Final Thesis Projects Addressing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In recent years, MGXD students have frequently sought out problem spaces that aim to lower barriers to equal access and representation.

MGXD students have always situated their inquiries within contemporary problem spaces. Of late, these include the complex issues of racial inequality, climate change, mental health, accessibility, and community building, to name a few. The following pages highlight fourteen examples of the kinds of concerns students confront through the lens of design, accomplished from 2017 to 2022.

This Final Project is undertaken in the last two semesters of the program, and is in part a culmination of graduate study that synthesizes previous coursework and investigations. Students are responsible for defining the area of investigation, for the research that informs their investigation, for organizing the study and its methods, and for documenting outcomes. The projects represented in the following pages are but glimpses into deep content investigation and design exploration. To view full documentation of each student’s thesis project — to see the methods used, the processes of inquiry, and the design principles discovered — visit www.design.ncsu.edu/thenfinally.

A soldier and his wife decide to use Stenographer during their phone calls. The soldier is then invited to link the terms that Stenographer identifies with the descriptions. Tone analysis and voice recognition provide Stenographer data about how he might be feeling and prompts him to reflect.