The University of Houston is the third-largest public research university in Texas. The UH Innovation Ecosystem has a rich history of advancing Houston’s innovation economy, supporting more than 5,000 Houston companies conducting business abroad. The Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design offers a platform of integrated disciplines of architecture, industrial design, and interior architecture, from which to negotiate the complexities between applied research and contemporary practice and foster a culture of innovation to inform and share design strategies globally.
Established in 2003, the Industrial Design (ID) program at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design is the first ID program in the region covering Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and New Mexico. Enjoying rapid and robust growth in the region, the ID program is recognized as a vibrant and premier program not only in the United States but internationally.
Driven by critical thinking and the art of making, the ID program cultivates creative thinkers and doers for the future. The program is committed to inspiring and forming students through a systematic learning pedagogy with a focus on advanced technology investigation, sustainability by design, and interdisciplinary research. Generative and discovery-oriented learning fuel our students’ innovation supported by a structural alignment of integrated, collaborative, and project-oriented training. Attention to craft and quality innovation is further enhanced by the Burdette Keeland, Jr. Design Exploration Lab and a forthcoming state-of-the-art digital fabrication facility. The quality of education and innovation is manifested by the top winners of national and international design competitions every year.
Combined with the vibrancy of Houston, the fourth-largest city in the country, home to NASA, the Texas Medical Center, and diverse industrial entities, an ideal context is formed for industrial design to thrive. Graduates of the ID program have found success in a wide spectrum of industries, including healthcare, consumer products, furniture, high-tech, automotive design, UX/UI, and more.
The ID program offers ample research and design opportunities in competitive research areas, including healthcare/medical, sustainable innovation, service and experience design, design strategy and management, and design entrepreneurship. The program has been very successful in collaborating with industries on projects producing innovative solutions and IPs. Our partners include a range of Fortune 500 corporations and non-profit organizations.
