The sensorial and experiential qualities of spatial design shape environments and cultivate targeted user experiences. With ArtCenter’s STEM-designated Master of Science in Spatial Experience Design degree (formerly the Master’s in Environmental Design), you will stretch conventional boundaries and transform the confines of style to consider links between the psychological, physical, emotional and sensory effects of creating space and place.

Program Overview

Position yourself as an author-based design leader, a designer skilled in advancing the discipline and craft of spatial design with a focus on innovation. ArtCenter’s two- or three-year Master’s in spatial design program blends conceptual rigor with professional practice and theoretical thinking with technical innovation. Set your mind and hands to scenography, manufacturing, fabrication and project execution that foregoes trends to center the future of our environments.

Spatial experience investigates the dynamic qualities of story-driven design to conceive staging and sequencing which captures the dramatic qualities and needs of a specific spatial experience. Our spatial design degree program equips you with specialized and advanced knowledge, theory and practice. Drawing from a diverse array of fields, we approach environmental design with empathy, sensitivity, equity, diversity and inclusion. We pursue spatial justice and better understandings of how the creative process can make positive change in the world.

Develop Professional-Level Skills

The spatial experience design degree brings established creative minds into the professional sphere. We prioritize elevating a multiscale spatial design direction with a strong industry focus and application through hands-on projects with industry leaders and major brand engagements. You will have opportunities to exercise your expertise in the relationship between body, materials, space, place and emotions from interdisciplinary perspectives in our shops, labs, EMEC, makerspaces, stages, library and print shop.

Pursue a Career in Spatial Experience Design

Establish the creative skill sets necessary to stay relevant in the rapidly shifting world of environmental design. With a keen focus on brand, materials and manufacturing nuances, pricing and business practices, and current and future trends, ArtCenter’s graduate spatial experience design degree is among the only industry-focused programs of its kind. You can become a leader in spatial design and interior/exterior living component design through experiential learning and competitive networking opportunities. With a Master’s degree in Spatial Experience Design you can pursue roles such as:

• Branded Environments Designer
• Restaurant & Hospitality Designer
• Retail Experience Designer
• Exhibit, Event & Trade Designer
• Interior Designer
• Architect
• Museum & Gallery Exhibition Designer
• In-house architect or designer
• Mobil Interiors (Boats, Trains & Airplanes) Designer

Recognizing shifts in the industry, in Spring 2022 we decided to change the name of the Environmental Design program and begin offering a bachelor’s degree in Spatial Experience Design instead. Furthermore, in Fall 2022, master’s degrees in Spatial Experience Design and Furniture, Lighting and Fixtures Design will be offered. The name change not only recognizes shifts in the industry but also people’s understanding of the spaces we inhabit and how those spaces contribute to our overall well being. Students who enroll in the undergraduate program prior to Spring 2022 will still receive a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design. Similarly, students who enroll in the graduate program prior to Fall 2022 will still receive a master’s degree in Environmental Design.