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The Pratt Institute offers a BFA in Communications Design—an interdisciplinary program focusing on advertising, illustration, and graphic design (you choose to focus on one of the three areas). Alumni praise the program for preparing them for careers in their fields and for its innovative and boundary-pushing focus. The school's four-year BFA program in Communication Design (a graphic design equivalent) has placed alumni at Google, Facebook, and New York Magazine, and has also produced a healthy crop of entrepreneurs and freelancers. Graphic designers are involved in nearly everything we look at, watch, or read, from the designs on books, to the way websites navigate, to halftime commercials, to logos on business cards.
Pasadena City College
Alumni work at leading companies such as Apple, GAP, Google, HGTV, Instagram, Meta (formerly Facebook), and Zillow. Some have started their own companies including Matchstic Media, Morris Creative, Nathanna Design, Old City Mailroom, Robin Easter Design, and many others. BFA students will complete several design studio courses, Professional Practice, Independent Study, Advanced Projects I-II, the Graphic Design Portfolio course and the Senior Degree Project. Though optional, the MassArt Graphic Design Internship, worth three credits, is highly recommended. The most advanced level of the three, this option consists of advanced courses in design systems. BA students will complete the Senior Portfolio/Exhibition to graduate, while MA and MFA students will complete a Thesis or Final Project to graduate.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Online Graphic Design Degrees
Auburn GDES graduates go on to secure positions with advertising agencies, publishers, design studios, magazines, marketing firms, web design companies, and more. They work in areas such as branding and packaging, illustration, environmental graphics, web design and development, interactive media, and exhibition design, among others. For undergraduates, the school has a Graphic Design BS Program that may be completed in 20 months on-campus or 29 months online. Students in this program will develop skills in print publishing and interface design, as well as advertising, branding, and integration.
Design History and Theory
The program can be divided into package design, editorial design, information graphics, corporate identity, publication design, CD packaging, book jacket design, environmental design and website design. Other program highlights include intensive one-week workshops, exhibitions that are routinely covered by NBC, CBS. ABC, and CNN, competitions, enrollment in the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) and the Art Directors Club—two of the most prestigious design organizations in the country, industry review, and internships. It’s also important to consider the balance between technical skills and conceptual learning. A good graphic design program should encourage interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches to its graphic design students.
Today, PSU serves nearly 24,000 students, with more than 2,700 students in the College of Arts, making it the largest art school in the Pacific Northwest. The College of Arts houses the Schools of Art + Design, Architecture, Film, and Music & Theater. Portland State University offers more than 200 degree programs in nine colleges and schools. Founded in 1885 as the Arizona Territorial Normal School, ASU serves more than 134,500 undergraduate and graduate students across four campuses.
Located on the banks of the San Marcos River, Texas State University has been a part of the Texas State University System since 1911. The OSU Visual Communication Design BSD Program begins with the Interdisciplinary Foundation Year consisting of 18 credit hours of coursework. During this time, students will focus on developing drawing skills, mastering design software tools, and typography. Course examples for the sophomore, junior and senior years include Intermediate Vis Com Design, Materials + Processes for Visual Communication Design, Collaborative Design, Professional Practices, Advanced Vis Com Design, Design Seminar for Visual Communication Design, and Design Research.
The schools below may not offer all types of graphic design degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list. To get admitted to more competitive programs, you'll often need a strong art and design portfolio. They have a unique focus on "experience design," or immersive, multimedia design experiences. If this interests you, CCS is the place to go, as programs focused on experience design are few and far between.
Hofstra University
Savannah College of Art and Design is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Established in 1947 as Sacramento State College, California State University, Sacramento opened with 235 students. Today, Sacramento State serves more than 31,000 students making it the sixth largest of the 23-campus California State University System. California State University, Sacramento is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). California State Polytechnic University, Pomona opened in 1938 as the Voorhis Unit of California State Polytechnic College. One of the two polytechnics in the California State University System, Cal Poly Pomona offers undergraduate degrees in nearly 100 majors, close to 40 master’s degrees, 13 teaching credentials, and one doctorate.
