_nectar_600x300-72dpi](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2016/09/parsons_nectar_600x300-72dpi.png)](http://engine.nectarads.com/r?e=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&s=iJSwpRWpiB8HtrOaQnk9GMvjdWk&ref=hyperallergic.com)

Students at Parsons School of Design challenge conventional design to explore disruptive ideas from a human-centered perspective. Through focused training, experimentation, and exploration, they draw on all disciplines, harnessing innovation and creativity to design for a world that doesn’t exist yet.

Here are four highlights from the [17 master’s programs](http://engine.nectarads.com/r?e=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&s=iJSwpRWpiB8HtrOaQnk9GMvjdWk&ref=hyperallergic.com) offered at Parsons:

[**Communication Design (MPS)**](http://engine.nectarads.com/r?e=eyJhdiI6MTI0NTQzLCJhdCI6MjAsImJ0IjowLCJjbSI6NDM2NDY1LCJjaCI6MTkzMCwiY2siOnt9LCJjciI6MTY3OTY1NiwiZG0iOjQsImZjIjoxOTk1NzU4LCJmbCI6MjMzMTY4MCwiaXAiOiI1NC4yNDIuMjQwLjExIiwibnciOjIwNywicGMiOjAsImVjIjowLCJwciI6MTY2NiwicnQiOjEsInN0IjowLCJiZiI6dHJ1ZSwicG4iOiJhemtwcmV2aWV3IiwidXIiOiJodHRwOi8vYWRmYXJtLm1lZGlhcGxleC5jb20vYWQvY2svMTA2ODAtMjI1MzM3LTQ4NjM0LTMiLCJyZSI6MX0&s=wv-xHq1KcIQg6O6Vd7%5FVH8EddsY&ref=hyperallergic.com)  
Can digital interfaces enrich human interaction? In this one-year professional program, students create solutions for an increasingly digital world by creatively relaying messages, information, and ideas. Graduate with a forward-looking aesthetic, anchored in leadership skills that set you apart in the professional world.

[**Design and Urban Ecologies (MS)**](http://engine.nectarads.com/r?e=eyJhdiI6MTI0NTQzLCJhdCI6MjAsImJ0IjowLCJjbSI6NDM2NDY1LCJjaCI6MTkzMCwiY2siOnt9LCJjciI6MTY3OTY1NywiZG0iOjQsImZjIjoxOTk1NzU5LCJmbCI6MjMzMTY4MCwiaXAiOiI1NC4yMjEuMTQxLjE5NSIsIm53IjoyMDcsInBjIjowLCJlYyI6MCwicHIiOjE2NjYsInJ0IjoxLCJzdCI6MCwiYmYiOnRydWUsInBuIjoiYXprcHJldmlldyIsInVyIjoiaHR0cDovL2FkZmFybS5tZWRpYXBsZXguY29tL2FkL2NrLzEwNjgwLTIyNTMzNy00ODYzNC00IiwicmUiOjF9&s=YbBpNGXbTANHWFCF%5Fwlq-zNbc6s&ref=hyperallergic.com)  
Can urban growth fuel social justice? Transform urban environments by redesigning processes alongside the communities that live there. Gain a broad understanding of urban development, executing projects that transform community organizing, public space, housing, infrastructure, and more.

[**Design Studies (MA)**](http://engine.nectarads.com/r?e=eyJhdiI6MTI0NTQzLCJhdCI6MjAsImJ0IjowLCJjbSI6NDM2NDY1LCJjaCI6MTkzMCwiY2siOnt9LCJjciI6MTY3OTY1OSwiZG0iOjQsImZjIjoxOTk1NzYxLCJmbCI6MjMzMTY4MCwiaXAiOiI1NC4yNDIuMjQwLjExIiwibnciOjIwNywicGMiOjAsImVjIjowLCJwciI6MTY2NiwicnQiOjEsInN0IjowLCJiZiI6dHJ1ZSwicG4iOiJhemtwcmV2aWV3IiwidXIiOiJodHRwOi8vYWRmYXJtLm1lZGlhcGxleC5jb20vYWQvY2svMTA2ODAtMjI1MzM3LTQ4NjM0LTUiLCJyZSI6MX0&s=W7z56icQAWPQbKWlEMmSeWevN%5FQ&ref=hyperallergic.com)  
Can design make us more altruistic? Explore the influence of design on human experience, uniting design research and practice with scholarly thought. Study through a unique, multidisciplinary approach, discovering ways that design can transform experiences and affect social change.

[**Lighting Design (MFA)**](http://engine.nectarads.com/r?e=eyJhdiI6MTI0NTQzLCJhdCI6MjAsImJ0IjowLCJjbSI6NDM2NDY1LCJjaCI6MTkzMCwiY2siOnt9LCJjciI6MTY3OTY2MCwiZG0iOjQsImZjIjoxOTk1NzYyLCJmbCI6MjMzMTY4MCwiaXAiOiI1NC4yMzQuMTkuMTQ4IiwibnciOjIwNywicGMiOjAsImVjIjowLCJwciI6MTY2NiwicnQiOjEsInN0IjowLCJiZiI6dHJ1ZSwicG4iOiJhemtwcmV2aWV3IiwidXIiOiJodHRwOi8vYWRmYXJtLm1lZGlhcGxleC5jb20vYWQvY2svMTA2ODAtMjI1MzM3LTQ4NjM0LTYiLCJyZSI6MX0&s=QolIBoDC%5FO%5FA-d7I24JK3HBAm%5Fs&ref=hyperallergic.com)  
Can darkness make us healthier? Explore the relationship between lighting and human experience, sustainability, and social impact, with a solid foundation in the intellectual, aesthetic, and technical dimensions of light. See how light can impact people and place – with an option to study a dual degree program with Architecture or Interior Design.

[**NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 2017**](http://engine.nectarads.com/r?e=eyJhdiI6MTI0NTQzLCJhdCI6MjAsImJ0IjowLCJjbSI6NDM2NDY1LCJjaCI6MTkzMCwiY2siOnt9LCJjciI6MTY3OTY2MSwiZG0iOjQsImZjIjoxOTk1NzYzLCJmbCI6MjMzMTY4MCwiaXAiOiI1NC4xOTYuMTY1LjE4MSIsIm53IjoyMDcsInBjIjowLCJlYyI6MCwicHIiOjE2NjYsInJ0IjoxLCJzdCI6MCwiYmYiOnRydWUsInBuIjoiYXprcHJldmlldyIsInVyIjoiaHR0cDovL2FkZmFybS5tZWRpYXBsZXguY29tL2FkL2NrLzEwNjgwLTIyNTMzNy00ODYzNC0yIiwicmUiOjF9&s=DshAETQSBCiy8%5FBlawsVq5GhQuI&ref=hyperallergic.com)