The Department of Design was founded in 1961. During that period of its existence studies at the Department of Design were carried out under different political, economic and cultural conditions. Its activity had an impact on the formation of design as an independent field of art and science in Lithuania. Also, it was conducive to appearance of new specialities, new study programmes and departments at Vilnius Academy of Arts (the Departments of Graphic Design, Interior Design, Design Management).

The present-day Department of Design seeks to create culture of design on the basis of traditions and new ideas, new research methods, constant discussions about all the aspects of design – social, cultural, economic, ecological or technological, as well as the project activity based on artistic/scientific investigations, tutorials, and a qualified and critical assessment.

The Department of Design that organises Master’s design study programmes (621W20001) belongs to the Faculty of the Higher Studies of VAA whose strategic objective is to strengthen the role of artistic/scientific investigations during the study process, to train artists-researchers who could be able to create, interpret and develop investigations based on art practice, as well as to train scientists who would be able to carry out scientific research and work related to a social and cultural development.

The Department of Design prepares design specialists of the first (Bachelor’s) and the second (Master’s) cycle of university studies. The Master’s design programme (621W20001) has been carried out since 1995.

The Department of Design is constantly changing, renewing itself, analysing and assessing local and international trends and challenges in design development. It seeks to form an interdisciplinary attitude towards both the speciality of a designer and different industries and initiatives directed towards solving human problems and to provide a wide field to various design activities towards which both the students and lecturers could direct themselves and find a definition of their personal