Program Requirements

First Semester

Course #Course TitleCreditsPrerequisites/Comments

201-101Drawing & Illustration Concept3Fall only, 1st 8 weeks | Program studentDrawing and Illustration Concept is designed to help give the designers the basic concept and perspective of drawing before digital. The students will learn the fundamentals of drawing, typography drawing, sketching human forms, layout design, and other essential assets needed to help further their skills as designers.

201-104Photoshop Fundamentals3Fall only | Program studentThis course teaches photo manipulation and enhancement using the industry leading Adobe Photoshop software. Course will also cover composition images, illustration, color correction, file formats, scanning, importing into page layout documents, fixing damaged photos, understanding file size, resolution and quality and choosing correct color modes. This course will also cover content related to storing and organizing files.

201-105Typography Fundamentals3Fall only | Program studentTypography Fundamentals is a course to help the learners and designers understand the principals and importance of typography. The students will learn more about the drawing and perspective art of typography, the terminology, history, digital form, and other aspects that are crucial to the design aspects of artistic and digital typography.

699-105Document Design3Fall only, online only, 2nd 8 weeks | 801-136 or concurrent or 801-195 or 801-219 or concurrentThis course is an introduction to graphic design principles and process. It focuses on skills needed to design and layout communications. Visual language using print, iconic, and kinetic forms will be introduced.

801-136English Composition 13This course is designed for learners to develop knowledge and skills in all aspects of the writing process. Planning, organizing, writing, editing, and revising are applied through a variety of activities. Students will analyze audience and purpose, use elements of research and format documents using standard guidelines. Individuals will develop critical reading skills through analysis of various written documents.

TOTAL CREDITS:15 

Second Semester

Course #Course TitleCreditsPrerequisites/Comments

201-102Digital Illustration3Spring onlyThis course addresses the concepts and techniques of creating illustrations and images graphical compositions for use in print and digital applications utilizing current industry standard drawing software. Develop knowledge and skills using Adobe Illustrator. Course content covers creating basic shapes, drawing, transforming elements, working with type, blending, layers, special effects and applying color techniques using industry standards.

201-103Publication Design3Spring only | 201-104 and 699-105This is a course in the use of the page layout software InDesign. The student will learn to utilize basic tools and key commands, place text and images, apply typographical formats, use text styles, manipulate tabs, and control design elements to create various publication designs. Design principles and process specific to publications will be emphasized. Creative assignments range from newsletters, magazines, and books to electronic publications.

203-102Design Photography3Spring only | 201-104Photography will be implemented into the curriculum to show and help students understand the importance photography is to design. Design Photography will introduce perspective, lighting, features of all cameras, Adobe Photoshop basics, and other assets of photography needs.

699-115Editing and Proofreading3Spring only, online only, 1st 8 weeks | 801-136 or 801-195 or 801-219This course gives students skills and practice needed to edit communication for usage, capitalization, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Students will apply theories and strategies to ensure communication products conform to industry style guides, to develop editor-writer relationships, and to provide audiences with clear ethical content.

809-195Economics3Designed to give an overview of how a market-oriented economic system operates, and it surveys the factors which influence national economic policy. Basic concepts and analyses are illustrated by reference to a variety of contemporary problems and public policy issues. Concepts include scarcity, resources, alternative economic systems, growth, supply and demand, monetary and fiscal policy, inflation, unemployment and global economic issues.

TOTAL CREDITS:15 

Third Semester

Course #Course TitleCreditsPrerequisites/Comments

201-106Graphic Design Project Mgmt3Fall only | 201-102 and 201-103 and 201-104This class covers general business practices, work-flow and advance production techniques in the design field through applied projects. Collaboration is emphasized where teams apply business practice in developing a product from concept to actual launch. Students will work through the process of preparing files for a variety of media channels.

201-107Motion Graphics3Fall only | 201-102 and 201-104Motion Graphics is an introduction to the basic principles of animation for the creation of compelling graphics. The course covers advanced workflows using Adobe products to create motion graphics for a variety of media platforms. By the end of the course, students will have developed skills to bring their creative visions to life through animation.

201-110Print Production3Fall only | 201-102 and 201-103 and 201-104 and 201-105Practical training in production of digital composition. The student learns to solve realistic print and digital design problems from rough layout through production by completing a variety of increasingly complex assignments. Develop knowledge of the digital printing process, apply skills to full production level projects and challenges. Course content covers color management, automated workflows, cost estimating, troubleshooting and production scheduling.

801-198Speech3Explores the fundamentals of effective oral presentation to small and large groups. Topic selection, audience analysis, methods of organization, research, structuring evidence and support, delivery techniques, and other essential elements of speaking successfully, including the listening process, form the basis of the course.

809-198Intro to Psychology3This introductory course in psychology is a survey of the multiple aspects of human behavior. It involves a survey of the theoretical foundations of human functioning in such areas as learning, motivation, emotions, personality, deviance and pathology, physiological factors, and social influences. Additional topics include research methods, biological and environmental impacts, development, sensation and perception, consciousness, intelligence and stress. This course directs the student to an insightful understanding of the complexities of human relationships in personal, social, and vocational settings.

TOTAL CREDITS:15 

Fourth Semester

Course #Course TitleCreditsPrerequisites/Comments

Elective3

104-148Web Fundamentals3Spring only | 104-112 or (201-102 and 201-104)Digital Design takes Visual Design one step further to hone design skills. It also focuses on the foundations of web design that teaches digital communication skills in the context of the professional web design, development, and management process. Students use HTML coding, Adobe Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Adobe Firework. Skills gained in this course prepare students to test for the Adobe Associate Certification.

201-108Graphic Design Capstone3Spring only | Program student; 201-101 and 201-106 and 201-107 and 201-110 and 203-102 and 699-105 and 699-115Integrated Campaign Design is a capstone course where students prepared graphic design elements in traditional and digital formats. The course will help the students develop the skills to work with clients, complete deadlines, and other vital assets needed in the graphic design field.

201-109Graphic Design Portfolio3Spring only | Program student; 201-101 and 201-106 and 201-107 and 201-110 and 203-102 and 699-105 and 699-115Graphic Design Portfolio will be the course the students will gather all their materials throughout the program and prepare to have their graphic design materials showcased for future employers. The student's work will be evaluated by fellow instructors and others in the marketing and graphic design fields to prepare them for graduation.

804-134Mathematical Reasoning3All college students, regardless of their college major, need to be able to make reasonable decisions about fiscal, environmental, and health issues that require quantitative reasoning skills. An activity based approach is used to explore numerical relationships, graphs, proportional relationships, algebraic reasoning, and problem solving using linear, exponential and other mathematical models. Students will develop conceptual and procedural tools that support the use of key mathematical concepts in a variety of contexts. This course may be used as the first of a two part sequence that ends with Quantitative Reasoning as the capstone general education math requirement.

804-189Introductory Statistics3Students taking this course will learn to display data with graphs, describe distributions with numbers, perform correlation and regression analyses, and design experiments. They will use probability and distributions to make predictions, estimate parameters, and test hypotheses. They will learn to draw inferences about relationships including ANOVA.

TOTAL CREDITS:15