IDEA Courses
Designed for UMD students
We believe that anyone, regardless of major or discipline, can be an innovator! Our IDEA courses are designed to help students from across campus build their creative problem solving abilities and use design and innovation mindsets and skills to reframe how they work, approach problems, and collaborate.
All of our courses are highly experiential. This means students learn by doing, collaborate often with their classmates, and are prompted to actively make connections to their own contexts and interests. No previous experience is necessary to participate - all we ask is that students show up with a willingness to learn, try new things, and apply their skills in the real world.
Try on the behaviors of a creative problem-solver and leverage the methods and tools of design through a human-centered lens in this highly experiential -- and experimental -- introductory course. You will try on the behaviors and mindsets of a designer and reflect and build upon your own creative agency.
Mode: Asynchronous online
Credits: 1
Learn with: Brooke Smith
Semesters offered: Fall, Spring
Try on the behaviors of a creative problem-solver and leverage the methods and tools of design through a human-centered lens in this highly experiential -- and experimental -- introductory course. You will try on the behaviors and mindsets of a designer and reflect and build upon your own creative agency.
Mode: In-person
Credits: 1
Learn with: Mira Azarm & Christina Hnatov
Semesters offered: Spring
What does "User Experience" mean? It was a term coined by cognitive psychologist and designer Don Norman in the 1990s on the cusp of the new digital era; however, the field in practice has existed long before that. Unfortunately, due to its over use and misuse, the pure concept of UX has become lost in the weeds and details of all of its components and methods. In this course, we will take a deep look at the true meaning of UX as simply "a user's experience" and what that means for you as both a designer and a user. You will learn about core UX principles and methodologies from both an academic and practical standpoint and be challenged to apply what you learn in classroom workshops and assignments. Finally, you will be asked to think both inside and outside the bounds of technology to find innovative solutions to real world design problems.
Mode: In-person
Credits: 1
Learn with: Kat Close
Semesters offered: Fall
What do you want to do once you graduate? What about with your life? These are the big questions we begin to tackle in this course. Use design methods and mindsets to explore your personal and professional development goals and explore potential career paths. Using empathy, brainstorming, and prototyping techniques, you'll imagine potential futures for yourself and test them to see if they are a good fit for you.
Modes: Asynchronous online
Credits: 1
Learn with: Christina Hnatov & Brooke Smith
Semesters offered: Fall, Spring
Students from across performing and visual arts disciplines will collaborate using human-centered design tools and mindsets. Experiments will be devised around themes of relevance, audience engagement, radical collaboration, and creative placemaking for potential implementation in future iterations of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival. Each student will also conceptualize and prototype an interdisciplinary performance experiment connected to their personal, professional, and creative interests. Students in the graduate version will be expected to conduct additional research and documentation.
Mode: In-person
Credits: 3
Learn with: Mira Azarm & Christina Hnatov
Semesters offered: Fall, Spring
Graduate students from any unit or department at the University of Maryland can join the semester-long Innovation Fellows program to learn innovation mindsets, tools, and processes and explore how they're relevant to their professional, academic, and personal lives. The Fellowship can be taken for credit using the Independent Study course, IDEA698.
Mode: In-person
Credits: 1-3 credits
Learn with: Mira Azarm, Erica Estrada-Liou, & Brooke Smith
Semesters offered: Fall, Spring
In Partnership with Carillon Communities
IDEA101: The Carillon Studio: Creative Problem Solving and Designing Your Maryland Experience
In the Carillon Studio, you will learn to approach complex problems with a creative problem solver’s mindset. This will include learning how to work in teams and learning design thinking methods such as interviewing experts, synthesizing information and experimenting rapidly.
Mode: In-person
Credits: 1
Learn with: Erica Estrada-Liou
Semesters offered: Fall
IDEA398C (Perm Req): Special Topics in Coaching; Carillon Peer Mentors
Carillon Communities’ newest cohort benefits from past students' support in the Carillon Studio course (IDEA101). Peer Mentors in IDEA101 assist other students in their learning and transition to college life, creating a positive and enhanced experience for first-year students. They learn approaches to learning and deepen their understanding of design thinking. They also build skills in mentoring, leadership and communication.
Mode: In-person
Credits: 1
Learn with: Erica Estrada-Liou
Semesters offered: Fall