Dec 10, 2024  
USC Catalogue 2024-2025 
    
USC Catalogue 2024-2025

Integrated Design, Business and Technology (MS)


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The Master of Science in Integrated Design, Business and Technology provides a uniquely integrated learning experience at the intersection of professional and educational disciplines central to our changing world. The program develops leaders with diverse and creative ways of thinking and doing – trained to recognize and cultivate innovation, catalyze meaningful change, and leverage new opportunities to not only support, but also shape and build our rapidly evolving economy.

In collaboration with USC faculty and industry experts, students develop a powerful decision-making framework, problem-solving methodologies, and communication strategies to effectively launch impactful products and ventures, enhance or pivot careers, or develop a corporate culture for collaborative innovation.

With the Academy’s Challenge-Based Learning approach at its core, the program equips students with the ability to think critically and creatively and to solve complex problems at the intersection of technology, business, human-centered design, and communication across a broad spectrum of industries and sectors.

Admission decisions are made based on the following materials:

  • Application form
  • Transcripts for all institutions attended
  • Resume
  • Responses to essay prompts
  • Portfolio (optional)
  • Letters of recommendation (optional)

The MSIDBT degree will be granted upon completion of at least 38 units of approved coursework, including 10 units from Challenge-Based Learning courses, 18 units from Domain-Specific and Intersectional Skills courses and an additional 10 units of electives.

Challenged-Based Learning (CBL) (10 units)


In CBL courses, students collaborate in cross-disciplinary teams, developing solutions to complex and often open-ended problems facing communities and organizations. The practical challenge focused on may be driven by industry representatives, faculty members, student teams or individual students.

Courses that count toward the CBL requirement include but are not limited to:

Domain-Specific and Intersectional Skills Courses (18 units)


Students acquire Domain-Specific and Intersectional Skills in courses on human-centered design, design strategy, technology, the business of innovation and communication. Students develop a powerfully agile mindset to analyze challenges, think across disciplinary boundaries, and synthesize diverse ideas to create new technologies, ventures and humane solutions for purpose-driven societal change. Students are advised to take courses that are outside of their existing area of expertise and to develop strength in one or more of the emerging technology areas on which the Academy focuses.

The Academy comprises the following intersectional areas:

  • Design Strategy
  • Business of Innovation
  • Extended Reality
  • Interactive Technologies
  • Augmented Intelligence
  • Product Innovation
  • Health Innovation ​​​​​​​

Courses that count toward the Domain-Specific and Intersectional Skills requirement include but are not limited to:

Electives (10 units)


Students may take ACAD, IDSN and PRIN courses approved by faculty and the program director. Students may also request approval for a limited number of courses offered outside the Academy that support their professional development.

The following limits apply:


A maximum 4 units of internship credit may be applied for degree credit with approval of program leadership.

A maximum of 12 units of Directed Research may be applied to the degree with approval of program leadership.

A maximum of 8 units of courses may be taken outside of the Academy with approval of program leadership.

With approval of program leadership, a maximum of 8 units of prior graduate coursework may be transferred from another institution if the courses were not applied to a prior degree.

With approval of program leadership, a maximum of 8 units of degree credit may be applied from a prior USC master’s degree.

For USC students changing from another USC graduate program, a maximum of 8 units outside of the Academy from the prior program of study may be applied to the degree.

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