There are many avenues you can take when navigating through the Design Department classes. You could specialize or just take the core classes to get a design degree. This section is designed to help you navigate the ins and outs of the courses we offer. We hope it makes planning and registering for classes a little easier.
Your advisor will work with you each quarter to help plan your class schedule. We recommend you look at the course catalog, degree audit, and course schedule before meeting with your advisor. Draft a proposed schedule in Navigate, then talk with your advisor to make sure you did not miss anything important. Remember, professors have a lot going on—especially during enrollment periods. We encourage you to meet with your advisor early and often.
This a sample VCD degree plan. you can use it as a starting point to create your own schedule. There is room for electives and to specialize. However, meet with your adviser to make sure your plan isn’t missing anything.
| Year | Fall | Winter | Spring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | Digital Foundations History of Design Drawing for Communication Visual Communication | Elective Visual Thinking Production Design Visual Communications 2 | Elective Typography Digital Photography Visual Communications 3 |
| Senior | Professional Practice Digital Foundations User Experience Design Web Design | Elective Elective Portfolio DESN Adv Media | Elective Elective Portfolio Senior Capstone |
Whether you want to design logos, posters, websites, motion graphics, illustrations, or something else, the Bachelor of Design (BDes) program will help you build the skills you need to succeed. You’ll explore many different types of design, work closely with faculty members and learn from your fellow students.
You’ll learn how to present your ideas visually as you get hands-on experience as you practice working with images and text together to create and share messages. In addition, you’ll learn how to use digital tools like the Adobe Creative Cloud apps.
Learn industry-standard technologies, including stop motion, 2D/3D animation software, and sound design software. These courses cover animation principles and techniques, storytelling, storyboarding, and animatics. With this certificate, you’ll be prepared to effectively communicate ideas and create engaging narratives using space, time and motion.
Develop skills in creating engaging user interactions using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The certificate covers modern web technologies, methodologies, software, and devices. It’s a valuable program for all digitally-focused design professionals.
Develop both technical and conceptual skills with courses selected from the Art and Design departments. This multidisciplinary curriculum will help you build creative and professional skills, like camera operation, digital editing workflow, lighting, portfolio preparation, image presentation/exhibition and theory.
You’ll learn how to create user-friendly digital experiences. You’ll get hands-on experience as you solve real-world design problems, receive feedback and improve your designs. The UX Certificate can be earned alongside the Bachelor of Design degree, or on its own.
The VCD degree is a fairly general start to your design journey. However, you can tailor the degree to fit your interests and career goals. You will work with your faculty advisor to choose classes to fulfill degree requirements and electives while also building specialized skills in a design area you are interested in.
If you are interested in declaring a double major or minoring in a subject related to design, consider the following options. Then talk with your design advisor about how a minor or second major can help you reach your career goals. Below is a list of options that complement a design degree well.
A marketing degree can be a great option for developing design skills related to marketing. This degree can help you understand where your design will go and how they will be used after you finalize them.
Motion designers and animators create graphics for the web, television, or film. Projects they might work on include movie clips, trailers, commercials, or title sequences.
Psychology is a great option to study along with design, as in the design field there is a lot of overlap with interpreting how your audience will respond to a design. The visual information processing and cognition classes would be extra beneficial.
Web designers plan, create, and code internet sites and web pages. They combine text, pictures, sounds, graphics, and video clips to create fun and engaging experiences for users.
Communication is a key skill for any field. A communications degree will help you gain organization and communication skills that will serve as a key asset throughout your professional career.
Illustrators are artists that use their creative skills to create original images for a range of printed and digital products. Projects they might work on include illustrations for children’s books, magazines, or fashion design.
A Technical Communication degree is a great compliment for a design major as it focuses more on readability, textual information design, and understanding how language structure affects and interacts with design decisions.
It would be hard for the field of design to exist without business. If you are interested in starting your own design firm or freelancing, this degree would be helpful for you to gain the skills necessary to make your dream a reality.
For those more interested in the design and technology, a computer science degree would complement a design degree well and set you apart from the competition.
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