Industrial Design
Acquire the knowledge and skills to create innovative products that will shape the future.
Great design doesn’t just look good—it’s about shaping how people live, work, and interact. In our Industrial Design program, students learn how to turn big ideas into real-world products that are innovative, sustainable, and meaningful. With an interdisciplinary approach combining industrial design, furniture design, and entrepreneurial thinking, we prepare students to shape industries and experiences.
Designing and making products that engage the built environment, students in the Master of Industrial Design (MINDD) at Kansas State University explore work ranging from furniture to consumer goods, developing ideas through prototyping, material exploration, and production. Housed in the College of Architecture, Planning & Design, MINDD is a first professional graduate degree formally established through NASAD Plan Approval in 2019, admitting its first cohort in 2020 and graduating its first class in 2023. With a curriculum that integrates industrial design, furniture design, and entrepreneurship, students work in state-of-the-art fabrication spaces for wood, metal, plastic, digital fabrication, and upholstery — sharing with MIARC a defining emphasis on design-making, expressed in part through the Furniture Design Sequence the two programs hold in common, and extended through MINDD's own dedicated fabrication resources. Entrepreneurial thinking runs throughout the curriculum and comes to a head in INDD 801, the program's "Start-Up" studio: individually generated ideas become team-based ventures carried from concept through marketing, branding, and shipping design to final delivery. The curriculum culminates in two further experiences: an industry-driven capstone studio, developed directly with sponsoring companies such as Sloan, and an individually driven design thesis. Graduates leave prepared to bring innovative products to market and make a lasting impact on the industry, to enter professional practice in industrial and product design, and to pursue relevant professional credentialing.
Industrial Design Student Work
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Furniture Design Student Work
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High School & Transfer Students
Our 5-year Master’s in Industrial Design (MINDD) is tailored for students entering without a prior design background. The first year focuses on foundational design principles, followed by four years of advanced studio work in Industrial and Furniture Design. This NASAD-approved program blends creativity with making, giving students a launchpad to innovate at every scale.
High School graduate & Transfer Student course outline
College Graduates
Thinking of pivoting into design? Our 2- or 3-year Master's degree in Industrial (MINDD) program is open to graduates from any discipline. Depending on your previous studies, you may qualify for an accelerated plan. The program combines innovation, critical making, and entrepreneurial thinking—preparing you to shape tomorrow’s products.
College graduate course outline
Apply for Post-Baccalaureate MINDD Program Here
Minor in Industrial Design
The Industrial Design Minor enables students majoring in fields other than Industrial Design to gain the fundamental competencies of Industrial Design to complement their disciplines.
Accreditation
The Master of Industrial Design non-baccalaureate track is approved by NASAD, the only national accreditation body governing industrial design.
Student Handbook
This handbook is intended to help students admitted to the Department of Interior Architecture & Industrial Design (IAID), and those in other departments within the College of Architecture, Planning & Design comprehend the wide variety of opportunities available in the department and to provide assistance in career planning.
2024 — 2025
- Job Placement: 14 of 14 May 2025 (100%) graduates were employed in the field by January 1, 2026.
- Acceptance into Graduate Programs: The MINDD program includes application and acceptance to the K-State Graduate School prior to the beginning of the fourth year (out of five years) of study for non-baccalaureate students. 100% of students from the May 2025 graduating class who applied to graduate school were accepted.
- Graduation Rates: 93% of these students graduated.
- Retention/Attrition: Retention for the same cohort from 2nd to 3rd year was 93% (14). Attrition was 7% (1 student).
2023 — 2024
- Job Placement: 13 of 13 May 2024 (100%) graduates were employed in the field by January 1, 2025.
- Acceptance into Graduate Programs: The MINDD program includes application and acceptance to the K-State Graduate School prior to the beginning of the fourth year (out of five years) of study for non-baccalaureate students. 100% of students from the May 2024 graduating class who applied to graduate school were accepted.
- Graduation Rates: 93% of these students graduated.
- Retention/Attrition: Retention for the same cohort from 2nd to 3rd year was 86% (12). Attrition was 14% (2 students).