SCAD Will Offer the First Master’s Degrees in Sneaker Design Starting This Fall

The sneaker business is undoubtedly booming right now, and Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) is looking to help train the market’s next generation of design talent.

After launching a dedicated sneaker design program last year, the university announced that starting in the 2023/24 school year, it will offer the world’s first Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in sneaker design through the SCAD School of Fashion.

“Sneaker culture has blown up,” said SCAD alumnus Quintin Williams, the founder of Q4 Sports who helped launch the SNKR+ program. “It’s everywhere now, and people can’t get enough of it. And as you see it continue to climb, by 2026 you’re talking about a $130 billion industry.”

SCAD initially established a sneaker design minor in April 2022, based on student interest and alumni success in the industry. The minor is designed to further enhance professional credentials and propel graduates to the top of the growing, lucrative field. For the 2022/23 school year, it consisted of five courses designed to develop students’ knowledge and design skills in sketching, rendering, concept development, digital prototyping and branding for luxury and high-performance sneakers. 

Williams served as an adjunct professor with the program last year, teaching students in both the Savannah and Atlanta campuses, through in-person and virtual learning environments.

In a conversation with FN this spring, he recalled that as an industrial design major at SCAD, he had a strong interest in entering the footwear industry but had limited access to the field. “I had no mentors around me that had been in that world or knew anything about it,” Williams said. “The Reeboks and Nikes of the world were coming to the campus to see who had the talent and who wanted to do footwear, but inside of the industrial design program, there wasn’t expertise in this very niche space.”

However, now the demand for design talent is at an all-time high.

In its graduate-level program, SCAD students will master the sneaker industry’s specialized vocabulary, advanced design principles, innovative materials and complex manufacturing processes. And through a strong foundation of business coursework, they will be prepared to launch their own sneaker brands as entrepreneurs or step into leadership roles at elite sneaker design companies.

Additionally, students will have the opportunity to participate in master classes, studio visits and portfolio reviews with CEOs, brand founders and fellow sneakers, as part of university’s SCADStyle series. And they can learn to create iconic runway looks and editorial-worthy photo shoots as part of the School of Fashion’s collaborative runway show.