Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and MICA reimagine Design Leadership MA/MBA program with support from the Alix Foundation

The Alix Foundation is committing $1 million to Johns Hopkins Carey Business School to support the school’s Design Leadership MA/MBA dual degree program with the Maryland Institute College of Art, also known as MICA.

Support from the Alix Foundation will provide students with direct scholarship funding over the next five years, as well as increase opportunities for experiential learning.

Half of the Alix Foundation’s $1 million gift will directly offset the cost to attend, including tuition, materials, fees, and transportation, with specific support for all qualified students. Carey Business School is matching the gift with an additional $500,000 of tuition remission, to amplify the positive impact and support of the MA/MBA program.

The remaining $500,000 of the Alix Foundation gift will be used to enhance the MA/MBA student experience and experiential learning including Design for America, in-person residencies, employer visits, and other special events.

The Design Leadership MA/MBA program trains students to find creative approaches to strategic decision-making along with skills to manage complex challenges and business opportunities. Graduates earn a Master of Art in Design Leadership from MICA and a Master of Business Administration from Carey Business School. The Design Leadership MA/MBA is the only degree program of its kind to simultaneously meld business education from an academic research institution with the creativity of a premier art and design school. Graduates of the program have gone on to succeed with companies such as Deloitte, EY, frog, Google, IBM, IDEO, Fidelity, and JP Morgan Chase.

“I’m excited for the opportunities the Alix Foundation gift will bring,” said Alex Triantis, dean of the Carey Business School. “We started the Design Leadership collaboration more than 10 years ago because leaders were going to need the program’s insights and experiences to champion the next generation of business. The Alix Foundation gift will open this unique program to more students and create new options for experiential learning.”

“I am grateful for my MA/MBA in Design Leadership cohort, colleagues, professors, and community,” said Christine Alix, an Alix Foundation board member and a 2019 MA/MBA graduate. “The Alix Foundation is proud to support students pursuing this unique dual degree, at the intersection of business and design.”

To further enhance the innovative degree program, the reimagined curriculum is now offering students greater flexibility. Students can complete both degrees online from anywhere. Students can also focus their business courses on any of eight specialized areas: Business Analytics and Risk Management; Digital Marketing; Entrepreneurial Marketing; Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Technology; Financial Management; Health Care Management, Innovation, and Technology; Investments; and Public or Private Sector Leadership.

“MICA is grateful to the Alix Foundation for their generosity,” said David Gracyalny, vice provost and academic lead for the Design Leadership program at MICA. “Since 2012, the Design Leadership program has been attracting students who see the program’s novel curriculum as a pathway to careers leading transformation and human-centered innovation. As the program moves into its second decade this meaningful gift is an endorsement of the program’s unique strengths and the alumni who have leveraged their time with MICA and Carey to steer change across a variety of enterprises.”

Students can apply to the Design Leadership MA/MBA through the Carey Business School website.