About the Design Institute for Health

When first announced by Dell Medical School in 2015, the Design Institute for Health was a first-of-its-kind design-focused team embedded in a medical school, and also the first collaboration between Dell Med and another UT Austin college or school — in this case UT’s College of Fine Arts. Among its goals was to leverage design as a creative, human-centered approach to identify and address big problems in health and health care.

Through 2022, the Design Institute team was instrumental in prioritizing and embedding design into a wide range of work at the medical school, from playing a key role in rethinking the clinic experience at UT Health Austin to collaboratively redesigning the continuum of mental health care at Austin State Hospital. 

Master of Arts in Design in Health

Another important legacy of the Design Institute is the Master of Arts in Design focused on Health — one of several dual degree programs available to Dell Med students — now managed by the School of Design and Creative Technologies in the College of Fine Arts.

Continuing Design Collaboration

In 2022, Dell Med made the decision to close the Design Institute as part of a new and expanded partnership with the School of Design and Creative Technologies to advance design thinking and practice through embedded engagements with faculty and students. This ongoing collaboration helps to ensure that design — as a methodology of innovation — continues to shape the medical school and the fields of medical science and clinical practice.

Page last updated November 2022.