Mission

The mission of the program is to provide a distinct learning experience towards visual storytelling. It is a progressive combination of historical, cultural and technical studies. The program is dedicated to the fusion of scholarship, authorship, character design, illustration and the visualization of narratives while using a diversity of media.

Objectives

The objectives of the program are:

• Foster writing, authorship and scholarship for visual narration.
• Nurture historical analysis, visual culture analysis and critical thinking.
• Initiate advanced independent research that is beneficial to practice.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, graduates would:

• Acquire knowledge of historical and cultural background.
• Conduct original research and critical analysis.
• Explore the technical aspects of illustration and visual narrative.
• Translate the script into a visual outcome.
• Develop the temporal and spatial dimension of the story.

Study Plan

The total number of credits is 30.

YEAR ONE

Fall

• VIS731 History of Visual Story Telling (3 cr)
• VIS711 Storyboarding (3 cr)
• VIS721 Narrative Writing (3 cr)

Spring

• VIS— MA Elective (3 cr)
• VIS741 Character Development (3 cr)
• VIS722 Drawing Strategies for Visual Narrative (3 cr)

Summer

• VIS— MA Elective (3 cr)
• VIS742 Advanced Illustration Techniques (3 cr)

YEAR TWO

Fall

• VIS799 Thesis Project (6 cr)

Curriculum

Required core courses (24 cr)

• VIS731 History of Visual Storytelling (3 cr)
• VIS711 Storyboarding (3 cr)
• VIS721 Narrative Writing (3 cr)
• VIS722 Drawing Strategies for Visual Narrative (3 cr)
• VIS741 Character Development (3 cr)
• VIS742 Advanced Illustration Techniques (3 cr)
• VIS799 Thesis Project (6 cr)

Elective courses (6 cr)

Choose two of the following

• VIS743 Advanced Digital Illustration Techniques (3 cr)
• VIS751 Professional Practices (3 cr)
• VIS752 Selling Your Story (3 cr)
• VIS761 Letters and Image (3 cr)
• VIS771 Children’s Book Illustration (3 cr)
• VIS781 Advanced Printing Techniques (3 cr)
• VIS791 Japanese Animation (3 cr)
• VIS795 Field Trip and Visitors (3 cr)