Overview
Make ideas move, connect, and matter.
The BFA in Graphic Design is for students who want to go deep. You’ll balance hands-on studio art with digital design, interactive media, branding, and photography, building both technical skill and a creative voice of your own.
Unlike the BA/BS, which encourages broad exploration, the BFA lets you focus on one area of specialization and push your work toward professional and artistic excellence. By your senior capstone, you’ll have a portfolio and an exhibition that show what you can make and how you think.
Why the BFA
A studio-intensive path to a professional career
Build the skills, portfolio, and confidence to stand out in design, media, and the arts.
Studio meets digital
Pair traditional craft, like drawing, painting, ceramics, and printmaking, with digital design, interactive media, branding, and photography.
Go deep in one area
Develop a focused body of work around a single theme or concept, supported by a written exhibition proposal.
Stack your credentials
Add micro-credentials in areas like branding, interactive media, printmaking, and photography to highlight your expertise.
What you’ll learn
Skills that go with you into any creative field
- Apply core design principles, including color theory, typography, composition, and visual storytelling, across media and platforms.
- Use industry-standard software, tools, and emerging technologies to create professional-quality work.
- Research your audience, experiment, and refine your ideas to solve real-world design problems.
- Work professionally and ethically, collaborate with others, manage projects, and build a portfolio that reflects your voice.
- Create a focused body of work and present it in a senior exhibition.
Your path
How the program is structured
The BFA requires 64 credit hours in the major. Here’s how they fit together.
01
Build your foundation
Art core, 24 credits. Drawing, design fundamentals, 3D composition, ceramics, painting, art history, and media and design.
02
Pass the common review
1 credit. Faculty review your work before you continue in the BFA.
03
Choose your focus
30 credits from courses such as typography, branding, web design, motion graphics, 3D graphics, animation, photography, printmaking, and an internship.
04
Show what you can do
Senior year, 9 credits. Capstone and portfolio, professional practices, and a senior portfolio exhibition.
Compare
BA/BS or BFA?
Both degrees build real design skills and a professional portfolio. The difference is depth and focus.
| BA/BS in Graphic Design | BFA in Graphic Design | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Broad exploration across design practices | Deep specialization in one area |
| Credits in the major | 36 | 64 |
| Format | Online or hybrid | Hybrid |
| A good fit if you | Want room for a double major or a minor | Want a studio-intensive degree that ends with a senior exhibition |
Invest in your own toolkit
Graphic Design courses have no course fees, and textbooks are used only when necessary. Instead, you’ll need a device that can run Adobe Creative Cloud and an active Creative Cloud subscription, the same professional tools you’ll keep using after graduation.
Talk with the Dean
Have questions about courses, the common review, or how to plan your degree? Reach out. We’re happy to talk through your goals.
