Welcome Future Designers!
Congratulations on your admissions into NC State College of Design!
The College of Design noticed you as a valuable future designer to aid the future of the professional industry of design. Whether it is practicing the forms of design or researching design thinking methods. We are excited and welcome you as part of our Wolfpack design community!
You have been offered admission to the College of Design – so what’s next?
- Start working on your NC State New Student Checklist
- Review the full content of this webpage to aid in your transition to NC State
Incoming Fall 2024 Transfer Students
Academic Advising
It is important to register for courses as soon as possible to have the best selection. You should receive an email from Registration & Records detailing instructions and login information for MyPack Portal to register for your fall courses.
Registration for transfer students will begin in late March to early April. Please review your MyPack Portal to locate your date for enrollment to open.
Once you have reviewed this webpage and explored its full content. You are ready for your Academic Advising appointment. Based on your last name, please contact the following Design Student Services professional to set up your advising appointment. Advising holds will be released during this appointment.
- (A – J) Leanne Bajkowski – lebajkow@ncsu.edu
- (K – Z) Melissa Simpson – masimpso@ncsu.edu
Full-time students at NC State are required to be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester.
Who is your advisor?
Your departmental faculty advisor will be assigned several weeks after classes start in the fall. Please review the course information below and reach out to the appropriate Design Student Services professional listed above at design_undergraduate@ncsu.edu with any questions until then.
Design Required Courses
You need to enroll yourself in these required design courses:
- 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 major 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 to graduate but are separated into categories with a variety of courses to choose from. We encourage you to 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)
- 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)
- 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)
- 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)
Placement Testing
To help prepare you for enrollment, we encourage you to take the following placement testing. This is to ensure you enroll in the appropriate courses. Please visit the New Student Programs webpage for Placement Testing for more information on how to access the test.
Math Placement
- Placement tests for math may not be required if you have certain transferable math credit. Read the Math Placement website to determine if you should take the placement test.
Writing Placement
- Transfer students should review the transfer policies of the First-Year Writing Program
World Language Placement (Highly recommended for Design Studies students)
- Transfer students should review the Department of World Languages and Cultures for FAQ if they are looking to complete this placement test.
Degree Audit
This is a listing of all the classes/subject areas that must be completed 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.
Tools for Enrolling
MyPACK
Check out the following videos/tutorials 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
Resources for You:
Academic Advising: The College of Design Student Services team is here to assist with any academic advising-related questions 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: The Global Engagement Requirement is a high-impact experience studying or practicing design in a culture different from that in which a student was raised. Opportunities to satisfy this requirement range from studying abroad to conducting design research in collaboration with an overseas university.
Student News: Check out College of Design 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.
