Overview
The BFA in Graphic Design educates students to become effective designers and leaders in society. The program provides a multifaceted approach that encourages the concept, process and realization of designs that meet today’s communication needs. Enriched with liberal arts and sciences, the program is committed to encouraging the growth of the student as a whole. The ever-changing forms that constitute contemporary graphic design are addressed through the study of various methodologies, audiences, contexts, prototypes, aesthetics, human interaction, technology, and media. Conceptual thinking, visual identity, bilingual typography, and diverse image-making practices are integrated at the core of the curriculum.
Mission
The mission of the BFA in Graphic Design program is to educate designers with proficient skills, an appreciation of art, and broad cultural knowledge that allows them to become visual thinkers who will drive the creative economy. The program takes a multifaceted approach to art and design, and focuses on developing conceptual skills for a range of increasingly media-based careers.
Vision
The vision of the BFA in Graphic Design program is to provide international exposure within the growing community of Lebanese designers. It challenges students to produce innovative, socially responsible design that uses bilingual typography and the latest technology.
Program Objectives
The program aims to:
- foster design practices for the betterment of society,
- actively participate in creative industries through design initiatives,
- engage in intellectual and practice-based inquiry grounded in design research, history and theory, and
- design through diverse approaches, with a focus on user experience and communicative meaning.
Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the BFA in Graphic Design will be prepared to:
- create design that is socially conscious within diverse contexts,
- apply understandings of bilingual typography to enrich communicative qualities in designed projects,
- participate as active designers in creative industries,
- analyze design through understandings of history and theory in scholarly research,
- apply understandings of user experience to enhance design practices,
- design initiatives based on inquiry and research within a studio environment, and
- produce a collection of designed works that demonstrates the use of various methods and media.
Curriculum
A total of 110 credits are required to graduate, after Freshman Year [or the equivalent Lebanese Baccalaureate Part II], distributed as follows:
- Foundation Requirements (25 credits)
- Program Core Requirements (52 credits)
- Professional Electives (6/9 credits)
- Art Electives (3/6 credits)
- Art History Electives (3 credits)
- LAS Requirements (18 credits)
Foundation Requirements (25 credits)
- FND201 Drawing for Foundation (3 cr.)
- FND231 Studio I-A (3 cr.)
- FND232 Studio I-B (3 cr.)
- FND235 Shop Techniques (1 cr.)
- FND251 Digital Media (3 cr.)
- FND237 Studio II Visual Dynamics (3 cr.)
- FND281 Design Culture (3 cr.)
- ART222 Figure Drawing (3 cr.)
- PHO201 Introduction to Photography (3 cr.)
Program Core Requirements (52 credits)
Professional Electives (6/9 credits)
- GRDE311 Illustration II (3 cr.)
- GRDE313 Advertising Design (3 cr.)
- GRDE314 Silkscreen Printing and Binding (3 cr.)
- GRDE315 International Traveling Studio (3 cr.)
- GRDE316 Designing for Social Change (3 cr.)
- GRDE317 Design Management (3 cr.)
- GRDE365 Visual Storytelling (3 cr.)
- GRDE366 Character and Composition (3 cr.)
- GRDE367 Principles of Animation (3 cr.)
- GRDE411 User Experience (3 cr.)
- GRDE412 Package Design (3 cr.)
- GRDE413 Introduction to 3D for Animation (3 cr.)
- GRDE461 2D Animation (3 cr.)
Art Electives (3/6 credits)
- ART211 Ceramics (3 cr.)
- ART212 Ceramics wheel throwing (3 cr.)
- ART334 Printmaking (3 cr.)
- ART341 Painting I (3 cr.)
- ART342 Painting II (3 cr.)
- ART351 Sculpture I (3 cr.)
- ART352 Sculpture II (3 cr.)
- PHO301 Studio Photography (3 cr.)
- PHO311 Digital Imaging Technologies (3 cr.)
- PHO330 Black & White Analog Photography (3 cr.)
- PHO342 Landscape Photography (3 cr.)
- PHO344 Fashion Photography (3 cr.)
- PHO341 Architectural Photography (3 cr.)
- FAS422 Textile Design (3 cr.)
Art History Electives (3 credits)
- ART331 History of Art I (3 cr.)
- ART332 History of Art II (3 cr.)
- ART336 Art in Lebanon since 1900 (3 cr.)
- ART431 Modern Art (3 cr.)
- ART432 Contemporary Art (3 cr.)
- GRDE420 Visual Culture (3 cr.)
- JSC224 Social Media (3 cr.)
- JSC312 Media and Society (3 cr.)
- PHO231 History & Theory of Photography (3 cr.)
- TVF221 Art of Film (3 cr.)
- TVF324 History of Film (3 cr.)
LAS Requirements (18 credits)
Recommended Study Plan
Year One
Fall (16 credits)
- FND201 Drawing for Foundation (3 cr.)
- FND231 Studio I-A (3 cr.)
- FND232 Studio I-B (3 cr.)
- FND235 Shop Techniques (1 cr.)
- FND251 Digital Media (3 cr.)
- ENG202 Advanced Academic English (LAS Core) (3 cr.)
Spring (15 credits)
- FND237 Studio II Visual Dynamics (3 cr.)
- FND281 Design Culture (3 cr.)
- PHO201 Introduction to Photography (3 cr.)
- ART222 Figure Drawing (3cr.)
- GRDE330 Introduction to Type (3 cr.)
Summer (9 credits)
- COM203 Fundamentals of Oral Communication (LAS Core) (3 cr.)
- LAS Elective (3 cr.)
- LAS Elective (3 cr.)
Year Two
Fall (18 credits)
- GRDE300 Thematic Workshop I (3 cr.)
- GRDE310 Illustration (3 cr.)
- GRDE320 History of Graphic Design (3 cr.)
- GRDE340 Branding (3 cr.)
- GRDE410 Motion Design (3 cr.)
- Art/Professional Elective (3 cr.)
Spring (16 credits)
- GRDE341 Editorial Design (3 cr.)
- GRDE430 Type Design (3 cr.)
- GRDE431 Graphic Design in the Middle East (3 cr.)
- GRDEXXX Professional Elective (3cr.)
- Art Elective (3 cr.)
- LAS Elective (3 cr.)
Summer (7 credits)
Year Three
Fall (15 credits)
- GRDE400 Thematic Workshop II (3 cr.)
- GRDE421 Design Research (3 cr.)
- GRDE440 Interactive Media (3 cr.)
- Art History Elective (3cr.)
- LAS Elective (3 cr.)
Spring (12 credits)
- GRDE442 Senior Project (6 cr.)
- GRDE452 Portfolio Design (3 cr.)
- GRDEXXX Professional Elective (3 cr.)
