FACILITATING GRADUATE THESIS
Facilitating Graduate Thesis
Graduate thesis in most design programs is a year-long guided process involving background reading, writing, and research which folds into design and documentation. I have coordinated the thesis process in interiors at Drexel for a number of years and before that at Pratt Institute, developing a curriculum that allows students to articulate their interest, gain mastery of the topic, and produce work that contributes to disciplinary dialogue. The process begins with reading and self reflection, then moves into topic identification and a review of literature and precedents. Students develop a design approach through a series of probes--atmosphere, material, scale, experience--and have an initial public presentation of their ideas. The process shifts as students are matched with advisers and establish a program and site for their design project. Each project and approach is unique, but work generally proceeds through schematic design, material exploration, code review, design development, and final documentation.
The discipline of interiors is comparatively new, and design in general lacks a methodological history in which new projects build upon older work and research. In coordinating thesis, we pay attention to these issues and consistently discuss how projects fit within the broader disciplinary context. I’ve found that program and cohort culture plays an important role in shaping student interests and project directions. I’ve also found that graduate students, especially those coming from backgrounds outside design, bring important perspectives to ongoing disciplinary conversations. I’ve worked to create an archive of thesis projects, which can be sorted by topic, revealing important themes and trends, including increasing concern about the natural environment and human wellbeing. At Drexel there is an overarching tendency towards social justice and projects that support community.
There are 15-20 graduate thesis projects each year in the Drexel interiors program, which can be viewed--including full thesis books--at www.drexelinteriors.work. Shown here are projects by Natala Covert, Aishwarya Gunta, Rachel Ayella-Silver, and Di Huang.
Collaborators: Sarah Lippmann; Various advisers and students
Related Projects: Interiors Theory Primer, Precedent Database, Design and Social Responsibility
Related Materials: Link to www.drexelinteriors.work
