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Master of Healthcare Design Project

Healthcare Design - M.H.D.

Looking to combine your passion for healthcare with your interest in design? Look no further than the Master of Healthcare Design degree. With a strong emphasis on evidence-based design and interdisciplinary collaboration, this program prepares graduates to create innovative, patient-centered environments that enhance the healing process. From hands-on design studios to research opportunities, the M.H.D. degree will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need for a successful career in healthcare design.

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More About the Master's Degree in Healthcare Design

The Elliot Master of Healthcare Design (MHD) Program at Kent State University is a post-professional degree and one of the very few focusing on the design of healthcare facilities. The MHD program equips students with the knowledge and skills required to design spaces that are conducive to safety, satisfaction, and efficiency for all end users, including patients, staff, and caregivers. Upon graduation, our alumni are employed in healthcare-focused architecture and design firms. Kent State University's Healthcare Design program is also a member of the AIA's Design & Health Research Consortium.

Who Should Enroll

The Master of Healthcare Design (MHD) suits those who want to pursue a career in healthcare design industry, which involves design of hospitals, clinics, and other environments of care. Recently graduated students in architecture or interior design, as well as early- or mid-career architects, interior designers, and design practitioners can utilize this program to hone their design and research skills for a variety of healthcare facilities.

Program Information for Healthcare Design - M.H.D.

Program Description

Program Description

Full Description

The Elliot Master of Healthcare Design degree is a STEM-designated, post-professional degree and one of the very few in the nation focusing on the design of healthcare facilities. Program faculty empower students to use design as a powerful tool to advocate for safety, satisfaction and efficiency for all stakeholders, from patients to caregivers. As a member of the AIA's Design and Health Research Consortium, the M.H.D. degree exemplifies interdisciplinary innovation.

Kent State University prides itself in offering a leading healthcare design program grounded in innovation, translational research and scholarship — preparing outstanding professionals whose passion in human-centered design will transform the future of the healthcare design industry.

The M.H.D. degree stands out as a distinguished post-professional endeavor dedicated to shaping healthcare facility design. With its STEM designation, the program leverages scientific principles to equip emerging professionals as future leaders in healthcare design, emphasizing both empathic and evidence-based approaches.

This program's strength lies in its comprehensive curriculum, blending design, research and experiential learning. Through a holistic journey, students gain vital healthcare knowledge, refine design skills and acquire research skills, which are crucial for crafting innovative spaces prioritizing safety and satisfaction for patients, staff and caregivers. Moreover, the program's flexibility is showcased through a broad curriculum, offering elective courses from various disciplines such as public health and nursing. With completion timelines ranging from one to two years, students can tailor their academic path to suit their needs.

The culminating experience within the program is the completion of a master's project, where students develop their visions by designing a healthcare environment of their choice. Inspired by evidence-based design principles, students are trained to conduct research and integrate that into their design processes. This experience is enriched by highly qualified faculty and external practice-based mentors.

A core mission of the program is to enrich students' networks with professionals in the field and expose them to real-world projects that broaden their perspectives. Testament to the program's excellence, its graduates are sought after by premier healthcare-focused architecture and design firms, receive prestigious awards and recognition on an international level and present and publish in scholarly outlets.

Admissions for Healthcare Design - M.H.D.

Admissions

For more information about graduate admissions, visit the graduate admission website. For more information on international admissions, visit the international admission website.

Admission Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in architecture or interior design degree from an accredited college or university
  • Minimum 2.750 undergraduate GPA on a 4.000-point scale
  • Official transcript(s)
  • Résumé or curriculum vitae
  • Goal statement
  • Portfolio of design work that clearly delineates the role played by the applicant in team projects
  • Three letters of recommendations, with one letter from a non-academic source
  • English language proficiency - all international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning one of the following:1
    • Minimum 79 TOEFL iBT score
    • Minimum 6.5 IELTS score
    • Minimum 58 PTE score
    • Minimum 110 DET score
1

International applicants who do not meet the above test scores will not be considered for admission.

Application Deadlines

  • Fall Semester
    • Application deadline: January 15
  • Spring Semester
    • Application deadline: June 1

All application materials (including applicable fee, transcripts, recommendation letters, etc.) submitted after these deadlines will be considered on a space-available basis.

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Recognize and employ expert knowledge, guidelines and regulations in healthcare design and delivery.
  2. Design effectively in support of safety, quality and efficiency in healthcare.
  3. Design empathetically to improve human-centered design experience for healthcare providers, patients and support communities.
  4. Employ and translate research into innovative designs.

