Domains Exploration
Design is needed to meet many of our world’s most pressing problems, and our program builds in coursework for students to explore ripe intersections with design.
If Method Depth coursework is about the “how” of making and bringing ideas into being, Domain Focus coursework is about the “for whom / for what.” Taking courses in a Domain Focus area is a unique opportunity for students to immerse in a need space that they’re curious about or motivated by, apply their design abilities in context, and emerge with a changed perspective (not unlike a powerful study abroad experience). Each of the domain sphere options within the design degree is saturated with wicked problems where design work is useful and needed. By mapping and completing a focused three-course “pathway” in a domain sphere, students will:
be primed with enough relevant context to inform or contribute to a multidisciplinary capstone project senior year (if they wish)
emerge with skills and knowledge useful for navigating any other domains that exist or emerge throughout a flourishing career in design.
Students may find that their domain coursework sparks a passion and helps launch them into a career pathway at the intersection of design and a given domain, but it doesn’t need to. Getting to take courses in other departments at Stanford encourages a lifetime design practice grounded in curiosity, humility, immersion in new contexts, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
We invite you to explore the Domain Landscape Maps below (illustrated in collaboration with artist Iris Gottlieb), and be moved by the possibility for design within each!
Choosing Domain Classes
A “pathway” (three-course sequence or cluster) in a domain sphere includes:
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Foundational Course
A foundational course that covers essential topics in the domain area (ie, history, scientific principles, frameworks, robustly useful concepts, etc.) that will be useful in the rest of your pathway sequence, and in preparing to do effective design work.
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Applied Course
An applied course that has a lab or project-based component that requires you to put principles into practice, and that will help prepare you to be an effective maker and collaborator in this space.
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Future Horizons Course
A future horizons course that explores emerging technologies, trends, and forces that are shaping this domain space. (Bonus points if this class also has a practical making component, as well!)
Explore all of our domain course offerings within each of the spheres on our Domain Course Appendix here. You’ll also find sample 3-course pathways that correspond to focused application areas (“islands” on our maps). We invite and encourage you to submit a Domain Petition form to propose classes that may fit in our domain spheres, but are not already on the list. Our program has four Domain Focus spheres that students choose from:
Designing for the Planet
A domain sphere including Climate, Environment, Oceans, and Energy (and more)
Gain knowledge around environmental problem solving at macro and micro scales, on all corners of our planet.
Faculty Lead
Professor of Earth System Science and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Kate Maher
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Kate’s research examines the carbon cycle through multiple lenses, from the history of atmospheric carbon dioxide and its impact on the evolution of life to strategies for sequestering carbon today. By combining computer models with field and laboratory measurements, her research links together hydrologic, chemical and biological processes to understand our unique planet. Her current research projects include soil carbon cycling, water quality and carbon dioxide storage in volcanic basins. In 2015, Kate was awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union; in 2012 she was awarded the Allan Cox Medal for Mentoring of Undergraduate Research. She is also a featured scientist in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History exhibit on Deep Time. Kate was recently selected as a Helmholtz International Fellow and will travel to Germany to conduct research and teach design to scientists.
Faculty Lead
E-IPER Director, Associate Professor of Education, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
Nicole Ardoin
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Nicole Ardoin, Emmett Family Faculty Scholar, is an Associate Professor of Environmental Behavioral Sciences in the Division of Social Sciences in the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability (SDSS). She is also a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment. Professor Ardoin and her Social Ecology Lab research motivations for and barriers to environmental behavior at the individual and collective scales. They use mixed-methods approaches--including participant observation, a variety of interview types, surveys, mapping, network analysis, and ethnography, among others--to consider the influence of place-based connections, environmental learning, and social-ecological interactions on participation in a range of environmental and sustainability-related decisionmaking processes. Professor Ardoin and her interdisciplinary group pursue their scholarship with a theoretical grounding and orientation focused on applications for practice; much of her lab's work is co-designed and implemented with community collaborators through a field-based, participatory frame. Professor Ardoin is an associate editor of the journal Environmental Education Research, a trustee of the California Academy of Sciences, and chair of NatureBridge's Education Advisory Council, among other areas of service within the environment and conservation field.
Domain Co-Lead
Emily K. Callaghan
Founder of Design+, Design Coach
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Emily is a designer and leader fascinated by humans and growth. She works with individuals, teams and organizations to tap into and grow new skillsets and mindsets that empower folks to do meaningful, creative work. She leads DESIGN+, a small design practice that helps folks learn, by design. DESIGN+ learning experiences range from leadership academies, 1:1 coaching, immersive workshops, user research and more. At the heart of it all is helping folks reveal new perspectives about their customers, themselves and their teams while putting their learnings into action. Before DESIGN+ Emily was deep into sparking big change in large, multinational organizations. She served as Design Officer at 3M and the Director of Innovation Learning at Johnson Controls - both roles hadn't existed prior. She had the most fun coaching internal startups and building new to the organization capabilities both in human centered design and design functions from scratch. She earned a master’s in Industrial Design from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s in Journalism from the University of Kansas. She was the first Designer in Residence at Stanford’s d.school in 2017 and presently works with clients across industries, students at Stanford and is always working on maximizing time in the Airstream with her partner, their teenager and her sweet pup, Beatrice.
