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 Art with a Graphic Design emphasis 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
Marketable skills prepare students for success in a variety of professional settings. Developed through academic coursework, co-curricular engagement, and extracurricular involvement, these skills include communication, critical thinking, teamwork, ethical reasoning, adaptability, and digital literacy. Whether directly related to a student’s major or serving as complementary strengths, marketable skills enhance career readiness and reflect TWU’s commitment to producing graduates who are prepared to thrive in today’s dynamic workforce.
- 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.GRAPHDESGN; CIP Code: 50.0701.00
Texas Core Curriculum
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENG 1013 | Composition I (10) | 3 |
| ENG 1023 | Composition II (10) | 3 |
| Mathematics (20) | 3 | |
| Life & Physical Sciences (30) | 6 | |
| Language, Philosophy, & Culture (40) | 3 | |
| Creative Arts (50) | 3 | |
| HIST 1013 | History of the United States, 1492-1865 (60) | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present (60) | 3 |
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government (70) | 3 |
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government (70) | 3 |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences (80) | 3 | |
| CAO: Multicultural-Women's Studies (90) | 3 | |
| CAO: First Year Seminar, Wellness or Mathematics (91) | 3 | |
| Total SCHs | 42 | |
Courses Required for Major
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Students who have not taken a Global Perspectives course will either need to take one in this section, or will need to add 3 SCH 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 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 |
| Required Introductory Course | ||
| ART 2243 | Introduction to Type and Image | 3 |
| Introductory ART Electives | ||
| Choose 6 SCH from the following | 6 | |
| Introduction to Painting | ||
| Introduction to Photography | ||
| Introduction to Printmaking | ||
| Introduction to Sculpture | ||
| Introduction to Ceramics | ||
| Total SCHs | 33 | |
Intermediate and Advanced Studies
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ART 2293 | Visual Identity and Symbol | 3 |
| ART 3253 | Motion Graphics | 3 |
| ART 4363 | Community-Focused Design Studio | 3 |
| ART 4953 | Internship | 3 |
| Focus Area | ||
| Must choose one Focus area (9 SCH) where substitutions may be allowed with the consultation of faculty mentors of a given focus area. | 9 | |
| Visual Communication | ||
| Publication Design | ||
| Web and App Design | ||
| Packaging Design | ||
| Illustration | ||
| Character Design | ||
| Digital Illustration | ||
| Narrative Illustration | ||
| Advanced Elective Options | ||
| Choose 15 SCH 3000/4000 level ART | 15 | |
| With advisor permission, student may take MGT 3243 and/or MGT 4443. (no other MGT courses are allowed; requires a course substitution by Advisor.) | ||
| Total SCHs | 36 | |
Capstone
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ART 3393 | Professional Practices for Visual Arts | 3 |
ART 3393 will focus on graphic design professional practice in spring semesters, and studio art professional practice in fall semesters. Students should work with advisors to take the most relevant version of the course. | ||
| ENG 3433 | Professional Writing | 3 |
For ENG 3433, the degree track requires a special section of the course designed for Art students. | ||
| 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 | First-Year Seminar: Learning Frameworks | 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 |
| CAO: Wellness or Mathematics Core | 2 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ART 1213 | 3D Foundations | ARTS 1312 | 3 |
| ART 2223 | Digital Art Foundations | ARTS 2348 | 3 |
| ART Introductory Elective | 3 | ||
| ENG 1023 | Composition II | ENGL 1302 | 3 |
| HIST 1023 | History of the United States, 1865 to the Present | HIST 1302 | 3 |
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| ART 2293 | Visual Identity and Symbol | 3 | |
| ART 2423 | World Art History I | ART 1303 | 3 |
| Introductory ART Elective | 3 | ||
| POLS 2013 | U.S. National Government | GOVT 2305 | 3 |
| Mathematics Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ART 2243 | Introduction to Type and Image | 3 | |
| Advanced Elective | 3 | ||
| Creative Arts Core | 3 | ||
| ART 2433 | World Art History II | ART 1304 | 3 |
| POLS 2023 | Texas Government | GOVT 2306 | 3 |
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| ART 3253 | Motion Graphics | 3 | |
| ART Focus Area Course | 3 | ||
| Advanced Elective | 3 | ||
| Language, Philosophy, & Culture Core | 3 | ||
| Life & Physical Sciences Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ART 3173 | Contemporary Art | 3 | |
| ART Focus Area Course | 3 | ||
| Advanced Elective | 3 | ||
| Social/Behavioral Science Core | 3 | ||
| Life & Physical Sciences Core | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | TCCN | ||
| ART 4363 | Community-Focused Design Studio | 3 | |
| ENG 3433 | Professional Writing | 3 | |
| Advanced Elective | 3 | ||
| ART Focus Area Course | 3 | ||
| ART 3053 or 3343 | Global Perspectives in Art or Women in the Visual Arts | 3 | |
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Spring | TCCN | ||
| ART 4993 | BFA Exhibition | 3 | |
| Advanced Elective | 3 | ||
| ART 3393 | Professional Practices for Visual Arts | 3 | |
| ART 4953 | Internship | 3 | |
| Component Area Option (Multicultural Women’s Studies) | 3 | ||
| SCHs | 15 | ||
| Total SCHs: | 120 | ||
