Students
Students come to the Parsons MS SDM program from all over the world. Their experience combines studios, seminars, networking, events, symposia, and more. This page will inform you about student projects like First Year Studio and Second Year Studio, student resources, and other opportunities.
Cooperating Against Carbon – 2025
Cooperating Against Carbon (CAC) is an initiative designed to help small residential co-ops in New York City reduce their carbon emissions and meet Local Law 97 requirements. The project focuses on three pillars: building community connections through peer learning and building tours; amplifying voices by creating accessible resources and simplified tools; and advocating for policy changes to address electrical infrastructure barriers. CAC aims to bridge the gap between NYC’s climate goals and the practical challenges facing small co-ops through collaborative learning, resource sharing, and community support, helping buildings transition to low-carbon operations while improving residents’ quality of life. Studio Instructor…
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Evolution lab / LymeLnk – 2025
evolution lab empowers organizations with human-centered design, rooted in biomimicry, to scale both financial and societal value. We bridge the gap between design thinking and actionable strategy, nature our guiding inspiration for growing organizations organically—just like living systems do. Our methodology is three stages: anchoring roots (internal growth,) structuring the stem (organizational resilience), and blooming, over & over (scalable impact). Inspired by the innovation of the natural world, we customize strategic co-design for organizational needs, before educating, embedding & enabling them to thrive, not survive. Our belief is simple: you don’t have to choose between profit and purpose, but their…
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Ease – 2025
A digital platform that helps international students in the US navigate housing and transition to a new life abroad, with ease. We focus on offering a personalised user experience that aligns with their needs through a clear, simple, and stress-free experience. Ease guides international students through every step — from preparing for financial planning and budgeting in advance to feeling settled in their new home. Our goal is to help international students feel empowered, informed, and welcomed from day one, because moving abroad should feel like an exciting new chapter, not a confusing process. Studio Instructor Juanli Carrion Designers Dave…
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Design PlayLab – 2025
Design PlayLab focuses on creating a modular, gamified framework that embeds play into the design process itself, rather than just in the outcomes. Designed for use in community co-design sessions, the toolkit reimagines strategic design methods as simple, low-barrier games. Using the appreciative inquiry method, the approach has its own adaptable game structure using basic tools like cards, boards, and drawing surfaces to foster reflection, imagination, and collaboration. By prioritizing playable processes, this approach encourages deeper engagement, creative problem-solving, and more inclusive participation, helping teams and communities unlock insight through curiosity and iteration to enhance community social resilience levels. Studio…
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Ethical Transition Strategies – 2025
Ethical Transition Strategies is a structured approach for designers working on social and community-engaged projects who want to exit responsibly and ensure impact is sustained. Too often, transitions are rushed, unclear, or overlooked—leaving communities, clients, or partners without the support or knowledge needed to carry the work forward. This framework helps designers plan thoughtful transitions by centering the people inheriting the project. It breaks the transition process into clear phases, each with milestones, and is grounded in four core dimensions of sustainability: leadership, financial, relational, and momentum. These tools support alignment between all parties and encourage shared decision-making. Designed for…
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Roots – 2025
Roots is a play-based social impact tool designed to support multilingual K–12 students and their families through storytelling, emotional expression, and co-play. Rooted in the belief that play is a universal language, it fosters self-advocacy, connection, and belonging through a thoughtfully designed card deck and interactive prompts. Co-designed with families and experts, Roots centers emotional wellbeing, social-emotional learning, and cultural inclusion. It empowers children and caregivers to explore emotions, express themselves across and beyond languages, and build stronger relationships, playfully and meaningfully. Studio Instructor Rhea Alexander Designers Armağan Birsel Cağla Yildirim
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CareSync – 2025
CareSync is a personalised health assistant designed to streamline care coordination and daily life management for individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and their caregivers. Through smart reminders, voice-assisted support, and seamless caregiver collaboration, CareSync empowers users to foster independence while reducing caregiver burden. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a condition characterised by changes in cognitive functioning beyond those expected for a person’s age, but which are not severe enough to be described as dementia. Healthcare services for individuals with MCI are currently fragmented, often prioritising immediate needs like medication reminders rather than fostering long-term independence. As a result, caregivers…
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The Cove – 2025
The Cove is India’s first wellness space designed to help individuals recover, reset, and restore their mind and body through expert-guided experiences. At its core is Contrast Water Therapy – leveraging sauna, ice baths, and breathwork – inspired by the science of hormesis and modern biohacking. These practices are proven to strengthen the body’s resilience, regulate the nervous system, and promote long-term vitality. To make the experience fully immersive, The Cove integrates sound, scent, and tactile elements, creating a multi-sensory environment that fosters deep restoration. Built for high-performing individuals navigating fast-paced urban lives, The Cove is committed to supporting longevity…
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KINDSHIP – 2025
Kindship is a proactive planning tool designed to support Hispanic families in New York City at risk of separation. Through a tech-assisted platform, it helps families identify trusted caregivers, navigate difficult but necessary conversations, document plans, and share access in case of emergencies. We meet families where they are—at schools, community-based organizations, and in trusted spaces—and communicate in-language and in-culture to ensure clarity and respect. By making legal, logistical, and emotional preparation accessible and relevant, Kindship aims to preserve bonds, reduce child welfare involvement, prevent trauma, and empower families with agency over their futures. Studio Instructor Rhea Alexander Designers Carlos…
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GYLD – 2025
In response to fashion’s environmental crisis, GYLD curates high-impact, immersive pop-up experiences that spotlight biomaterial innovation and connect material innovators, designers, and fashion consumers. Each activation transforms space into a living narrative—where craft, storytelling, and material experimentation converge. Visitors engage with installations, artist talks, and limited-edition product drops that showcase desirable alternatives to extractive fashion systems. In doing so, GYLD cultivates demand for biomaterial-based products through a business model that is intentionally lean, adaptive, and designed to scale. Inspired by historic artisan guilds, GYLD seeks to foster a community rooted in collaboration, craftsmanship, and responsible design. Our mission is to…
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