Yes, the Design for Social Innovation MFA Program is STEM certified. This certification formally acknowledges the multidisciplinary and diverse expertise gained by our students in design innovation – and as an added benefit, it also makes additional scholarship and grant funding available to domestic and international students.

For our international students, this STEM designation opens up several opportunities:

• Students who earn STEM-designated master’s degrees are able to apply for a 24-month STEM extension to their 12-month Optional Practice Training (OPT) period, which allows them to work on a student visa.

• With this 24-month extension for this specific visa, the total time that international students can stay and work in the U.S. after graduation is 3 years, instead of 1 year. Through exposure to STEM courses, MFA DSI graduates demonstrate the critical thinking, curiosity, commitment, and courage to respond to the world’s most pressing issues.

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