Life Design Center

Design Your Life at the College of Charleston

Whether you're just beginning your college journey or preparing for your next chapter after graduation, Life Design gives you the tools, coaching, and community to turn uncertainty into opportunity and dreams into action. At the College of Charleston, we're one of the first universities in the Southeast to offer a campus-wide Life Design program, inspired by Stanford University's groundbreaking Designing Your Life framework.

What Is Life Design? Life Design is a hands-on, creative approach to building a life you love.

We ask "What do you want your life to look like?" Through proven design-thinking tools, you'll explore your interests, test ideas through real-world experiences, and create multiple visions for your future. Along the way, you'll gain confidence, clarity, and skills that last long after graduation.

What Makes Us Different

  • Design My Charleston—A first-year opportunity that helps you design your college journey with intention.
  • Life Launch: Design My Life—Advanced workshops and coaching for juniors, seniors, and graduate students mapping their next steps.
  • One-on-One Coaching—Work directly with certified Life Design coaches to navigate challenges and explore opportunities.
  • Life Design Experiences—From hands-on labs to prototyping projects, you'll test ideas in the real world to find out what you like and even what you don't.
  • Life Design Circles—Small, mentor-led groups focused on support, wellbeing, leadership, and personal growth.
  • Hot Topic Talks, On Demand Micro-Modules, and Workshops—Quick, engaging sessions that give you practical tools, fresh insights, and inspiration exactly when you need them.
  • The Life Design Podcast—Real talk with students, coaches, and alumni about figuring out life, one design step at a time.

Your Future, By Design

Wherever you're headed—Wall Street, a nonprofit, a startup, or the other side of the world—you'll have a toolkit for navigating change, setbacks, and opportunity.

At the College of Charleston, you won't just prepare for a career. You'll design a life that's bold, meaningful, and uniquely yours where your future isn't left to chance. It's designed.

How You'll Experience Life Design at The College of Charleston

At many schools, support is something you find after you run into challenges. At the College, Life Design is woven into your experience from day one.

Here, you level up your degree. You gain the clarity, resilience, and confidence to thrive in college, career, and life.