Abstract: There is little debate that the demands of professional design practice and design research today are significantly different from the 20th century when modern graphic and industrial design programs first entered liberal arts colleges and universities. Currently, there is much academic discourse regarding the new outcomes for which today’s designers are accountable under an ongoing shift in the nature of professional practice. However, design cannot fully address a new practice paradigm if design educators do not also rethink a persistent curriculum paradigm from the industrial era. This article argues that new course outlines alone are insufficient in overcoming the implicit messages about design practice delivered through the historical structure and pedagogy of college and university design programs.