Faculty Lead
David and Lucile Packard Professor of Marine Science, Professor of Oceans, Senior at the Woods Insitute for the Environment and Professor of Biology
Fiorenza Micheli
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Fiorenza Micheli (she/her) is a marine ecologist and conservation biologist conducting research and teaching at the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, where she is also the David and Lucile Packard Professor of Marine Science and the Director, with Jim Leape, of the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions. Micheli’s research focuses on the processes shaping marine communities and incorporating this understanding in the management and conservation of marine ecosystems. Her current research projects investigate social and ecological drivers of the resilience of small-scale fisheries to climatic impacts in Baja California, Mexico, the ecological and socioeconomic impacts of coastal hypoxia and ocean acidification in the California Current large marine ecosystem, the ecological role and spatial ecology of parrotfish and reef sharks in the coral reefs of the Pacific Line Islands, the effects of ocean acidification on seagrass, rocky reef and kelp forest communities, and the performance and management of marine protected Areas in the Mediterranean Sea. She is a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and senior fellow at Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment.
Domain Co-Lead
Sarah Stein Greenberg
Executive Director of the Stanford d.school
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Sarah Stein Greenberg is the executive director of the Stanford d.school and the author of Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways (Ten Speed Press, 2021). She leads a community of designers, faculty, and other innovative thinkers who help people unlock their creative abilities and apply them to the world. Sarah speaks regularly at universities and global conferences on design, business, and education. She holds an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and a BA in history from Oberlin College. Sarah serves as a trustee for Rare, a global conservation organization, and is a member of the Board of Governors of Habib University. Among other creative pursuits, she spends her free time as an underwater and wildlife photographer. She lives in San Francisco.
Designing for Biological Futures
A domain sphere including Living Matter and Synthetic Biology (and more)
Learn about biofutures and explore the possibilities of building with biology.
Faculty Lead
Drew Endy
Professor of Bioengineering
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Drew Endy studies synthetic biology and teaches bioengineering. His goals are civilization-scale flourishing and a renewal of liberal democracy. Prof. Endy helped launch new undergraduate majors in bioengineering at both MIT and Stanford and also the iGEM — a global genetic-engineering “Olympics” enabling thousands of students annually. His past students lead various companies. He is married to Dr. Christina Smolke, CEO of Antheia. Endy has served on the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), the Committee on Science Technology & Law (CSTL). the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Synthetic Biology Task Force, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Advisory Committee on Variola Virus Research, and, briefly, the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Board (DIB). Esquire magazine recognized Drew as one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century.
Domain Co-Lead
Emily K. Callaghan
Founder of Design+, Design Coach
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Emily is a designer and leader fascinated by humans and growth. She works with individuals, teams and organizations to tap into and grow new skillsets and mindsets that empower folks to do meaningful, creative work. She leads DESIGN+, a small design practice that helps folks learn, by design. DESIGN+ learning experiences range from leadership academies, 1:1 coaching, immersive workshops, user research and more. At the heart of it all is helping folks reveal new perspectives about their customers, themselves and their teams while putting their learnings into action. Before DESIGN+ Emily was deep into sparking big change in large, multinational organizations. She served as Design Officer at 3M and the Director of Innovation Learning at Johnson Controls - both roles hadn't existed prior. She had the most fun coaching internal startups and building new to the organization capabilities both in human centered design and design functions from scratch. She earned a master’s in Industrial Design from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s in Journalism from the University of Kansas. She was the first Designer in Residence at Stanford’s d.school in 2017 and presently works with clients across industries, students at Stanford and is always working on maximizing time in the Airstream with her partner, their teenager and her sweet pup, Beatrice.
Designing for Social Impact
A domain sphere including Global Development, Social Systems, Social Inequity (and more)
Investigate domestic and global governance and their intersection with development, economics, and a more equitable society.
Faculty Lead
Professor of Political Science & Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Jeremy Weinstein
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Jeremy Weinstein is Kleinheinz Professor of International Studies, Faculty Director of Stanford Impact Labs, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research at Stanford University. He also is faculty co-director of the Immigration Policy Lab. In addition, he is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C. He previously served as Fisher Family Director of Stanford Global Studies. His research focuses on civil wars and political violence; ethnic politics; the political economy of development; democracy and accountability; and migration. He is the author of Inside Rebellion: The Politics of Insurgent Violence (Cambridge University Press), which received the William Riker Prize for the best book on political economy. He is also the co-author of Coethnicity: Diversity and the Dilemmas of Collective Action (Russell Sage Foundation), which received the Gregory Luebbert Award for the best book in comparative politics. He has published widely in leading journals including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Annual Review of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Journal of Democracy, International Organization, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science, and World Development, among others.
