Admissions

ADMISSIONS PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS

Determine if Miami College of Design is for you.

You may be in your junior or senior year in high school thinking about college. Or, you might be in the workplace considering another career or how to enhance your current opportunities in Industrial Design. Therefore, ask yourself if you are ready to join a class of students who will work as a team on a series of interdisciplinary specialties (Robotics, Marine Science, Sports Technology, Transportation Design, and more). We seek individuals who have the training, stamina, and passion for a rigorous, immersive program. We seek students who can add useful and intriguing elements to the team, from a sense of humor to compelling work experiences to a wide range of individual gifts, talents, interests, and achievements. Our ideal and diverse team includes capable people who will support, surprise, and inspire each other. Is this you?

Preparing you for Miami College of Design as a high school student:

  • Be sure you are ready to do the work;
  • Take the time to explore industrial design projects that interest you, both inside and outside of school;
  • Enroll in high-school courses to get the most benefit at Miami College of Design. Courses that develop visual and design skills (such as studio drawing or studio arts) are strongly recommended, as well as algebra, geometry, trigonometry, computer science, natural and social sciences, plus courses you find creative and engaging.

Preparing yourself if you are currently in the workplace:

  • Review the related experience you already have;
  • Think about what skills and subjects you want to know more about;
  • Consider your goals as a result of a Miami College of Design experience;

Please keep in mind that all courses are offered only in English.

Admissions Requirements

Students seeking admission must fulfill the following requirements:

  1. You must be at least 16 years of age at the time of enrollment;
  2. You must be able to provide proof of high-school graduation or equivalency, which may take one of the following forms:
    • High school graduation transcript, diploma, diploma of completion, etc., showing date of graduation;
    • Proof of certification of GED completion (GED scores or GED diploma);
    • Proof of graduation from a foreign institution comparable to a United States secondary school (It is the responsibility of the applicant to arrange for the educational evaluation agency to evaluate the documents and provide the translation to Miami College of Design.);
    • Florida Home Education graduation including receipt of proper state credential.
  3. Successful completion of the Application Checklist (see below);
  4. You must have your own laptop computer capable of running GNU/Linux or Mac OS.

Results of the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT (American College Testing program) are not required for admission to the Miami College of Design.

Contacting the Office of Admissions

You can contact us by email at:

admissions@miamicollegeofdesign.com

or through regular mail to:

Office of Admissions
Miami College of Design
7950 NW 53rd St. Suite 337
Miami, FL 33166

The Application Checklist

The Application process for the Miami College of Design is intended to discern a beneficial and rewarding match between the candidates and the College’s unique learning environment. With this in mind, the application process consists of the following mandatory elements:

  1. Successful Completion of the On-line Application. The On-line Application Form asks for your identifying information and your educational background. You will also submit your portfolio and an essay (See Items 5 and 6 below) through the On-line Application Form, so have all your material ready before you start to fill out this form. Students under 18 years of age must have the consent of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s). If you are under 18 years of age, print out the Guardian Consent Form, have it signed by your guardian(s), and send it to the Office of Admissions.

  2. Transcript. Applicants must provide official transcripts of all secondary academic work through the most recent grading period. High school counselors may submit transcripts through email or through regular mail to the Office of Admissions.

  3. English Language Competency. Non-native speaking applicants must show proof of English Language competency. This includes a score of 60 on the TOEFL IBT or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) exams, or documentation of ESL diploma program completion. Send proof of your test score to the Office of Admissions.

  4. Letters of Recommendation. At least two letters are required and as many as four may be submitted. Recommendation letters should be written by teachers or professionals who have first-hand knowledge of your work and academic achievements and can comment on your potential as a Miami College of Design student. The letters of recommendation should be sent by the invited professionals directly to the Office of Admissions.

  5. Portfolio. The portfolio must include at least five examples of your best recent work, either assigned projects or self-directed explorations. The work should reflect the full range of your ideas, interests, experience and abilities in design and engineering. Most often, the content of your portfolio goes beyond your classroom assignments and reveals the breadth and depth of your accomplishments. Ideally, you will have had a chance to develop your portfolio over time.

