The Bachelor of Applied Science in Design (BASD) at LWTech is a two-year transfer degree in design. Students who have earned an AAS degree or equivalent (90 credits) at an accredited college or university can transfer in at the junior (3rd year) level. This provides an upward education pathway for many community college graduates but also a second degree pathway for students who have already earned a Bachelor degree in a different area of study. The BASD curriculum focuses on preparing students for specific design workforce careers. The BASD is a broad-spectrum design program geared toward educating design professionals in design thinking, design strategy, innovation, human centered design and new design processes.

The program attracts students from a wide range of design and technical backgrounds including architecture, industrial design, interaction design, game design, graphic design, video/film making – and tangent disciplines such as welding, manufacturing technology, machining technology, engineering, journalism, music and even business administration. The program brings relevance to design education in alignment with industry best practices. Faculty educate future design professionals who will be able to bring design thinking and innovative processes into new best practices.

Graduates with a BASD are prepared for today’s careers in the design industry. They are also equipped with greater skills to succeed in long-term, fast-changing careers across a wide range of design and other disciplines. Graduates have gone on to successful careers at prestigious companies including Amazon, Boeing, Bungie, Microsoft, and Phillips. Also, many have been accepted into graduate programs such as: University of Washington Human Centered Design & Engineering, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Art Center College of Design, Arizona State University, Parsons the New School, and the University of New Mexico, among others.

During the two-year course sequence in the Bachelor of Applied Science in Design program students discover that design is: form, spatial organization, magic numbers, syntax, semantics, semiotics, semiology, meta language, cultural context, language patterns, visual vernacular, sequence, process, lateral thinking, personal purpose, immersive experience, Human Centered Design, empathy, place making, generative design, creative genius, life changing, many – many pathways, and etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.

Also, making meaning and things is fun!