Start Something in the College of Design

Design Studies 5460 studios, known as interdisciplinary studios, are offered every spring for students in their junior year and above. These studios have a long-standing tradition of innovation in the college, as they invite students from every discipline of the college to explore complex problems together.

The College of Design’s Dean’s Charrettes and Start Something workshops invite students to investigate global and local challenges and propose innovative solutions that draw on the perspectives of many disciplines.

Creative recess is an innovation ideas incubator led by instructors from across the Iowa State campus who are teaching courses linked to innovation or entrepreneurship. The courses bring together students with different majors and backgrounds to work individually or in groups on topics that interest them.

Students can explore innovative and entrepreneurial opportunities as Start Something Fellows. The college’s entrepreneurial student fellows experience first hand how design and business intersect, engage, and elevate one another through a design consultancy class. Student innovation fellows provide leadership in dreaming their own (and the college’s) future.

All students can apply for CYstarters, an 11-week summer accelerator for Iowa State students or recent graduates to focus on their startup or business idea. They can also participate in pitch competitions, powered by the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship.

Students are empowered to become future social innovators with the potential to improve human existence through design. First-year students in the Core Design Program are introduced to Core + Care, where they explore the idea of care – for oneself, the individual to the group, the group to the individual, and the group to the greater community.

No matter your major at Iowa State, you can add Interdisciplinary Design as a secondary major to develop your inventiveness, visual communication skills, and ideation mindset. The academic program focuses on creative innovation, strategic design thinking, and interdisciplinary teamwork.