Miami University – Oxford
The School of Art at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) has a Graphic Design Program with BFA and MFA options. Program features for both pathways include small, critique-based classes, communal studios with 24 hour access, mentoring, and access to School of Art facilities and labs. Courses for the programs are taught by industry professionals with years of experience. The Yale SoA Graphic Design Program consists of lectures, presentations, workshops, and exhibitions, along with immersive studio work group thesis meetings, and one-on-one sessions with editing and writing tutors.
Program features include courses taught by industry professionals, seminars, and the GDMA Workshop, which provides the opportunity to create and exhibit a self-directed design project and a professional portfolio. Course highlights include Anatomy & the Human Figure, Figurative Interpretation & Personal Voice, Illustration Markets and Promotion, Illustration with Digital Media, Motion-Based Illustration, New Media Illustration, Object & World Building, Printmaking, and the Illustration Thesis. For the BFA program, approximately two-thirds of the coursework focuses on “the creation and study of the visual arts,” with the remainder in general studies. Because of the greater emphasis on upper-level studio courses, the BFA allows majors the opportunity to build greater expertise in a given area of the field.
The World's 25 Best Design Schools - Business Insider
The World's 25 Best Design Schools.
Posted: Fri, 23 Nov 2012 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The Tempe campus serves 51,585 students, making it the largest campus in the ASU system. The BFA is a pre-professional degree program encompassing typography, image creation/manipulation, interaction design and 3-D design that is intended to prepare students for employment in the field of design. During the senior year, BFA Design students undertake a capstone design project and show their work in a public exhibition at the Visual Arts Center. The BFA provides “a comprehensive education in design principles, applications, theories, history, and practice,” says the school.
To help you find a top graphic design program and school that fits your needs and academic goals, we’ve compiled a list of the best graphic design programs and schools in each state. Visual Communication is about crafting compelling visual narratives, while Color Theory delves into the emotional impact of colors in visual communication. Typography covers text aesthetics and readability, and Layout and Composition focus on arranging visual elements for balance and clarity. These principles are the foundation of effective graphic design programs, enabling graphic designers to convey messages, employ color meaningfully, select typefaces, and create well-structured layouts. Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) has a Communication Design Program with BFA and Certificate options.
As a Bachelor of Arts program, as opposed to a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Wayne State's degree helps you cultivate not just expertise in art and design but also a firm grounding in the breadth of liberal arts and sciences. Every semester, you'll take at least one general education course in addition to major courses like Advanced Typography and Animation, Design, and Web Design for Graphic Design. Wayne State boasts an impressive 99.8% placement rate; nearly every recent graduate is employed or enrolled in graduate school. This tells you that your investment of time and money is likely to pay dividends in helping you reach the next phase of your career and/or education.
KCAI offers a BFA in Graphic Design Program that balances “proficiency in software with essential hand skills, such as drawing, painting, collage, model making and experimental processes,” says the school. Course highlights include 3D Modeling and Motion, Drawing and Color, Network Media, Special Topics in Interactivity and Games, Special Topics in Visual Communication and Image, Word + Image, and Video. Founded in 1885, Arizona State University (ASU) serves more than 110,000 students across five campuses and more than 45,000 on one additional campus. The Tempe campus serves more than 53,000 students, making it the largest campus in the ASU system and one of the largest in the U.S.
School of Design, which offers a BS in Communication Design and a Master of Design (MDes). The five-year Communication Design BS provides opportunities to develop solid, marketable skills through several required co-op experiences. Three concentrations are available including Graphic Design, Interaction Design, and Motion Design. Courses for the WashU Communication Design Program are supplemented by seminars and readings.
The CCA Graphic Design BFA begins with the First Year Experience where students explore a range of techniques, tools, and materials, and participate in studio projects and critiques. Course examples for this 120 credit hour program include Advanced Interactive, Typography 1-3, Graphic Design Tools, 2D, 3D, and, and Professional Practice Workshop. Yale SoA Graphic Design graduates are prepared to seek positions at advertising agencies, print and online publishing companies, design firms, manufacturing companies, computer systems design, web design studios, marketing companies, and public relations firms, among others. Syracuse University (SU) established some of the nation’s earliest architecture and fine arts programs.
