The College of Design offers or participates in eight undergraduate minors, three graduate minors, and three graduate certificates. Most of the minors are open to all students at Iowa State University.
If you are interested in registering for a minor, contact your academic advisor. They will complete a curriculum change form to add the minor for you. Certificate application requirements and processes are dependent on the certificate program.
The undergraduate minor in Critical Studies in Design offers students opportunities to engage the history, theory and criticism of visual and material culture and the built environment. In lectures and focused seminars, students explore historical and contemporary issues, cultural production, media and technology, design in everyday life, and models of professional practice. Open to undergraduates in all university majors.
Open to undergraduates in all university majors, this minor requires 15 credits of coursework:
At least six (6) of the 15 credits must be taken at Iowa State University in courses numbered 300 or above. At least nine (9) of the 15 credits must not be used to meet any other college or university requirements except the credit requirement for graduation.
Foundational course (choose one)
ARTH 292, DSNS 183, ARCH 220, ARCH 221, ARTH 280, ARTH 281, CRP 291, CRP 293
Elective courses
Architecture (ARCH): 221, 321, 420, 422, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 429, 528A, 567, 571, 575
Any Art History (ARTH) class
Graphic Design (ARTGR): 387, 388
Industrial Design (INDD): 280, 380
Interior Design (ARTID): 355, 356
Community and Regional Planning (CRP): 201, 291, 293, 320, 383, 484, 511, 521, 563
Landscape Architecture (LA): 270, 371, 373, 478D, 501, 571, 573
Open to all undergraduate students at Iowa State University, the Design Studies minor is constructed to facilitate design awareness among interested students and to provide a vehicle for interdisciplinary study within the College of Design.
This minor requires 15 credits of course work:
At least six (6) of the 15 credits must be taken at Iowa State University in courses numbered 300 or above. At least nine (9) of the 15 credits must not be used to meet any other college or university requirements except the credit requirement for graduation.
Many Art History classes are open to all majors, but those sections can fill quickly
Classes that fulfill the art history requirement:
Any ARTH course
The College of Design’s undergraduate minor in Digital Media is intended to familiarize students with the use of digital media in the design process. This minor is open to all undergraduate students at Iowa State University. It covers the knowledge and techniques necessary to generate digital representations for a wide variety of disciplines.
This minor requires at least 15 credits of coursework.
Students are required to complete three (3) credits of fundamental courses at the 200 level, and then at least nine (9) credits of elective courses at the 300 level or above. At least nine (9) credits must not be used to meet any other college or university requirements except the credit requirement for graduation.
FUNDAMENTAL COURSES (choose 3-6 credits)
College of Design Majors
(courses may be restricted to their respective majors)
Open to all majors
ELECTIVE COURSES (choose 9-12 credits)
Courses with no prerequisites
Courses with prerequisites
How to Apply for the Digital Media Minor
If you are interested in registering for the Digital Media minor, contact your academic advisor. They will complete a curriculum change form to add the minor for you.
The College of Design is an active participant in the Entrepreneurial Studies Minor for undergraduate students. This interdisciplinary curriculum provides opportunities for students to learn about entrepreneurship and serves to complement the student’s major area of study in any college discipline at Iowa State.
Students in the entrepreneurship minor will develop skills and knowledge in the entrepreneurial process, business feasibility analysis, customer discovery, business planning, innovation, opportunity recognition, technology transfer, industry analysis, and startup strategy. Students will learn to develop an entrepreneurial mindset that applies to business creation or employment within an existing firm or organization.
The minor consists of 15 credits with no prerequisites, and more than 100 elective courses to choose from. Detailed information about the Entrepreneurship minor, the list of approved electives, as well as information about the experiential learning options are available through the Ivy College of Business.
Choose one of the following three courses*:
*Choose either Management 313, 320 or 410. Management 310 is required.
Elective Courses (6 cr):
Electives from an approved list of entrepreneurship-related courses or other choices under required courses above. Students are encouraged to take electives within their major college.
Experiential Learning (3 cr):
Students will engage in the process of entrepreneurship to earn experiential learning credits. The required three credits of experiential learning can be earned by either taking a course that has been designated as an experiential learning course or using some other experiential learning activity as the basis to receive credits through a graded independent study. Three options are explained in more detail below.
Experiential Learning Option 1
Students in catalog 2019 and older.
Courses that are pre-approved to meet the experiential learning requirement are indicated on the 2017 – 2019 Elective List . Approval” will say “NO.” If you select one of these courses, simply include it on your “request for minor” form and indicate that it meets the experiential learning requirement with an (E) behind the course number on the form.
Experiential Learning Option 2
Students in catalog 2020 and newer.
Some project courses have been designated on the 2020 – Present Elective List as appropriate for experiential learning credits if prior approval has been obtained from the Entrepreneurship Supervisory Committee (both the “Designated for Experiential Credits” and the “Experiential Content Requires Approval columns say “YES”). Approval must be obtained before registering for the designated course and will be based on the extent to which the nature and scope of the course content specifically relate to entrepreneurial processes. To seek approval, students fill out the college specific Independent Study form below and obtain the signature of the course instructor to verify the course content. Follow the directions on the form for obtaining approval. Students who follow this option would list the appropriate college course number on the “request for minor” form indicating that it meets the experiential learning requirement.
