Spring 2021 Undergraduate Courses

The courses listed are open to students of any major but are for undergraduates only. All Spring 2021 courses are web-based.

Jared Culp helping a student during an off-site qualitative design studio at McKinsey & Co.
ITD 170 McKinsey & Co. Design Studio

Faculty: Collin Cole & Jared Culp
Unique Number: 22075

APPLICATION REQUIRED. To apply, send a letter of interest (include EID) and a resume to cid@austin.utexas.edu. Rolling admissions. Explores the intersection of design, business, data, and digital marketing. Examines methods for creating differentiated products and services by combining design thinking and data science while working in interdisciplinary teams. 

still from movie Benjamin Button with main character and smiling woman
New! ITD 150 Design in Deviant US Culture

Faculty: Jared Culp
Unique Number: 22045

This course is an examination into the formation of traditions - the design - of the Tent Revival. The course seeks to unearth the experiences that have shaped this "deviant" religious tradition and to understand how traditions have influenced the contemporary black experience. Participants will examine the design of Tent Revivals based on economy, aesthetics, urbanism, and ideology.

man sitting in barber shop chair with a barber cape around his neck
New! ITD 150 Design from Global to Local

Faculty: Jared Culp & Michael Henderson
Unique Number: 22050

In this course students will use the principles of Design Thinking to explore how west and east African business practices allow entrepreneurs to be malleable and nimble, tearing down the constrictive limitations that we have come to rely on in the west. Inspired by entrepreneurs from Lagos, Nigeria and Kibera, Kenya where business traditions constantly adapt and transform, students will work with a Austin minority owned business to design a future strategy to present to the business.

An undergraduate UT Austin design student organizes their thoughts using sticky notes on a white board
New! ITD 330T Perspectives in Design

Faculty: Gray Garmon
Unique Number: 22035

Multiple designers will lead short-term projects that expose students to unique perspectives about design in our current society.

two undergraduate students sit on grass and study a piece of paper. the student on the left points to the paper, and the student on the right wears a paper head covering
ITD 101 Intro to Integrated Design

Faculty: Gray Garmon
Unique Number: 22005

Introduction to the concept of design thinking as a core fundamental in education and industry across all disciplines and channels. Guest speakers may facilitate discussion of various innovation issues facing businesses today.

an undergraduate student sketches a design on a piece of paper on a white board
ITD 102 Sketching for Thinking and Communication

Faculty: Joe Meersman
Unique Number: 22020

Sketching is the fastest way to convey ideas, whether in an ideation session or just taking notes in a meeting. Designed to help students learn the basic elements of sketching to visualize concepts and quickly bring alignment to any team.

Design students stand on a bridge outside and take notes as they study the creek below them and their professor lectures
ITD 301D Intro to Design Thinking

Faculty: Brooks Protzmann
Unique Numbers: 22015 / 22010

What is design thinking? In this course, students learn the principles of design thinking and apply them to real-world problems while working in interdisciplinary teams. Students learn how to frame problems, learn about people and their behaviors, then apply those insights to improve products and services through rapid prototyping and iteration. 

two students wearing black jackets take notes in notebooks outside in the fall weather
ITD 110 How to Design Your Life

Faculty: Julianna Murphy
Unique Number: 22025

This is a hands-on, project-based course that will use the skills and mindsets of Design Thinking to empower students to reflect, ideate, and prototype their own experiences here at UT and beyond. The classwork teaches methods of problem definition and solution generation that will enable students to successfully navigate a rapidly changing world, making decisions about their own lives. The instructor will be certified by the Designing Your Life program at Standford’s d.school.

close up on shiny white robot arm against dark background
ITD 111 Design for Artificial Intelligence

Faculty: Alex Swain
Unique Number: 22030

Artificial intelligence is considered to be the next industrial revolution. How can we, as designers, apply these AI technologies to create new compelling experiences and opportunities that help inspire, automate, or impact our everyday lives? This course will provide insight into the history, types, technologies, and examples of how AI is being applied today and how we can leverage user-centered design to conceive new possibilities.

aerial photo of hands at a laptop on a table with coffee and cell phone sitting next to it
ITD 150 Digital Prototyping

Faculty: Brooks Protzmann
Unique Number: 22055

Digital prototyping quickly communicates your ideas, be it a product, service, or process. You can make and test an idea in near real-time which allows you to get immediate feedback on your concept. In this class, we will learn the different ways to create digital prototypes, practice making prototypes, and learn the various tools available to make and share a digital prototype. 

two tall buildings made of windows from the perspective of someone standing between them looking up to the sky
ITD 150 Intro to Design Futures

Faculty: Jake Dunagan
Unique Number: 22060

How do you begin to design the future in this rapidly changing world? In this class, students will be introduced to the practical tools of design futures: the language, theories, and methods of strategic foresight (a.k.a. futures studies). Design futures is a course in charting and manifesting future scenarios to prepare ourselves – our organizations, communities, and governments – for a range of alternative tomorrows. We will challenge ourselves to generate original artifacts and images of the future, and have fun doing it.

undergraduate student presents design during portfolio critique
ITD 330T Portfolio Development

Faculty: Jai Dandekar
Unique Number: 22040

Portfolio Development will focus on creating projects and case studies for your portfolio. Whether you want to redesign an existing project, refine and create a case study for a project nearing completion, or even create a project from scratch, this semester long course will help you accomplish that. Crosslisted with DES 330T and AET 330T.

man holding a camera with his hand up to his eye using his thumb to frame the shot
ITD 350 How To See Like a Designer

Faculty: Jon Freach
Unique Number: 22070

What can you see through the lens of a camera that you can’t see with the naked eye? In this class, you will combine interviews with photography to generate data for storytelling purposes, analyze photography and infer meaning from it.

a chorus line of dancers in suits and top hats posing onstage with a large fan backdrop
ITD 350 Business of Entertainment

Faculty: Natasha Davison
Unique Number: 22065

This course will explore the fundamentals of producing entertainment from inspiration to execution. We will explore all aspects involved in producing live stage and on screen commercial productions.

two students laugh as they make notes on a map together
ITD 375 Capstone in Integrated Design

Faculty: Gray Garmon
Unique Number: 22080

Multidisciplinary groups of students research an integrated design problem and propose and prototype an appropriate solution, guided by feedback from supervising instructor(s). Restricted to students in pursuing the Bridging Discipline Program (BDP) in Design Strategies.