Step-by-Step Application Guide

For the statement of purpose and supporting artifacts, please include information that will help the admissions team evaluate the extent to which you meet AC4D’s acceptance criteria:

• Ability to cultivate and communicate a deep understanding of environments and problem spaces in personal, professional, or community contexts.

• Interest and experience in creative problem solving for the purposes of positive social impact.

• A bias towards action, with the ability to be largely self-directed, managing multiple high-investment projects/commitments concurrently.

• The ability to stick with a long-term project or activity despite obstacles, unforeseen circumstances, and setbacks.

• A strong commitment to continuous learning and the pursuit of self-awareness and knowledge about the world.

The statement of purpose should describe in about 500-1,000 words, the applicant's intent for attending Austin Center for Design. The statement of purpose should be submitted as a PDF file. Help the AC4D Admissions team get to know your aspirations and vision for your future. These are some starters that you can use when writing:

Your background - How has work and life experiences have shaped your perspectives?

Creative problem-solving - Talk about your process for solving hard problems. What do you ask yourself when faced with difficulties?

Why design? - What draws you to work that is collaborative and visual in thought?

What problem do you hope to have a social impact on? - Describe a specific societal issue that deeply resonates with you and why.

What do you hope to get out of the one-year immersive program? - Why do you believe AC4D is the right fit for helping you achieve your goals?

A portfolio of supporting artifacts should showcase an applicant's best professional work in an organized manner. Artifacts should demonstrate the applicant's interests in and aptitudes for advanced study, and potential for success at AC4D.

A portfolio is required to illustrate a professional "body of work".A portfolio of supporting artifacts should showcase an applicant's best professional work in an organized manner. Artifacts should demonstrate the applicant's interests in and aptitudes for advanced study, and potential for success at AC4D.

A portfolio is required to illustrate a professional "body of work". Note that this body of work need not be visual or design-related, and it is expected that students from various disciplines will submit a wide variety of work artifacts. Portfolios may be online, or uploaded as a PDF.

Submit work related to your core discipline and background:

• Design work should be presented visually, showing the process and final design solution in a clear and concise manner.

• Other creative and visual work, such as advertising or fine art, should show the final artifact or solution, and should describe the particular project goals.

• Design research work (and other forms of applied ethnography or anthropology) should be presented in a manner that illustrates the topic being studied, the rationalization for the group observed, and key findings.

• Business and marketing work should be presented through analytical reports, presentations, or other artifacts; be sure to describe the needs supported by the artifacts, and the result of the various reports, pitches, diagrams, or analytics.

• Software and code (both front and back-end development) should be presented in a way that articulates the problem being solved, the constraints (such as time and resources), and the outcome (is the work live, and being used?)

In all cases, the portfolio should showcase an applicant's best work, presented as professionally as possible. In the case of group projects, applicants should indicate their personal responsibilities. It should demonstrate the applicant's interests in and aptitudes for advanced study and, specifically, potential for success at Austin Center for Design.

In the case of group projects, applicants should indicate their personal responsibilities.