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Quick Facts

Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Design - Transportation Track

Full-time program duration: 5 years
Program Code: 23BSDESIDTR

Real-world learning components:
   Required co-op

Find related programs in the following general interest areas:
Design

Location: Main Campus

Admission Criteria
Highly competitive
Percentage of applicants offered admission: 61.9%

Freshman Class Profile for this Major
Based on the middle 50% of the 08-09 entering freshman class:
GPA: 3.464 - 3.960
ACT: 26.0 - 29.0
SAT: 1130 - 1300
Average Class Rank: Top 19.3%

Contact
College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning
School of Design
University of Cincinnati
College of DAAP, School of Design
P.O. Box 210016
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0016
Phone: 513-556-6828
School of Design
daap-admissions@uc.edu

Office of Admissions
340 University Pavilion
PO Box 210091
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0091
513-556-1100

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(if considering transfer to UC)

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Industrial Design: Transportation Track

  What is Industrial Design: Transportation Track?

The transportation track within the industrial design program focuses on the design of vehicles and transportation systems. The transportation design track has a very rigorous curriculum with high standards of quality and excellence leading to innovative solutions for transportation design in the broadest sense. This track educates students to contribute to local and global transportation markets that respect diversity in the human community and maintain considerations for the environmental community.

The transportation track utilizes new developments in computer technology and provides opportunities to integrate technology as a means of advancing design. Students solve problems as they relate to transportation and are challenged with developing innovative solutions. Considerations are given to aesthetic appearance and the usefulness of transportation products, with attention to the customer: comfort, functionality, safety, brand identity and overall impact on the environment.

  Success Factors

People who are successful in industrial design have visual and kinesthetic/tactile learning styles. Industrial designers must be intrigued by how things work, enjoy putting things together, and not be intimidated by the need to generate alternate solutions to complex problems. Product design involves the synthesis of a variety of diverse requirements and values into a coherent creation. Among such requirements and values are functional suitability, aesthetics, technical performance, economic resources and constraints, social and cultural issues, environmental concerns and human comfort. They must possess strong communication skills and be comfortable in meeting with many different types of people, as well as being attentive listeners. Industrial designers must have excellent time- and project-management skills and must understand business planning.

  Career Possibilities

Industrial designers are employed in areas of mass production. Since many goods are mass produced, there is a wide range of opportunities. Jobs have traditionally been divided into two types: (1) as a consultant, or (2) on the design staff of a corporation. Transportation design may include automobiles, hybrid vehicles, semitrailer trucks, trains, airplanes and transportation systems. Special consideration is given to the exterior aesthetic, interior environment, comfort, functionality, safety and customer needs. Transportation industrial designers manage the creation of new concepts through the design process, which includes concept proposal, 3-D development and production release.

  Majoring in Industrial Design: Transportation Track

The goal of undergraduate design education at the School of Design in UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) is to provide a foundation that will allow graduates to deal with diverse professional challenges appropriately and to master tools and media of the future. This foundation has three components: 1) an integrated twelve-quarter curriculum, rather than a collection of courses, concentrating on the design process rather than product; 2) one and one-half years of supervised experience in the design field through the professional practice (co-op) program; and 3) a structured liberal arts education.

The curriculum parallels that of the industrial design program, so that students have the opportunity to specialize and master principles and techniques relevant to the transportation design area, while at the same time participating in core design courses and technological advances. Students spend their first year in foundation studies, which provide a concentrated study of rudiments related to optical and tactile sensations that intensify perception. The focus of these studies concerns formal and fundamental concepts of two- and three-dimensional organization. Emphasis is placed on the ingredients of process: inquiry, analysis, comparison, evaluation and a language. The studies comprise an introduction to tools, methods and materials, including development of basic technical ability. The chronological order of courses provides a continual linear experience through a carefully planned analytical sequence of interlocking components.

The objective of this track is to provide students with a clear understanding of transportation design processes and developments. Creativity and critical thinking, combined with a strong drawing ability, form the basis of important skill sets. Students learn to conceptualize new solutions and to visually and verbally communicate them. While developing these skills, students gain insight into the transportation industry and develop professional portfolios.

  Minoring in Industrial Design: Transportation Track

  Curriculum

This curriculum information is intended as a general information guide for students considering enrollment in this program. These online tools are designed to assist you, but are not a substitute for planning with an academic or faculty advisor.

If you are currently confirmed or enrolled, you can check your degree requirements online (http://www.onestop.uc.edu/degree_audit.html). If you are considering transferring to this major from another school use the Course Applicability System (CAS) (https://oh.transfer.org/cas/) to see how credits you have earned will apply to this major at UC. For course descriptions by college, click here (http://www.uc.edu/courses). (http://www.uc.edu/DegreePrograms/Collage/documents/daap/Industrial_Design-Transportation_Track_Curriculum.pdf)

Industrial Design-Transportation Track Curriculum (http://www.uc.edu/DegreePrograms/Collage/documents/daap/Industrial_Design-Transportation_Track_Curriculum.pdf)

  UC Advantages and Special Opportunities

• The city of Cincinnati, once called the "Queen City of the West" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, provides an excellent array of cultural resources for students who intend to pursue a degree in the visual arts. It offers the energy and assets of a larger city, along with quiet neighborhoods steeped in rich traditions. Cincinnati offers live music venues that range from top-notch symphony and opera companies to a growing pop and rock community. Home to the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Taft Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center, the city also enjoys the presence of numerous art galleries and a strong support system among practicing artists. Cincinnati is situated within driving distance of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and New York City, allowing DAAP students to take advantage of the rich cultural resources of these cities as well.
  

