About This Program
Looking to combine your passion for healthcare with your interest in design? Look no further. Our Master of Healthcare Design program is a cutting-edge program that emphasizes evidence-based design and interdisciplinary collaboration, preparing you to create patient-centered environments that redefine healing. From immersive design studios to research opportunities, the M.H.D. degree equips you with the skills for a successful career in healthcare design. Your journey to transform healthcare design starts here. Join us. Read more...
Contact Information
Program Delivery
Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries*
Architects, except landscape and naval
- 0.8% little or no change
- 129,900 number of jobs
- $82,320 potential earnings
Architectural and engineering managers
- 2.6% slower than the average
- 198,100 number of jobs
- $149,530 potential earnings
Architecture teachers, postsecondary
- 5.1% faster than the average
- 8,500 number of jobs
- $90,880 potential earnings
Interior designers
- -4.9% decline
- 77,900 number of jobs
- $57,060 potential earnings
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.
For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.
Admission Requirements
- Accredited professional design degree
- Minimum 2.750 undergraduate GPA on a 4.000 point scale
- Official transcript(s)
- Résumé or curriculum vitae
- Goal statement
- Portfolio of design work that clearly delineates the role played by the applicant in team projects
- Three letters of recommendations, with one letter from a non-academic source
- English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:1
- Minimum 79 TOEFL iBT score
- Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
- Minimum 58 PTE score
- Minimum 110 DET score
Application Deadlines
- Fall Semester
- Application deadline: January 15
- Spring Semester
- Application deadline: June 1
Applications submitted after these deadlines will be considered on a space-available basis.
Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:
- Recognize and employ expert knowledge, guidelines and regulations in healthcare design and delivery
- Design effectively in support of safety, quality and efficiency in healthcare
- Design empathetically to improve human-centered design experience for healthcare providers, patients and support communities
- Employ and translate research into innovative designs
Full Description
The Master of Healthcare Design degree is a post-professional degree and one of the very few in the country focusing on the design of healthcare facilities. The MHCD program equips students with the knowledge and skills required to design spaces that are conducive to safety, satisfaction, and efficiency for all end users, including patients, staff, and caregivers. The MHD program is also designed for those professionals who want to have a deeper understanding of not just healthcare design, but of other drivers of healthcare innovations such as public policy, reimbursement, emerging technologies and what patient-centered care really means from the perspective of patients and families.
Upon graduation, our alumni are employed in healthcare-focused architecture and design firms. Kent State University's Healthcare Design program is also a member of the AIA's Design & Health Research Consortium.
Program curriculum is diverse by complementing required courses with electives from Colleges of Public Health, Nursing, and beyond. Connecting with professionals in the field is one of the core missions of the program, expanding students’ network and exposure to real-world projects.
To earn the degree, students must complete a master's project by designing a healthcare environment of their choice. Students will develop research-based design guidelines for their individual projects to guide their designs. The program takes one and a half or two years to complete, depending on course load.
