Interdisciplinary Art & Design Studies at College of Visual Arts Minnesota
Interdisciplinary Art & Design Studies (IADS) provides students with an opportunity to explore and obtain an expansive vocabulary within multiple disciplines. Its focus is interdisciplinary with a choice of concentration within one discipline. Areas of program concentration unique to IADS are Advertising Design, Fashion Design at Parsons Paris, Museum Gallery Studies, and Teaching Artist.
What differentiates this program from a major field of concentration such as a major in graphic design or photography is a shift in focus from discipline specific to overall breadth and interdisciplinary experience. Consequently, students will be exposed to a greater variety and range of disciplines taking fewer courses in any one area of concentration. Students will not identify their area of concentration until the end of their sophomore year. Students will be required to take core concentration courses throughout their junior and senior years.
In the second year, upon completion of the first year foundation program, students will be required to take the introductory course work prescribed within the major disciplines of Fine Arts, Photography, Graphic Design, and Illustration. This interdisciplinary experience will provide students with the necessary background to identify an area of concentration for further study in their junior and senior year.
In the junior year students will be immersed in their chosen area of concentration through multiple studio courses, an internship, and an introduction to professional practices. During the senior year students will continue to work within their given concentration as they develop their senior thesis project and professional portfolio.
This new program recognizes the changing forces within the art and design community. Today, more and more creative fields have become interdisciplinary. Artists and designers are called upon to address new challenges outside their area of expertise, traversing new horizons and learning new vocabularies. This program will provide students with a greater range of knowledge and the ability to navigate comfortably between the art and design disciplines of tomorrow.
Tags: amp design, concentration students, creative fields, discipline areas, fashion design, fine arts photography, introductory course, parsons paris, professional portfolio, professional practices, program concentration, sophomore year