Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art (Graphic Design)
Website: https://twu.edu/visual-arts/undergraduate-programs/graphic-design/
Our Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design will prepare you for a career in visual communications. Our program fosters a community of learners, both in and outside of the classroom. We guide you to grow with your peers through critique and offer portfolio-building opportunities through collaboration with professionals. Through a rigorous investigation of design concepts, typography, image-making, critical thinking, process, client projects, and internships you will develop a wide range of marketable skills.
Marketable Skills
Defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 60x30 Strategic Plan as, "Those skills valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skills areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities."
- Typography & Page Design: Master the aesthetics and function of typography and apply it to interactive, electronic, and printed page design.
- Updating and Using Relevant Computer Skills: Build proficiency in current industry-standard software for 2D, 3D, and 4D design and imaging. Use 2D and 3D hardware for photographing, scanning, and printing portfolio/exhibition quality pieces.
- Professional Experience: Through client projects, internships, and professional practices develop professional graphic design experience, a marketable portfolio, and job-search skills
- Ideation & Visualization: Develop a number of relevant ideas, expressed in verbal and visual language, about a topic for a client/intended audience.
- Networking: Make graphic design industry and community connections through client projects, field trips, and workshops.
- Develop Objectives and Strategies: Establish long-range objectives and specify strategies for graduate school application and/or success in the graphic design industry.
- Service Orientation: Through Design Studio and client projects, engage in socially responsible and community-focused design that contributes to the common good.
Degree Requirements
Total Semester Credit Hours (SCH): 120
Major: 78 SCH
Program Code: ART.BFA; CIP Code: 50.0701.00
Texas Core Curriculum
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | 3 |
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | 3 |
| Mathematics | 3 | |
| Life & Physical Sciences | 6 | |
| Language, Philosophy, & Culture | 3 | |
| Creative Arts | 3 | |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | 3 |
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | 3 |
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | 3 |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences | 3 | |
| CAO: Women's Studies | 3 | |
| CAO: First Year Seminar, Wellness or Mathematics | 3 | |
| Total SCHs | 42 | |
Courses Required for Major
Department Core
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| Students who have not taken a Global Perspectives course, will either need to take one in this section, or will need to add 3 hours to the overall degree and take one in another department. | ||
| Art History Foundation (12 SCH) | ||
| ART 2423 | World Art History I | 3 |
| ART 2433 | World Art History II | 3 |
| ART 3053 | Global Perspectives in Art | 3 |
| or ART 3343 | Women in the Visual Arts | |
| ART 3173 | Contemporary Issues in Art | 3 |
| Studio Art Foundation (12 SCH) | ||
| ART 1203 | 2D Foundations | 3 |
| ART 1213 | 3D Foundations | 3 |
| ART 1303 | Drawing Foundations | 3 |
| ART 2223 | Digital Art Foundations | 3 |
| Introductory Electives - Choose 9 SCH | 9 | |
| Introduction to Painting | ||
| Introduction to Photography | ||
| Introduction to Graphic Design | ||
| Introduction to Sculpture | ||
| Introduction to Ceramics | ||
| Principles of Art Education | ||
| Total SCHs | 33 | |
Advanced Studies
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| (Must pass Portfolio Review after 15 credits in Advanced Studies listed below) | ||
| ART 2233 | Design Concepts | 3 |
| ART 3103 | History of Graphic Design | 3 |
| ART 3243 | Fundamentals of Type and Image | 3 |
| ART 3293 | Design I: Identity and Symbols | 3 |
| ART 4253 | Design II: Publication Design | 3 |
| ART 4283 | Design III: Interactive Design | 3 |
| ART 4293 | Design IV: Advertising Design | 3 |
| ART 4363 | Community-Focused Design Studio | 3 |
| ART 4953 | Internship | 3 |
| ART Electives (3000 and 4000 levels) | 9 | |
| Total SCHs | 36 | |
Capstone
| Code | Title | SCHs |
|---|---|---|
| ART 3393 | Professional Practices for Visual Arts | 3 |
| ART 3903 | Professional Writing for Visual Arts | 3 |
| ART 4993 | BFA Exhibition | 3 |
| Total SCHs | 9 | |
Recommended Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | TCCN | SCHs | |
| ART 1203 | 2D Foundations | ARTS 1311 | 3 |
| ART 1303 | Drawing Foundations | ARTS 1316 | 3 |
| UNIV 1231 | Learning Frameworks: The First Year Experience | EDUC 1100, EDUC 1200, EDUC 1300 | 1 |
| ENG 1013 | Composition I | ENGL 1301 | 3 |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 | HIST 1301 | 3 |
| Wellness CAO Core | 2 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ART 1213 | 3D Foundations | ARTS 1312 | 3 |
| ART 2223 | Digital Art Foundations | ARTS 2348 | 3 |
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | ENGL 1302 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | HIST 1302 | 3 |
| Social/Behavioral Science Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| ART Introductory Elective | 3 | ||
| ART 2233 | Design Concepts | 3 | |
| ART 2423 | World Art History I | ART 1303 | 3 |
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | GOVT 2305 | 3 |
| Mathematics Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ART Introductory Elective | 3 | ||
| ART 2433 | World Art History II | ART 1304 | 3 |
| ART 3243 | Fundamentals of Type and Image | 3 | |
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | GOVT 2306 | 3 |
| Creative Arts Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| ART Introductory Elective | 3 | ||
| ART 3293 | Design I: Identity and Symbols | 3 | |
| ART 3903 | Professional Writing for Visual Arts | 3 | |
| Language, Philosophy and Culture Core | 3 | ||
| Life and Physical Science Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ART Elective 3000 or 4000 level | 3 | ||
| ART 3053
or 3343 | Global Perspectives in Art or Women in the Visual Arts |
3 | |
| ART 3103 | History of Graphic Design | 3 | |
| ART 4283 | Design III: Interactive Design | 3 | |
| Life and Physical Science Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| ART 3173 | Contemporary Issues in Art | 3 | |
| ART 3393 | Professional Practices for Visual Arts | 3 | |
| ART 4253 | Design II: Publication Design | 3 | |
| ART 4363 | Community-Focused Design Studio | 3 | |
| Component Area Option (Multicultural Women's Studies) | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ART 4293 | Design IV: Advertising Design | 3 | |
| ART 4953 | Internship | 3 | |
| ART 4993 | BFA Exhibition | 3 | |
| ART Elective 3000 or 4000 level | 3 | ||
| ART Elective 3000 or 4000 level | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Total SCHs: | 120 | ||