    Work presented can be in any medium (including software, film, or video), in finished or sketch form. Your digital portfolio may include: code repositories, documents, pictures, videos, graphics, dioramas, notes, scribbles, multimedia presentations, blogs, spreadsheets, calculations, etc. Selected pages from a journal or sketchbook are recommended to demonstrate your research, thinking and investigation approach.

    As a learning-centric design institution, we want to know about your learning and growth process, how you got from point A to point B. We are particularly interested in your self reflections. What motivated you? What were your strategies when your designs didn’t work out as planned? What were you able to take away from a failed plan or prototype? Explanatory notes or documentation containing these reflections would be helpful to our appreciation of your work.

    The Miami College of Design offers a series of workshops on how to develop your personal portfolio. We suggest you take advantage of this resource, come meet the team, and ask your questions. Sign up for one of these sessions here.

    Portfolios must be submitted electronically (through GitHub, Google Docs, DropBox, or some other file-sharing mechanism).

  6. Essay. The essay is an opportunity for you to tell us about yourself, the things you do, and/or things that are important to you. Be creative. You can try storytelling, a shout out, a news article, a commentary, it’s up to you. We want to know you better, and we want to get a feel for your English-language writing skills. The essay should be no more than 1000 words.

  7. Application Fee. An application fee of $25 will be charged to process your application. Send a cashier's check or money order to:

    Integral Outsourcing Services LLC
    7959 NW 53rd St.
    Doral, FL, 33166-4653

    The application fee may be waived on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Office of Admissions.

  8. Personal Interview and Performance Assessment. After you have submitted all of the above items, applicants will be contacted to schedule a face-to-face in person or electronic admissions interview. During the interview, applicants will be asked to complete a writing and problem-solving exercise. Beforehand, applicants are encouraged to reach out to faculty and staff to gain an understanding of the school environment.

Important Dates

Acceptance by the College

The criteria for acceptance into the program are based on a multi-dimensional metric. This includes:

  • academic achievement;
  • quality of the applicant's portfolio and writing samples;
  • the interview;
  • the results of the performance assessment;
  • letters of recommendation;
  • Admissions Committee assessment of character, talent, and ambition.

Admissions decisions will be made on a rolling basis, generally within one month following the completion of all items on the Application Checklist and review by the Admissions Committee.

Upon acceptance, there are two documents which constitute a binding contract between the student and Miami College of Design: (1) the College Catalog, which students receive one week prior to enrollment; and (2) the Enrollment Agreement, containing your obligations with the College. Please read both documents carefully prior to signing the Enrollment Agreement.

Transfer of Credit Hours

Some credit hours may be evaluated and considered towards program completion. The applicant must present a transcript and catalog from the institution where the courses were completed. The institution must be accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency and the grade must be a “B” or higher. Students must complete at least 50% of their course work at Miami College of Design in order to receive a degree. Tuition will be prorated.

Students may wish to continue their training after graduation. While Miami College of Design is licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education, it is not accredited. Some or none of the course work completed at Miami College of Design may be transferable to other institutions. Therefore, the student must contact the institution s/he is transferring to as each institution has its own requirements regarding acceptance of transfer of credit hours. There is no guarantee of transfer of credit hours from one institution to another and specifically from Miami College of Design to any other post-secondary school or college.

Life Experience Credit

Miami College of Design accepts up to 15 credit hours of life experience. Applicants must select courses for which they seek life experience credit. For each course, applicants must show how their specific experience meets the objectives of that course. This is done by completing forms, provided by the school, and including examples of work, job descriptions, and/or testimonials from employers. The Life Experience Application Package is reviewed by the Admissions Officer. When complete, then the Application package is submitted to a Life Experience Review Committee. Tuition for courses accepted for Life Experience credit will be prorated.

Save