THE GOAL
Simple. Create a Top 20 Design School that is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

At UCO, our students outperformed those attending Top 20 schools in numerous juried design competitions. We achieved excellence. We have arrived, but we are not resting. We claim our spot as a Top Design School.

We are pleased to be named a Top Design School by GDUSA for five consecutive years.

Step 01 : Create a Culture of Excellence
The Greek soldier and poet Archilochus said, “We do not rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training.” To counter this tendency, the first step in implementing a new culture was an unflinchingly high level of expectation of excellence in all aspects of design practice.

This requires what WSU basketball coach Gene Smithson called MTXE (Mental Toughness and Extra Effort) from both students and faculty: The faculty expect and will not accept less than what they know to be the student’s best effort on each project. And students will not accept anything but their best effort from themselves.

Combined with a designer’s drive to collaborate and compete, MTXE has helped us to build a culture of excellence.

Step 02 : Collaborative Competition
Collaborative Competition, a common experience in sports, is an innovative model in business and science but it has long been the standard at most top design schools.

Founded on the principle that competition is first and foremost an opportunity to learn, the collaborative competition model views competition not as a threat but as an opportunity to evolve, excel and transform students into working designers in an environment that closely mimics a professional design studio.

In this environment students gather together, critique each other’s work and revise their projects. They are working together to help one another improve but they are also asking themselves, “Am I better designer today than I was yesterday? And what am I doing today to be sure I am better tomorrow?” 

Step 03 : Design Foundations
In 2008, to facilitate our Top 20 goal, the Department of Design created a distinct Design Foundations Program.

Students are trained in observation, analysis, reflection, innovation and action.

This new foundations curriculum is tough in the extreme; it challenges, inspires and pushes higher level knowledge down earlier into the program to allow us to make the design program more challenging and effective at all levels.

And it worked.

First semester design students now complete projects that were reserved for second semester sophomores, and today’s seniors complete projects the faculty would never have attempted with them prior to this approach.

Step 04 : Student Competition Initiative
Known as “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!” the Student Competition Initiative is a way to independently verify results by entering student work into juried design competitions.

By systematically entering student work into local, regional, national and international juried competitions we are able to generate data to quantify progress in a format that is readily understood by both internal and external stakeholders.

Since 2010, 1,036 awards have been won by students at the international, national, regional and local level.

Most notable among these are National ADDY Awards, FLUX, HOW, Print, CA, the Royal Society of Arts RSA Design Awards, Graphex, PAVE, International Design Awards, Under Consideration’s Brand New and IDA.

Step 05 : Accreditation
The Department of Design at the University of Central Oklahoma is accredited by both CIDA and NASAD. This affirms our achievement of excellence compared to national expectations.

Accreditation is a time intensive process that requires deep commitment from faculty and administrators alike. It is an investment by both the department and the institution to uphold a set of nationally recognized and agreed upon criteria. The University of Central Oklahoma is the first institution in the state to house a Department of Design that is both CIDA and NASAD accredited.

Due to legislation in Oklahoma that regulates the practice of interior design, designers seeking out the designation of “licensed interior designer” must have graduated from a program that is accredited by CIDA.

Step 06 : MFA in illustration
Growth and innovation, even in the face of financial and spacial limitations, is critical to the pursuit of our goal of becoming a Top 20 Design School.

The MFA in Illustration curriculum is created specifically for students interested in developing a body of illustrated work dedicated to image and serial image-making for commercial application that will make them competitive nationally. The program will also address essential educational needs including: personal stylistic development; advanced concepts in marketing, branding and practical business applications.

With the closest of these programs being 1,107 miles from UCO, this program will offer a unique solution for those seeking a terminal degree in Illustration within the state, region and nation.

Step 07 : Be the Dog with the Bone
Be methodical in planning, rigorous in execution, enthusiastic in the face of challenges, and persistent in the singular goal of creating excellence in design education. Don’t give up! Be the ball, Danny.

Step 08 and 09 : Tell People! Get a Building!
Here’s what we said!
Press Release!

Step 10 : Raise the Money
Donate to the UCO Design Design Capital Projects and Improvements FundFund ID: S20492
HERE