Experiential Learning Option 3
Students in catalog 2020 and newer.
Students may earn three credits of experiential learning through an independent study. The independent study may be based on an internship, co-op, starting a business, running a business, writing a business plan, etc. Note that some courses are listed on the 2020 – Present Elective List that may count toward experiential learning credits but must be approved by the Entrepreneurship Supervisory Committee (both the “Designated for Experiential Credits” and the “Experiential Content Requires Approval columns say “YES”). Approval must be obtained before registering for the independent study and will be based on the extent to which the nature and scope of the independent study specifically relate to entrepreneurial processes. To seek approval, students must identify a faculty member willing to supervise the study and complete the entrepreneurship independent study form (choose link below for home college). Follow the directions on the form for obtaining approval and registering for independent study credits. Students who follow this option would list the appropriate college course number for their independent study on the “request for minor” form.
The undergraduate minor in Geographic Information Science (GISC) is an interdisciplinary program that provides students with opportunities to engage with the theories, processes, techniques and tools that use spatial data and computational technology to create cutting-edge analysis and mapping approaches for a wide range of fields. Those fields include urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, design, community development, agriculture, environmental sciences, natural resources, sociology, criminology, anthropology, political science, environmental studies and others.
The minor is open to undergraduates in all university majors with a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 prior to enrolling.
Students must complete a minimum of 15 undergraduate credits of GIS coursework to receive the minor. At least 6 of the 15 credits must be taken at Iowa State University in courses numbered 300 or above with a grade of C or higher. At least 9 of the 15 credits must not be used to meet any other department, college or university requirements except the credit requirement for graduation.
The undergraduate minor in Illustration is ideal for students interested in illustration for books, graphic novels, magazine articles, advertising and concept art for game design and film. This minor provides the ability to tailor a curriculum that serves these varied career interests, whether you want to work in the industry or freelance as an independent studio practitioner.
Prerequisites to begin minor:
After completion of the prerequisites, students must complete a minimum of 15 credits of Illustration coursework to receive the minor:
Required Courses for minor in Illustration
Elective Courses: choose three. Note: some courses may have their own prerequisites.
The undergraduate minor in Preservation and Cultural Heritage provides students with knowledge, skills, and credentials that complement undergraduate degrees in a wide variety of majors, but especially Architecture, Interior Design, Community & Regional Planning, Landscape Architecture, and History.
The minor requires a minimum of 15 credit hours. At least six (6) credits need to be taken at the 300 or above (see list below), and at least 9 of the 15 credits must not be used to meet any other department, college or university requirement except the credit requirement for graduation.
Section 1: Preservation Courses (6 credits required)
Choose two (2) courses below:
Section 2: General History (3 credits required)
Choose one (1) course from the list below:
Section 3: History, Design, and Planning of the Built Environment (6 credits required)
Choose two (2) courses or one (1) studio below (one of the two courses can be an independent study course students can take with faculty teaching courses in the Minor in Preservation & Cultural Heritage Program):
If you have questions, please contact the Coordinator for the Preservation and Cultural Heritage program in the College of Design at historicplaces@iastate.edu.
The undergraduate minor in Textile Design allows students to focus specifically on the design and creation of textiles, a practice with applications in the fine arts, fashion, and related fields. Students will learn historical and contemporary applications of textile production, develop conceptual and technical skills in textile design, and more. Open to undergraduates at the sophomore level and above enrolled in any College of Design major or in the Apparel, Merchandising and Design major in the College of Human Sciences.
Students must complete 16-18 credits of Textile Design coursework to receive the minor. At least 9 of the 15 credits must not be used to meet any other department, college or university requirements except the credit requirement for graduation.
Core (required: 6 credits total)
History/Theory (choose one of the following: 3 credits total)
Practice (choose two of the following: 6 credits total)
Electives (choose one of the following: 2-4 credits)
The undergraduate minor in Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary program that emphasizes urban life in a variety of settings and from different disciplinary and methodological approaches. The Urban Studies minor will allow students to explore varied and multiple dimensions of urban and community life through differing conceptual and analytical frameworks. The minor is open to undergraduates in all university majors except Community & Regional Planning.
This minor requires 15 credit hours of coursework. At least 6 of the 15 credits must be taken at Iowa State University in courses numbered 300 or above. At least 9 of the 15 credits must not be used to meet any other department, college or university requirements except the credit requirement for graduation.
Download the list of courses that quality for the Urban Studies minor
The graduate minor in Industrial Design consists of 12 credits chosen from the courses below.
INDD 520: Design Theory and Methodology
INDD 530: Design Thinking
INDD 540: Design Communication
INDD 550: Human Factors: User Experience Design
INDD 560: Change by Design: Disruptive Innovation
INDD 570: Systems Thinking in Design
INDD 580: Material Culture and Values
INDD 640: Digital Technologies
The graduate minor in Integrated Visual Arts consists of 12 credits, with specific courses chosen in consultation with the program of study committee.
The graduate minor in Sustainable Environments consists of 11 credits and is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on holistic design strategies for the production of sustainable, resilient environments and artifacts.
Find your place at Iowa State University’s College of Design, where we like to ask questions, poke and prod, create something new, and make a difference through design.
