In addition to fulfilling   General Education requirements and other degree requirements, undergraduate students majoring in graphic design must complete the following requirements (85–87 credits):

Please Note: All students are expected to maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 to remain in good academic standing. All required studio arts classes must be completed with a grade of C or higher in order to advance within the degree. Any required studio arts grade of C- or below must be repeated.

Foundation Courses: 16-17 credits

VIS 1050/ComX: 2 credits or VIS 2150/Key Class: 1 credit
VIS 1060/Foundation Drawing: 3 credits
VIS 1070/Extended Media: 3 credits
VIS 1080/Visual Language: 3 credits
VIS 1260/3-D Processes: 3 credits
VIS 1330/Lens and Time: 3 credits

Art History Courses: 12 credits

ARH 1020/History of Art Survey II: 3 credits
ARH 1021/History of Art Survey II Discussion: 1 credit
ARH —/One course in the history of art before 1800 (lower-level)
ARH 3405/Design History and Theory: 1750–Today: 4 credits or  
DES 3300/History of Graphic Design Survey: 4 credits

Graphic Design Studio Courses: 27 credits

DES 2450/Digital Media for Designers I: 3 credits
DES 2460/Digital Media for Designers II: 3 credits
DES 2500/Word and Image I: 3 credits
DES 2600/Word and Image II: 3 credits
DES 3200/Advanced Typography: 3 credits
DES 3510/Word and Image III: 3 credits
DES 3610/Word and Image IV: 3 credits
DES 4100/Community Design: 3 credits *Note:  As of Fall 2025, new students entering the curriculum will be required to take DES3500/Junior Seminar and DES3610/Word and Image IV as pre-requisites. 
DES —/Graphic design elective: 3 credits

Visual Arts Studio Electives: 18 credits 

Graphic Design Theory Elective: 3–4 credits

One of the following courses:
ARH 3285/Design and Culture: 4 credits
DES 3240/Design Issues: 3 credits
NME 3265/Social Design: 3 credits
NME3050/Information Aesthetics: 3 credits

Synthesis Courses: 9 credits

DES 3550/Junior Seminar: 3 credits
DES 4990/Senior Project I: 3 credits
DES 4991/Senior Project II: 3 credits

Mid-Program Review

Students who choose to major in graphic design are required to complete a mid-program review. Students will be notified by the department with specific guidelines on the review process and timeline. Students who do not successfully pass the review are encouraged to work with the School of Art+Design administration and faculty to find another major that will better fit their educational goals.

Internship Credits

Students majoring in graphic design may count a maximum of 4 hours of internship credit toward graduation.

 

Students are also expected to abide by the policies and procedures laid out in the A+D Student Handbook.