Design Studies (B.A.)
Students earning a B.A. in Design Studies degree will gain both a breadth of knowledge in design fields as well as the depth of knowledge in one of our required specializations (minors).
Student will complete 120 credits including: 36 credits of VIS core courses of (in common with the GMD, FD, and ID core), 18-21 credits of discipline specific course and the remainder of the liberal arts core. The program will fully meet the university requirements. Students can further specialize their degree with a second minor
Degree Requirements - Design Studies
Liberal Arts Core Requirements
See the
Liberal Arts Core for details.
Design Studies Core
To fulfill the requirements of the major, all students in this program will take the following coursework in a sequence determined in collaboration with an advisor. Some courses also satisfy
Liberal Arts Core Requirements.
Major Electives
Design History
Choose one (1) Design History from the following:
| AH 102 | Introduction to Art History: Renaissance to Modern * | 3 |
| OR | |
| FD 361 | Survey of Fashion | 3 |
| OR | |
| GMD 301 | History of Graphic Design | 3 |
| OR | |
| ID 351 | History of Interiors II | |
Applied Research Project
Choose one (1) Applied Research course from the following:
Internship
Select an internship in a related design field:
Approved Minor
Students must also choose one of the following required minors:
Sample Degree Plan - Design Studies
Year One — Fall
EN 101: WR core course
TRS 100: TRS core course
VIS 112: FPA core course
Year One — Spring
| EN 102 | Composition II * | 3 |
| PH 100 | Exploring Philosophy * | 3 |
| VIS 111 | Intro to Color and Design * | 3 |
| VIS 121 | Intro to Digital Tools | 3 |
| | Social Science (SS) core course * | 3 |
Year Two — Fall
| VIS 225 | Digital Photography | 3 |
| | Natural Science (NS) core course with lab * | 4 |
| EN | Literature (LT) core course * | 3 |
| MA | Mathematics (MT) core course * | 3-4 |
| | Minor course | |
Year Two — Spring
| VIS 204 | History of Modern Design | 3 |
| VIS 214 | Three-Dimensional Design * | 3 |
| VIS 224 | Digital Publishing | 3 |
| | Social Science (SS) core course * | 3 |
| | Minor course | |
VIS 214: DHUM core course
Year Three — Fall
| | Depth in Faith and Reason core course * | 3 |
| | Depth in Sciences (DSCI) core course * | 3 |
| | Minor course | |
| | Two (2) electives | 6 |
Year Three — Spring
| AH 102 | Introduction to Art History: Renaissance to Modern * | 3 |
| OR | |
| FD 361 | Survey of Fashion | 3 |
| OR | |
| GMD 301 | History of Graphic Design | 3 |
| OR | |
| ID 351 | History of Interiors II | |
| | |
| VIS 327 | Portfolio | 3 |
| | Minor course | |
| | Two (2) electives | 6 |
Year Four — Fall
Year Four — Spring
* Fulfills Liberal Arts Core Requirements. See the
Liberal Arts Core and
Course Descriptions for further information.