Design for Health

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Respond to the complexity of healthcare through a comprehensive design approach. Get empowered to create ethical, sustainable solutions to pressing challenges across the health sector.

Designed for mid-career professionals working across healthcare, public health, health policy, community health, life sciences and related sectors, the Design for Health program will help you build capability in design inquiry and practice, design methods, and systems thinking.

You will learn to understand the forces shaping complex challenges and examine the organizational contexts in which they arise. You will also critically explore how problems are understood, reframe the issues, and develop credible interventions, strategies, propositions, and pathways for change within organizations and across health settings. 

The program combines structured coursework and independent research in a flexible part-time format designed to support working professionals.

Program Pathways

The interdisciplinary Design for Health program has four main themes delivered primarily through studio-based learning:

Learn and absorb: Gain knowledge in health, healthcare delivery, communications, technology and innovation.
Research and apply: Identify, design, conduct and apply qualitative, co-design, and quantitative and evidence-based techniques to health challenges.
Design and innovate: Create new, ethical, and sustainable solutions with health sector stakeholders, patients, and partners.
Lead and collaborate: Be embedded in interdisciplinary teams focusing on stakeholders including patients, health-service providers and designers to develop solutions and to communicate outcomes.

Program Requirements

This program is offered part-time only for Fall 2027 intake and in-person attendance is required.

Total Degree Requirement: 7.5 Credits

Required Courses (6.5 credits total):

Health Context and Design
Creating Together
Systemic Thinking and Design
Innovation Research Methods
Studio 1
Studio 2
Studio 3
Design Research
Major Project Proposal
Major Project 1
Major Project 2

Electives: In addition to the required courses, students must complete 1.0 elective credit, including elective and shared courses from other graduate programs at OCAD University and other post-secondary institutions.

Please note that program requirements and course offerings are subject to change.

Scheduling: Required courses are scheduled on Fridays, helping part-time students plan around work and other commitments. Elective scheduling may vary.

The Learning Environment

Studio-based learning with local and national health sector partners in order to design innovative solutions to complex and contemporary health design challenges.
Dynamic and interdisciplinary cohorts from a variety of healthcare contexts.
Guest lectures by designers, scholars and industry experts.
The program begins with structured coursework and gradually transitions to supervised Major Research Project (MRP) courses, where students work independently with guidance from a supervisor.
Elective scheduling varies and may include flexible learning opportunities such as Independent Study, Residency, and Placement courses.

Career Paths and Experiential Learning

Graduates build on their existing expertise to advance their practice, expand their professional perspectives, or explore new opportunities across health-related sectors, including:

Federal and provincial government programs and policy
Hospital design labs
Community healthcare delivery services
Management consulting
Entrepreneurship

Circulate Health

Explore the Circulate Lab and discover the research projects of DHEA students featured at the Health Innovation Forum

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Labs

Research labs can be an important part of your graduate student experience. Check out the labs connected to this program.

Research Labs

Explore all Research Labs page to discover our ongoing research initiatives, collaborative projects, and dedicated labs. Delve into the work that supports our contributions to art, design, and technology.

Health Design Studio

The Health Design Studio at OCADU works to bring an inclusive and interdisciplinary design approach to healthcare design challenges.

Program

Design for Health

Degree earned

Master of Design (MDes)

Faculty

School of Graduate Studies

Format

Part-time

Mode of Delivery

In-person

Duration

2 years

Take the Next Step

How to apply Contact Us

Faculty

Faculty expertise fuels a diverse range of approaches and course offerings, and supports students’ cutting-edge research.

Michele Mastroeni

Graduate Program Director, Design for Health, Inclusive Design and Strategic Foresight and Innovation | Assistant Professor, Faculty of Design

Michele has been involved with innovation research and policy over the last 10 years. He olds a PhD in Political Science (University of Toronto), specializing in innovation systems and policy.

Dr. Michelle Wyndham-West

Assistant Professor, Tenure-track, Faculty of Design

Michelle is a critically applied medical anthropologist specializing in health equity, aging, housing, policy systems, and co-design. In addition to researching housing instability and homelessness among older adults, she is currently investigating the application of gender-based analysis and intersectional approaches in policy-making systems through the case study of national housing strategy development in Canada.

Jules Goss

Associate Professor, Faculty of Design

Goss is an associate professor in the Faculty of Design whose work involves the integration of design thinking, process and practice in health care. His current professional work facilitates design strategy and user-focused development in a wide variety of sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals to manufacturing. He is particularly interested in the intersection of design ‘thinking’ and organizational strategy in institutions and is currently working on defining and integrating design-informed models for the delivery of optimal client experience in the health sector, specifically long-term care.

Dr. Peter Jones

Associate Professor, Faculty of Design

Dr. Peter Jones is an associate professor in the Faculty of Design at OCAD University (OCAD U), in Toronto, Canada, in the Master of Design graduate programs. He teaches systemic and service design and mixed methods research for healthcare, information services, policy, and governance. His design experience ranges from user experience and evaluation to complete online platforms for leading information providers in the commercial, government, non-profit, and academic sectors.

Peter Jones’ research provides the basis to advise organizations in systems leadership and transformational change. His research agenda is largely focused on the theory and application of systemic design in highly complex domains such as healthcare and public sector management.

Maya Mahgoub-Desai

Chair, Environmental Design | Associate Professor, Design for Health

Maya Mahgoub-Desai is an Associate Professor and the current Chair of Environmental Design at OCAD University, teaching in both Environmental Design and the Graduate Design for Health program, as well as a committee member of the Climate Advisory Committee for the City of Toronto (ACT). Her research primarily centers on the intersection of public health and the built environment, with a recent focus on studying how social and cultural practices impact ecosystem health (primarily in South Asia and the Middle East). She is also actively engaged in developing inclusive pedagogical approaches for studio-based design education.