Master's in Transportation Systems and Design Course Descriptions

A Pass in this course means the student hasýsubmitted the thesis and the thesis has beenýapproved by the department. This is the finalýrequirement for graduation.

Course number: TRAN-700
Prerequisite: n/a

If we see our role as transportation designers toýbe designing a better world for humanity, then weýhad better know very well who we are designingýfor! This course will take the form of workshops,ýwhich teach students robust methodologies forýresearching for the information required and thenýgaining the best insights from their researchýdata. In turn this will significantly inform theýfinal project brief and ensure appropriateýsolutions.ýýIn addition to these workshops, the faculty memberýwill also provide support for the concurrentýstudio projects during the term to apply theýworkshop learnings appropriately.

Course number: TRAN-503A
Prerequisite: n/a

Following on from TRAN-503A in the first term,ýstudents will develop further skills in conductingýresearch relevant to their studio projects. Again,ýtheir faculty will also be available to help themýapply their enhanced research skills andýtechniques to their specific term projectsý(TRAN-554 and TRAN-531) to ensure great insights.

Course number: TRAN-553A
Prerequisite: n/a

Students will be required to work in teams forýcertain parts of, and maybe complete studio designýprojects. This reflects the reality ofýprofessional life as a designer. It also enablesýthe final outcomes of projects to have muchýgreater significance, value and complexity. Itýalso leverages the different strengths andýbackgrounds that each of our students brings toýthe program. ýýAs a student in our program, we are preparing youýto also be natural leaders in your professionalýlife - both as thought leaders and to enable youýto seize opportunities that you spot, whichýbenefit the projects, the departments or theýenterprises that you will be working with.ýýThat said, working in teams or taking the lead canýbe challenging and not comfortable for manyýaspiring designers. While our faculty, experiencedýteam-players and leaders, will always helpýstudents throughout their studio project work,ýthis course will take the form of three workshopsýover the term where specific experts will helpýstudents learn foundational skills in creativeýleadership and teamwork.

Course number: TRAN-506
Prerequisite: n/a

Throughout the program, students are encouraged toýregard their future, thought-leadership roles asýapplicable beyond traditional "design projects".ýThe design methodologies they will be shown can beýequally applied to creative strategies forýbusiness models and board-room issues.ýýThis course will be the first, short, spontaneousýcreative exercise where students are asked toýconsider a "hot topic" issue emerging somewhereýacross the transportation landscape. Taking on theýrole of competing consultant teams the studentsýwill be required to become conversant with theýsurrounding issues and recommend to the seniorýmanagement of the appropriate enterprise orýagency, smart and creative strategies forýmitigating the issue. The topic will beýdeliberately chosen to familiarize students withýthe workings of a part of the transportation worldýthat they may not be familiar with and yet is anýimportant part of global business.

Course number: TRAN-517
Prerequisite: n/a

A continuation of TRAN-517 (M2) Design StrategyýSprint #1, students will be thrown another topicalýissue to which they will develop recommendationsýfor strategic solutions. ýýThe topic will be quite different to the firstýDesign Strategy Sprint.

Course number: TRAN-567
Prerequisite: n/a

While visually communicating via pen and paper isýstill extremely valid, designers have access toýmany different digital tools with which to sketch,ýrender, visualize, design and present. Again, weýexpect our incoming students with diverseýbackgrounds to join the program with disparateýskills (and sometimes no familiarity) with theýdigital tools that designers prefer. As theyýdevelop successive studio projects, this courseýwill familiarize students with the softwareýappropriate to their specific work. As aýdepartment we keep a close eye on emerging digitalýtools and when appropriate, introduce them too.

Course number: TRAN-505A
Prerequisite: n/a

Continuing with their progress during TRAN-505Aý(M1) Digital Design Skills Part 1, students willýdevelop further ease with the digital skills thatýare appropriate for their project work. When aýparticular studio project calls for a specific,ýperhaps emerging, digital platform, specificýworkshops may be added to the curriculum.

Course number: TRAN-555A
Prerequisite: n/a

If and as required, evening or weekend, 0-Unitýworkshops may be provided in a timely way whenýstudents clearly need some deeper training inýsoftware tools to really enhance the outcomes ofýtheir studio projects.

Course number: TRAN-560
Prerequisite: n/a

Ideally students should be beginning to orientýthemselves to the program and perhaps beýassessing/reassessing where they see their careerýpaths starting upon graduation. This course willýhelp students build a picture of how to positionýand ready themselves for their desired transitionýinto professional life. They will be advised onýhow to consider desirable Thesis Project topicsýthat can provide a logical stepping-stone intoýtheir desired career opportunities. Linked to thisýtheir faculty will help them to consider the kindsýof internships that can be an additionalýstepping-stone and perhaps dove-tail with theirýThesis Project.

