Having completed undergrad at Parsons smack in the middle of New York City, literally under the establishment of “The New School” - I always seemed to crave the super traditional, “Old-school”-institution feel. Don’t get me wrong - I loved Parsons and would opt for it again but that being said I finally got my fill of what it means to be “on campus”.

Aside from being an incredibly prestigious and historic institution, the quality of faculty at Yale is exemplary and during my short time in New Haven, I managed to learn so much from them. The faculty director for my program was Rodrigo Canales and he was joined by James Baron, Daylian Cain, Zoe Chance, and Emma Seppälä.

Insights for anyone coming from a design background looking to expand on their leadership and managerial skills:

1. The curriculum is designed to accomplish two goals: first, to equip creative leaders to meet the challenges of management; and second, to give participants the skills and perspectives they need to reach the next levels in their careers.

2. Instead of teaching management topics in separate, single-subject courses, Yale’s faculty teach an integrated curriculum providing business frameworks and concepts in a relevant real-world context.

3. The program is created for design industry folks to broaden their management skills to complement their creative abilities in order to become more well-rounded senior leads.

4. Some of the deeper course load included strategic thinking to tackle high-impact opportunities, driving innovation in large-scale organizations, and influencing/negotiating with teams & clients. The “soft” skills that inform big change at organizations include organizational change, motivation, and empathy - all of which are addressed within the curriculum.

5. You meet people from all over the industry! While some folks had a design background, there was a decent proportion that did not. The serendipitously hybrid nature of the course (thanks covid!) lent itself well to connections all over the country.

Although I enjoyed several parts of the program, a big highlight for me was Emma Seppälä’s lectures on emotional intelligence as well as Daylian Cain’s sessions on behavioral economics and corporate governance.

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