UTokyo College of Design (UTokyo Design)

5 years English new-programme

5-stage learning journey

5 years · English

Year 1 The first year combines the interdisciplinary academic foundation with the introduction to design practice. "IF and 8 Track Design Series (DS), studied concurrently in the first year, together form the bedrock of all learning at UTokyo Design." All first-year students live at Mejirodai International Village. Year 1 ends with the DS8 exhibition work: "This course prepares the students to communicate their learnings and design outcomes at the end of their first year through methods of storytelling and exhibiting." Interdisciplinary Foundations (IF) — "Fundamental classes from across the university"; nine courses structured around the nine major academic fields of the University of Tokyo, described as "part of the core curriculum for all first-year students" 8 Track Design Series (DS1–DS8) — "Foundational design methods and skills taught through eight workshops" Viewpoint Series — "Seminar series related to social issues and design topics"; the Viewpoint Series is described as elective courses Year 2 From the second year the academic foundation broadens into Interdisciplinary Perspectives and the design work becomes project-based. "The foundations built in IF then develop into IP from the second year onward. Building on learnings from IF, IP encourages students to broaden and deepen their perspectives by studying topics with a stronger focus on confronting social issues. Furthermore, the knowledge and insights gained through IF and IP, along with the design fundamentals learned in DS, will provide the foundation for Change Maker Design Projects starting in the second year." Change Maker Design Projects — "Design projects focused on social issues and opportunities plus advanced methods and skills"; project-based courses applying IF, IP and DS learning to social issues Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP) — "Elective modules spanning diverse academic disciplines"; approximately 100 courses in five domains (Environment & Sustainability, Technology Frontiers & AI, Governance & Markets, Healthcare & Well-being, Culture & Society) Viewpoint Series electives Year 3 The curriculum diagram on the Program page shows Year 3 as a stage but lists no course blocks of its own; the third year is where the Year 2 elements continue. IP is described as running "from the second year onward" and Change Maker Design Projects as "starting in the second year", with no published end point before the fourth-year internship. The College publishes nothing further specific to Year 3 as of 2026-08-27. Continuation of Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP) and the Viewpoint Series — implied by "from the second year onward" but not stated for Year 3 specifically Year 4 The fourth year holds the long-term internship and the team capstone. "In your fourth year, you will immerse yourself in a company or an international organization through an internship, either in Japan or elsewhere around the world... for about half-a-year." The internship is placed under the Off-Campus Experience heading, and the Capstone Group Design Project is listed alongside it in the Year 4 block of the curriculum diagram. Off-Campus Experience (Internship) — about half a year in a company or international organisation, in Japan or abroad Capstone Group Design Project — "Students collaborate in teams to execute a design project" Year 5 The final year is given to the individual capstone. "Capstone Solo Design Project — Student-defined project brief, culminating in a graduation exhibition." This is the fifth and final year of the combined Bachelor's and Master's programme. Capstone Solo Design Project — student-defined project brief, culminating in a graduation exhibition

Year 2 curriculum

The detailed course list for this stage has not been published yet.

Course domains

Interdisciplinary Foundations (IF) — nine first-year courses — "Foundation of Legal & Political Science — Constitutional Design: Law, Politics, and Governance; Foundation of Economics & Business — Mar
Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP) — Environment & Sustainability — "students will examine the structure and nature of sustainability challenges, such as environmental issues and poverty, review the
Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP) — Technology Frontiers & AI — "students will explore emerging scientific and technological fields that are expected to shape the next-generation society, with parti
Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP) — Governance & Markets — "students will examine how to design an ideal society in which, despite limited global resources, everyone can freely choose and pursue the
Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP) — Healthcare & Well-being — "students will explore increasingly complex and global health challenges by integrating knowledge from diverse fields, such as behaviora
Interdisciplinary Perspectives (IP) — Culture & Society — "students will deepen their intellectual inquiry through diverse themes in the humanities and social sciences and develop an understanding of
8 Track Design Series (DS1–DS8) — DS1 Discovering & Exploring; DS2 Provoking & Rethinking; DS3 Respecting & Committing; DS4 Prototyping & Making; DS5 Mapping & Conceptualizing; DS6 Analyzing & Visuali
Change Maker Design Projects — candidate themes — "Examples of themes currently being considered: Ecosystems / Disaster / Resource / Security / Law / Governance / Equity / Community / Health / Life /
Viewpoint Series — "elective courses that expose students to diverse perspectives on emerging trends, social and environmental challenges, and the evolving frontiers of design. Through lectures and wo

Master's stage within the same programme — The programme is "a 5-year combined Bachelor's and Master's degree", so the master's stage is reached by continuation rather than by a separate graduate admi

Careers — [object Object]

"UTokyo College of Design will bring together academic knowledge from diverse fields, integrate it using design approaches, tackle complex social issues, and empower a new generation who can bring abo

"This is our reason for being: Enabling meaningful and equitable transformation by empowering a generation of creative changemakers with not just the skills to design, but the vision and values to lea

"We are not simply creating more designers. We are expanding what design is and who it is for. Design is not just about polished outputs or aesthetics. It is a way of discovering what matters, a langu

"For us, design goes beyond aesthetics; it's a discipline that applies diverse methods and skills to create products, services, and systems. It drives innovation, solves complex challenges, and shapes

"UTokyo College of Design admits students from diverse backgrounds, both from Japan and across the world, who can demonstrate the following: Intelligence and learning ability; Effective communication

Core learning formats

"All classes are project-based and active learning-based, and each students will construct their own learning pathway based on their own interests."
"Learning takes place in the Studio, the heart of the five-year program. The Studio will be a vibrant, shared space where students come together to learn, create, explore while engaging in collaborati
The 8 Track Design Series is delivered as eight first-year workshops covering design literacy, critical thinking, ethics, analog and digital prototyping, systems mapping, data and AI, user research, a
"In your fourth year, you will immerse yourself in a company or an international organization through an internship, either in Japan or elsewhere around the world. This is your chance to step outside
"To help students settle into a new learning and living environment, we will provide special support to students between them accepting their offer and the start of the programme. This period is calle
All 100 first-year students live together at Mejirodai International Village on the same floor: "UTokyo Design is committed to creating a community where students from around the world can learn from
Programme sources (16)