• The DAAP College Library has an outstanding collection of books, periodicals and visual resources supporting architecture, planning, design, art history and related subjects. Access to library holdings is provided by an automated online catalogue, UCLID, which provides access to the University of Cincinnati Library information database, and through OhioLINK, the holdings of other academic libraries throughout Ohio.
  
• The Computer Graphics Center is a state-of-the-art university facility with hardware that includes PCs, Apple computers and peripherals such as scanners, plotters and digital video-editing suites. Students have access to sophisticated graphics equipment and receive hands-on instruction to augment the use of laptops in the classroom. All computing equipment is linked by high-speed Ethernet to facilitate access across the campus.
  
• The college supports a Rapid Prototyping Center, which is the home of state-of-the-art equipment that allows students to create communication aids for their design projects. Using CAD (computer-aided design) models, students are able to create physical models using three basic methods: 3-D printing, large format laser-cutting and CNC (computer numeric control) devices, including a Kuomo CNC Router. This facility is intended for all DAAP students to use in creating large-scale designs.
  

• The professional practice program (also known as cooperative education or co-op) offers students an opportunity for selected practical experience purposefully intermingled with a gradually expanding academic background. The University of Cincinnati invented the concept of cooperative education over 100 years ago, and is currently the second largest U.S. cooperative education institution. Approximately 45 percent of School of Design students co-op locally, and an additional 20 percent co-op elsewhere in Ohio, with the remaining students working across the country and overseas.

  Special Programs

• Industrial design students work for both small design firms and large businesses across the country in the areas of product and transportation design. Students begin their co-op experiences in either the third or fourth quarter of their sophomore year, and alternate quarters of full-time work and study on a year-round calendar until the final quarter of the fifth year (there is no tuition for the quarters students work). They graduate with five quarters, or more than a year of work experience in their field.
  

• DAAP students learn creative and technical skills in the studio environment, taught by a passionate faculty who interact with their students on a daily basis. The goal is to guide students as they grow both intellectually and professionally. Faculty are innovative in transforming the art and design disciplines by applying the newest technologies. They inspire students to take advantage of interdisciplinary studio projects and work within corporate partnerships. This, along with a broad liberal arts background, prepares DAAP students to practice their art and design in both local and global markets.
  
• Computer Requirements: All undergraduate students entering the School of Design in the industrial design: transportation track program are required to purchase a personal laptop computer. Each discipline has its own specific requirements for hardware and software. You can review the current requirements at www.daap.uc.edu/compreq (http://daap.uc.edu/compreq). Please note that these requirements may be slightly altered as equipment evolves. The requirements listed on the Web site will always be the most recent and accurate. Therefore, students new to DAAP are encouraged to delay their computer purchase until the summer prior to entering to make the most informed computer purchase. Many of our programs have additional technology requirements for students in the later years of study.

  Admission Requirements

The School of Design at the University of Cincinnati seeks to attract, enroll and graduate academically talented students of varied and diverse backgrounds. Success in our programs is largely dependent upon sound academic preparation. However, in multidisciplinary programs like those in design, students’ insight and perspective are greatly enhanced by exposure to students from different backgrounds, geographies and co-curricular interests. We have designed an admissions review process and a timetable to support these goals.

Freshmen

Admission criteria for industrial design: transportation track varies based on the relative strength of test scores, class rank and GPA. Please see the Freshman Class Profile for this major in the Quick Facts sidebar on this page for the range of academic credentials typically accepted into this program. Test scores in the lower range may be acceptable with higher class rank and/or GPA. Submission of an art portfolio is not required.

Freshmen applying to this program should also have completed the following college-preparatory subjects:

• 4 units of college prep English
• 3 units of college preparatory math
• 2 units of science
• 2 units in one language
• 2 units of social studies
• 1 unit of fne arts
• 2 additional college prep subjects

  Transferring to UC Requirements

Students seeking to transfer from another regionally accredited university or college must have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in previous college work to be considered for admission. For priority consideration, complete transfer applications should be received by March 1 for the following fall quarter. Transfer students to the UC School of Design programs generally are admitted to the foundation year program.

  Changing Majors within UC Requirements

Students seeking to transfer from other colleges and programs at UC must have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in previous college work to be considered for admission. For priority consideration, complete transfer applications should be received by March 1 for the following fall quarter. Transfer students to the School of Design programs generally are admitted to the foundation year program.

  Graduation Requirements

All students accepted into the School of Design must take the first-year curriculum as outlined on the foundation studies curriculum guide. Industrial design: transportation track students must complete 85 lecture hours and 108 studio hours for a total of 193 credit hours for graduation. Students must also complete six quarters of mandatory professional practice (co-op) and receive a satisfactory (S) for all required work quarters. Students must obtain a minimum overall grade point average of 2.0 and, in addition, must have a 2.0 grade point average for the senior year to be eligible for graduation. In order to be eligible for graduation with honors, a student must have completed at least 90 credits in the college and have earned at least a 3.6 grade point average.

  Application Deadlines

Freshmen priority deadline for programs in the School of Design: Applicants who submit a complete application by 5 p.m. on November 15 will be pooled and reviewed for selection in December. Consideration of the applicants' personal statements and statements of co-curricular activities will be factored into the admissions decisions. Applicants who submit a complete application by 5 p.m. on November 15 will be notified of selection decisions by December 31. Please do not call prior to this date regarding a decision on your application. Applications received after November 15 may be considered on a space-available basis. 

Students seeking to transfer from other colleges and programs at UC or another regionally accredited university or college should submit a complete application for admission by March 1 for the following academic year.

  Accreditation

All programs in the School of Design are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.