Course number: TRAN-646A
Prerequisite: n/a

Course number: TRAN-596
Prerequisite: n/a

Course number: TRAN-696
Prerequisite: n/a

Building upon the course TRAN-507 (M1)ýIntroduction to Future-casting and UX forýMobility, students will now engage in a one-termýproject that focuses on a specific aspect of theirýTRAN-554 Studio project. Students will exploreýdesign interactions/user experiences based onýprobable or plausible technologies and demonstrateýtheir ideas using low fidelity prototypes.

Course number: TRAN-530A
Prerequisite: n/a

Following on from the TRAN-530A (M2) InteractionýDesign for Mobility course, for this term,ýstudents will be required to develop anýinteraction or user-experience solution to a muchýdeeper level of execution. This should include aýhigher-fidelity, demonstrable working prototypeýfrom which meaningful feedback and validation canýbe given.

Course number: TRAN-531
Prerequisite: n/a

Course number: TRAN-590
Prerequisite: n/a

Course number: TRAN-690
Prerequisite: n/a

If we are truly designing transportation toýsupport the best human and environmentalýconditions for the future, then there are two keyýadditional areas of knowledge that tomorrow'sýtransportation design thought-leaders need:ý1. The understanding of timescale for projects weýwork on and therefore how to minimize the risk ofýsolutions-failure by trying to determine theýlikely characteristics of the future environmentýthat we are designing for.ý2. The understanding of what we mean by UserýExperience and Interaction Design. ýýThis course will explain to students, techniquesýfor creating plausible future scenarios relevantýto their work. In addition, the course willýintroduce students to important and specializedýapproaches to designing for experience andýrelationships between human beings and the devicesýand systems that they will participate in.ýýThis course will be seven weeks long and will beýdirectly relevant to future design studioýprojects.

Course number: TRAN-507
Prerequisite: n/a

This 0-credit lab grants recent alumni access toýcampus facilities and resources as needed toýcomplete your final projects and portfolio workýfrom the last semester. Access will be coordinatedýwith our facilities team in a safe and staggeredýschedule. Students will need to communicate withýtheir department a specific list of projects andýidentify the specific resources you need toýcomplete your work.

Course number: TRAN-692
Prerequisite: n/a

Not a specific course but a series of timelyýinterventions by their faculty, students will beýsupported in their research for both TRAN-620ýTransportation Systems Studio Part 3 and TRAN-531ý(M3) Interaction Design for Mobility Systems. Asýthe nature of the research for both these studiosýmight be more nuanced, students and their resultsýwill benefit from this support.

Course number: TRAN-575
Prerequisite: n/a

Building upon TRAN-508 (M1) StorytellingýFundamentals, students will continue to developýtheir abilities to present information, creativeýideas and design solutions clearly, succinctly andýmemorably. By the end of this term, studentsýshould feel confident in their ability to do thisýand through their own initiatives, develop theirýindividual presentation "style".

Course number: TRAN-558
Prerequisite: n/a

The ability of designers to convincingly presentýtheir solutions to wide-ranging audiences is asýimportant as the solutions themselves. The art ofýstorytelling is therefore a fundamental basis ofýour curriculum. By storytelling, we mean visualýnarratives - a blend of well-chosen visuals andýlogical verbal or written explanations that areýmeaningful and efficiently informative to variousýstakeholders. These audiences might not beýdesigners or even transportation experts, but theyýwill often be very influential in theýdecision-making processes required to further theýproject. This is true whether it is convincingýfaculty to accept the validity of your work orýwhether it is to persuade an investor to fund yourýinnovation.ýýBecause we welcome design students into theýprogram with a variety of disciplinaryýbackgrounds, we recognize that our first-termýstudents can have a wide variation of sketchingýand drawing skills. Therefore, the instructors ofýthis course are ready to work with all skillýlevels to ensure that each student gainsýconfidence in and improves their visualýcommunication abilities as a prelude to producingýcompelling presentations - the latter a standardýdepartment method of reviewing students' projectýwork.

Course number: TRAN-508
Prerequisite: n/a

Course number: TRAN-695
Prerequisite: n/a

Course number: TRAN-595
Prerequisite: n/a

As a department, we are very clear that we viewýtransportation at the level of systems. Systemsýrequire a more complex level of thinking thanýobjects or products. "Systems Thinking" can meanýmany different things to different disciplines.ýThis series of workshops with systems experts willýhelp students understand different aspects ofýworking with systems that are appropriate toýtransportation designers.

Course number: TRAN-509
Prerequisite: n/a

Psuedo course block

Course number: TRAN-521.PC
Prerequisite: n/a

Pseudo course block

Course number: TRAN-523.PC
Prerequisite: n/a

Thesis continuation is the vehicle by whichýstudents who have completed all their requiredýcurricular courses have access to program facultyýfor guidance towards finalizing their ThesisýReport. The submission of a final Thesis Report,ýwhich has been reviewed by the department headýand the Thesis Faculty Panel and deemedýsatisfactory according to the departmentýguidelines, is a requirement for the granting ofýthe Master of Science Degree.

Course number: TRAN-699
Prerequisite: n/a