Domain Co-Lead
Manasa Yeturu
Head of Learning Experience Design
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Manasa joined us in 2019 to evolve Design For Extreme Affordability - she currently leads curriculum for the program. Over the years she has been instrumental in infusing best practices in social entrepreneurship and participatory design into the course design - from creating a virtual version of the course in 2020 to launching our first Bay Area version of the program. She's been a practitioner in the intersection of social impact and design for the past 15 years - working across K12 education, civic engagement and gender equity. Prior to the dschool - her work has predominantly been global - from being part of Teach For India's startup team to leading CSR practices for global institutions to creating the first innovation practice at Women's World Banking - I know she'll bring a wealth of real world rooted mentorship to our students. More on her background here.
Designing for Health
A domain sphere including Healthcare & Health Technology Innovation (and more)
Gain understanding in anatomy, physiology, healthcare systems, and health technology while exploring a new era of personalized, accessible, and patient-centered care.
Faculty Lead
Paul Yock
Professor of Bioengineering & Cardiovascular Medicine
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Prof. Paul Yock began his faculty career as an interventional cardiologist at UC San Francisco and then moved to Stanford in 1994. Prof. Yock is known for his work in inventing, developing, and testing new devices, including the Rapid Exchange angioplasty and stenting system, which is the primary approach used worldwide. He also authored the fundamental patents for intravascular ultrasound imaging, conducted the initial clinical trials, and established the Stanford Center for Research in Cardiovascular Interventions as a core laboratory for the analysis of intravascular ultrasound clinical studies. He also invented the Smart Needle and is a co-inventor of the strain-reduction patch for wound healing. Prof. Yock was the founding Co-Chair of the Department of Bioengineering and continues research related to new device technologies. He also was the founding director of the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign -dedicated to advanced training in medical technology innovation.
Faculty Lead
Lyn Denend
Director of Academic Programs @ Stanford Biodesign
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Lyn Denend is Director for Academic Programs at Stanford Biodesign and a Lecturer in the Stanford School of Medicine. In her Biodesign role, she leads curriculum development and program execution across Stanford Biodesign’s portfolio of educational offerings. She teaches numerous courses, including the graduate-level Biodesign Innovation class, Global Biodesign: Health Technology in an International Context, and the undergraduate Needs Finding in Healthcare program. Lyn spearheaded Stanford Biodesign’s efforts to codify its core innovation process, is the principal author of the textbook Biodesign: The Process of Innovating Medical Technologies (1st and 2nd editions), and led the development of more than 350 open-source videos available at ebiodesign.org. She also helps disseminate best practices in health technology innovation education as an organizing member of the Biomedical Engineering-Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Alliance (BME-IDEA) in the United States and Asia Pacific. Prior to Stanford Biodesign, she created multimedia teaching materials at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she authored more than 100 case studies. Lyn was a Senior Manager with Ernst & Young’s management consulting practice. She has an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a BA in Communications from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Faculty Lead
Ross Venook
Professor of Bioengineering, Associate Director at the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign
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Ross is a Senior Lecturer in the Bioengineering department and he is the Associate Director for Engineering at the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign. Ross primarily co-leads undergraduate laboratory courses at Stanford—an instrumentation lab (BIOE123) and an open-ended capstone design lab sequence (BIOE141A/B)—and he supports other courses and runs hands-on workshops in the areas of prototyping and systems engineering related to medical device innovation. He enjoys the unique challenges and constraints offered by biomedical engineering projects, and he delights in the opportunity for collaborative learning in a problem-solving environment. An Electrical Engineer by training (Stanford BS, MS, PhD), Ross’ graduate work focused on building and applying new types of MRI hardware for interventional and device-related uses. Following a Biodesign Innovation fellowship, Ross helped to start the MRI safety program at Boston Scientific Neuromodulation, where he worked for 15 years to enable safe MRI access for patients with implanted medical devices--including collaboration across the MRI safety community to create and improve international standards.
Domain Co-Lead
David Janka
Design Thinking Consultant & Creative Strategist
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David Janka, MD is a Designer-in-Residence and Lecturer at the d.school. As a healthcare designer, he works to bring the mindsets, techniques and creative energy of the design world to the development and delivery of healthcare products, services and experiences. He is a graduate of Stanford Medical School, former d.school Fellow and has taught at Stanford for over a decade.