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The
BFA in Graphic Design
View degree plan
Graphic Design has been evolving since
its inception as a discipline of study in the 1940s. It has
grown into an industry that specializes in the efficient and
effective visual communication of information. Graphic designers
are those best prepared to make sense of complex information
and communicate messages to the intended audience in innovative
ways. The Graphic Design curriculum embraces and integrates
art, advertising, and communication. The Graphic Design Program
at UCO has grown into the largest program between Kansas City
and North Texas. It has truly become a center of excellence
at UCO.
Program mission statement
The Graphic Design Program is a pre-professional career preparation
program that helps students excel in:
• Developing unique, innovative, and effective solutions
to design problems.
• Clearly communicating concepts and solutions.
• Understanding philosophies, theories, and terminology
of design.
• Rendering, executing, and producing design.
• Presenting concepts and solutions orally and in writing.
• Developing high standards of professional practice.
Areas of study
The Graphic Design major includes three distinct areas of
study, Advertising Design, Illustration, and New Media, that
allow the Graphic Design student to:
• tailor a program to meet individual needs,
• have greater course diversity for increased marketability;
and
• be better prepared to adapt to a changing job market.
The Advertising Design area helps prepare graduates
to work as Art Directors,
Graphic Designers, and Production Artists.
The Illustration area provides information, skills,
and professional preparation for graduates to excel as commercial
illustrators.
The New Media area allows UCO to address the emerging
technologies of digital
design, web design, and multimedia design.
Student portfolio reviews
The portfolio book of design work is how students communicate
to faculty and interviewers that the student/applicant understand
creative problem solving and can produce effective solutions
to a variety of design problems. The Graphic Design faculty
conduct reviews of student portfolios as a prerequisite to
Graphic Design II. This is about the midway point in the student's
design curriculum - foundation art and design courses have
been completed. The faculty consider the quality and quantity
of the student's work in problem solving, innovation, and
production; knowledge of computer technology; and oral and
written presentation skills. This assessment and review by
the design faculty provides:
• academic counseling for the student,
• career counseling for the student, and
• assessment for the program.
Tuition Waivers scholarships are awarded to the most outstanding
student portfolios.
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