Welcome Future Designers!
Congratulations on your admissions into NC State College of Design! We are excited to have you a part of our design community.
You have been offered admission to the College of Design – so what’s next?
- Confirm your enrollment into wolfPAW
- Start working on your NC State New Student Checklist
Incoming Fall Students
Academic Advising
Registration & Records detailing instructions and login information for MyPack Portal to register for your fall courses. It is important to register as soon as possible in order to have the best selection of courses. The tools below should allow you to complete your schedule before Orientation.
Full time students at NC State are required to be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester. Design students typically enroll in 15 -17 credit hours.
Make note of the required courses for your major listed below so that you are aware of what courses you should enroll in when you login to MyPACK.
Who is your advisor?
Your departmental academic advisor will be assigned several weeks after classes start in the Fall. Please review the information below and reach out to Design Student Services with any questions until then.
Design Required Courses
*The required design courses have automatically been added to your schedule. Do not drop or alter this course on your schedule!*
- D 100 – Design Thinking – (3 credit hours) – required for ARC, A+D, DS, GXD majors ONLY
- D 104 – (6 credit hours) – required for ARC, A+D, GXD, ID majors ONLY
- ARC 250 – (3 credit hours) – ARC majors ONLY
- ADN 281.001 – (3 credits hours) – DS major specific section ONLY
- ADN 281.003 – (3 credit hours) – A+D major specific section ONLY
- ID 110 and ID 244 – (3 credit hours each) – ID majors ONLY
*Additional classes should be added to help you reach full-time status (if desired). See below – GEP Courses
General Education Program (GEP) Courses
When trying to determine additional courses to add to your first semester, consider GEP courses. GEP courses are required, but are separated into categories and within the categories there are a variety of courses to choose from. Choose course topics that are of interest to you. (click here for GEP Course List)
Here are some additional suggestions:
Studio Based Majors – Arch, A+D, GXD, ID
- ENG 101 – (4 credit hours)
- Only half of the incoming class will be able to take ENG 101, if you can not enroll into ENG 101 during the fall, you should plan to take the course in the spring.
- To substitute for not being able to enroll in ENG 101, please select a different GEP such as Humanities or Social Sciences.
- Mathematics GEP – (3 credit hours)
- The Math Placement Assessment should be taken by all incoming high school students. The results of this assessment will give you guidance on the appropriate math course to start with.
- Architecture and Graphic & Experience Design majors are encouraged to register for math during the fall semester
- Health and Exercise Studies GEP – (1 credit hour)
Design Studies Major
- ENG 101 – (4 credit hours)
- Only half of the incoming class will be able to take ENG 101, if you can not enroll into ENG 101 during the fall, you should plan to take the course in the spring.
- To substitute for not being able to enroll in ENG 101, please select a different GEP such as Humanities or Social Sciences.
- MA 111 or higher – (3 credit hours)
- Art History Survey Elective – (3 credit hours)
- Health and Exercise Studies GEP – (1 credit hour)
Tools for Enrolling
MyPACK
Check out the following videos to learn how to use MyPACK Portal:
Keep in mind:
- *If you are unable to enroll in certain courses, pay attention to the error message which will usually explain why you may need to select a different course.
- * Sometimes you’ll have the option to register for the waitlist of a course. It’s okay to do this, but be prepared with alternate options in case you do not get into the class.
- *If you are experiencing technical errors with registering for Design courses, please send ONE of our Student Services team members an email with screenshots of the error.
Eight Semester Displays
The 8-Semester Display is a SAMPLE layout that provides SUGGESTIONS on what classes to take each semester. Design courses are relatively set in stone, are often sequential and should be taken as listed. GEP and non-design courses often have flexibility in the timing in which they are taken. If you are unable to enroll in the suggested GEP/non-design course, simply choose another GEP category listed in a different semester.
Architecture | Art+Design | Design Studies | Graphic & Experience Design | Industrial Design
Degree Audit
This is a listing of all the classes/subject areas that must be complete in order for you to graduate. The degree audit shows you all of your course options (click “Requirement Details” where applicable to see a listing of courses), shows you what courses you have and have not met requirements for, and which courses you are currently enrolled in. Every student has a personal degree audit within MyPACK.
For steps on how to navigate to your Degree Audit. Please click here for a helpful step-by-step guide.
Transfer Credit
Have credits transferring from AP/IB test or another university/community college? Check the links below to provide you with information on what NCSU credit you should receive.
*AP/IB scores are usually received by the Undergraduate Admissions team in July and it does take a few weeks to process. This information is usually finalized by the beginning of August, if the student has requested their scores to be sent in a timely manner. When the scores are processed, any credit received will be automatically added to the student’s permanent record.
If you would like to review your transfer credits, please follow the steps for navigating to Transfer Credit Reports via MyPACK Portal. Please monitor your portal if you are waiting for additional transcripts or test scores to be received and processed from Undergraduate Admissions.
Resources for You:
Academic Advising: The College of Design Student Services team is here to assist with any academic advising related question from when you confirm your enrollment till the fall semester. Please email design_undergraduate@ncsu.edu if you have any questions.
IT Resources: Review computer requirements for your major.
Design Career Services: Learn about opportunities for building professional skills as a designer.
Design Ambassador: Connect with a student Design Ambassador to learn about students’ experience pursuing their design major at NC State. Please email design-ambassadors@ncsu.edu.
Design Student Organizations: Get involved in a student organization.
Experience Design Around the World: International experience is a requirement for all College of Design majors. Check out College of Design study abroad short-term or semester programs.
Student Newsletter: Check out design life news.
Review our College of Design Student Resource page for more information to aid in your student success.
Got Questions?
We are a small team that communicates with each other every day and work in the same space together. Reach out to one of us and we will be happy to point you in the right direction.