Coursework

On This Page

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements
HCD 60000HEALTHCARE DESIGN STUDIO 6
HCD 60092PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE 1
HCD 60100HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS WORKSHOP 3
HCD 60101HEALTHCARE DESIGN WORKSHOP: CULTURE AND ETHICS 3
HCD 63001EVIDENCE-BASED DESIGN IN HEALTHCARE 2
HCD 63002HEALTHCARE FACILITIES 2
HCD 63003ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS AND MATERIALS IN HEALTHCARE 2
HCD 63004ENVIRONMENTS OF CARE AND PATIENT POPULATIONS 2
HCD 63005PATIENT SAFETY AND SYSTEMS THINKING 2
Major Elective, choose from the following: 13
ARCH 55640
DEVELOPING ENVIRONMENTS FOR OLDER ADULTS
EHS 50109
LABORATORY SAFETY AND HYGIENE
EHS 53012
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
EHS 53014
BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH
EHS 62018
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CONCEPTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
HPM 62016
PUBLIC HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
HPM 63003
HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS
HPM 63004
PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY, LAW AND ETHICS
NURS 60014
LEADERSHIP IN NURSING AND HEALTH CARE MANAGEMENT
NURS 60020
LEGAL AND REGULATORY MANAGEMENT FOR NURSE ADMINISTRATORS
NURS 60024
HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATION, STRUCTURE AND BEHAVIOR
SBS 64634
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH BEHAVIORS
Directed Electives 2
Culminating Requirement
HCD 61099MASTER’S PROJECT RESEARCH 3
HCD 62099MASTER’S PROJECT STUDIO 6
Minimum Total Credit Hours:35
1

The normal path of study for this degree is 35 credit hours. For students with strong qualifications in a related degree and/or experience, the required elective may be waived by the program director and admissions committee.

2

Students may work with the coordinator of the program for additional elective choices.

Graduation Requirements
Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
- 3.000
  • No more than one-half of a graduate student’s coursework may be taken in 50000-level courses.
  • Grades below C are not counted toward completion of requirements for the degree.

Program Note

Normal time to graduation is two years. However, students who start in the spring semester may complete the degree in three semesters. Students may also take an accelerated path to complete the degree in one year.

Program Delivery

Program Delivery

  • Delivery:
    • In person
  • Location:
    • Kent Campus

Why Kent State?

Kent State University is strategically located near Cleveland, Akron, and Pittsburgh with access to some of the key players in the healthcare industry, such as Cleveland Clinic. The working partnership with these healthcare systems and architecture firms in the region as well as existing facilities and faculty expertise have uniquely positioned the MHD to offer students an enriching experience. 

Other Relevant Information

Research & Our Work

RESEARCH

TOWARD A MODEL OF SAFETY AND CARE FOR TRAUMA ROOM DESIGN

"Toward a model of Safety and Care for Trauma Room Design" is a $2.4 grant project awarded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The project aims to help save patients' lives by improving the design of Level I trauma rooms.

OUR WORK

STUDENT WORK: Visit the www.caedXgallery.com for student work and online exhibitions. 

RESEARCH WORK: Visit our Trauma Simulation Project.

Faculty
Our Alumni
Caitlin Raymond, MHD

“Going through this program allowed me to not only further my education and gain more experience in the healthcare field, but also explore my passion of design. The program gave me the opportunity to work with other architects and designers who share my passion of creating a more efficient and effective healing environment. The classes allowed enough flexibility that I could complete the assignments while working and offered many different resources that I could explore on my own. The final master's project allowed me work more specifically on researching a topic I was interested in. I am very glad I was able to complete the master’s degree in Health Care Design at Kent State University.”

Bishal Thapa Chetry, MHD

“I am very grateful to Kent State University’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design for establishing a graduate program solely dedicated to Health Care Design. The program offers a profound understanding of Health Care deeply rooted in interdisciplinary literature and practices. Knowledge acquired is invaluable and will always be treasured throughout my career.”

Marwa Ibrahem, MHD, Senior Healthcare Architect

“The Healthcare Design program at Kent State University provided me with a great background knowledge and theory in the Healthcare field in general and gave me a strong foundation in the field of health care design. The online system of the M.H.C.D. program is a big advantage that allow students to work and live their usual life. Another advantage is that students have multiple options of classes to choose from. Enrolling to this program changed my view of the health care facilities from just a building that provide patients with treatments to a healing environment that provide quality care, improve safety and comfort, and reduce stress.”

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries for Healthcare Design - M.H.D.

Graduates of Kent State University's Master of Healthcare Design degree are prepared for specialized careers in healthcare architecture, interior design, and facility planning. They can work as architects, interior designers, and project managers, creating environments that enhance patient care, safety, and well-being in hospitals, clinics, and long-term care facilities. Their expertise combines design principles with healthcare needs to improve the functionality and aesthetics of medical spaces.

Architects, except landscape and naval

0.8%

little or no change

129,900

number of jobs

$82,320

potential earnings

Architectural and engineering managers

2.6%

slower than the average

198,100

number of jobs

$149,530

potential earnings

Architecture teachers, postsecondary

5.1%

faster than the average

8,500

number of jobs

$90,880

potential earnings

Interior designers

-4.9%

decline

77,900

number of jobs

$57,060

potential earnings

Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.

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