Art Degrees Online

In addition to studies in their program major, all of our students puruse a well-rounded education in foundational design, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Art History, and interdisciplinary and special studies.

Here are the course requirements for this major:
KCAH 111 – Western Art I: Prehistoric through the Renaissance – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: None

An introduction to the concepts of style and artistic theory reflecting the accomplishments of ancient civilizations, the advent of Christianity during the Middle Ages, and the reawakening of Western culture during the Renaissance. (Students who have earned credit for ARTH 110, Prehistoric through Middle Ages, may not use credit earned in KCAH 111 to meet graduation requirements.)
KCAH 112 – Western Art II: Baroque to the Present – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111

Explores the content, context and style of art from the Reformation to the present. (Students who have earned credit for ARTH 111, Renaissance through 20th Century, may not use credit earned in KCAH 112 to meet graduation requirements.)
KCAH 203 – Special Topics in Art History – 1 to 3 Credits
KCAH 210 – World Art – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

An introduction to the art and architecture of African, American Native, and Asian societies from prehistory to the Colonial Era.
KCAH 211 – Design History I: Ancient to Victorian – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A survey of the (a) developments in architecture, interiors, furniture, decorative, and fine arts; and (b) the designers themselves from ancient times to the mid-19th century. Origins and influences, styles and techniques, and interrelationships among the above arts are major themes.
KCAH 212 – Design History II: Victorian through Contemporary – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120 KCAH 211 (Furniture Design and Interior Design majors only)

A continuation of KCAH 211, tracing (a) developments in architecture, interiors, furniture, decorative, and fine arts; and (b) their designers from the late 19th century to present day. Major themes include interrelationships among the above arts as well as cultural, economic, political, geographical, or religious influences on design cycles.
KCAH 213 – Native Art of the Americas – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A survey of the arts of ancient cultures of Meso-America and of North America: Eskimo, Northwest Coast, the Southwest, Plains, and Woodland people.
KCAH 214 – History of Graphic Design – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A survey of important developments in graphic design from the invention of alphabets to the advent of mass media and the computer age. Formerly KCAH 320.
KCAH 215 – History of Industrial Design – 3 Credits h4. Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A survey of industrial design arts and the historical development of the profession of industrial design from its origins in ancient traditional crafts through contemporary design. Artistic, social, cultural, political, and/or economic issues influencing design theories and product development will be investigated. The emphasis will be on 20th century developments.
KCAH 216 – Asian Art – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A study of the arts of the Middle East, India, China, and Japan from Neolithic times to the 20th century. The course will explore philosophical, political, and social influences on Eastern art and culture.
KCAH 217 – African Art – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A survey of the arts and crafts of Tribal Africa.
KCAH 220 – Art of the United States – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A survey of the art, craft, and architecture of the United States from the Colonial period to World War II.
KCAH 303 – Special Topics in Art History – 1 to 3 Credits
KCAH 311 – Modern Art and Modernism – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A study of the concept of Modernism and how it is expressed in art and architecture from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. (Students who have earned credit for ARTH 310, History of Twentieth Century Art, may not use credit earned in KCAH 311.)
KCAH 312 – Architecture and Architects – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A study of selected periods of international architecture. Special emphasis may be placed on the role and influence of the architect in contributing to building design and methods, urban planning, environmental and cultural needs, and concepts of domesticity.
KCAH 315 – History of Fashion as Art – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A study of fashion as an art form, related to the fine arts and reflective of the changing cultural values of Western Europe and America. Explores textiles, styles of male and female clothing, accessories, hairstyles, and body proportions as they relate to a consideration of the nature of beauty.
KCAH 316 – History of Photography – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A study of photography as a fine art and as documentary; at issue will be photography’s relationship to other arts, its impact on modern culture, and the impact of modern culture upon it.
KCAH 317 – Contemporary Art – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A study of the painting, sculpture, architecture, and design of the late 20th and early 21st centuries including the philosophies, beliefs, and changing roles of the artists.
KCAH 318 – History of Illustration – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A study and critical history of various mass media including illustration, poster and advertising art, and cartooning, as a means of communication and propaganda in the modern era.
KCAH 319 – American Realism – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A critical study of painting in the United States from colonial portraiture to romantic landscapes to social realism in the 20th century.
KCAH 321 – Art of Islam – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

An in-depth study of the arts and architecture of certain Islamic cultures with emphasis on the development of style, techniques, and motifs in art from Spain and North Africa to Persia and India.
KCAH 322 – History of American Architecture – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A study of the development of architecture from early native dwellings and villages to the present time. Cultural diversity and traditions will be discussed as well as regional characteristics, materials, and new technologies and how they contribute to the innovative aspects of this country’s experience.
KCAH 399 – Independent Study: Art History – 1 to 3 Credits
Prerequisites: 3.0 G.P.A., junior/senior standing
KCAH 400 – Special Problems: Art History – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: 3.0 G.P.A., junior/senior standing
KCAH 403 – Seminar in Art History – 1 -3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120

A seminar dealing with topics of limited or special interest in art history, theory, and criticism.
KCAH 407 – Historiography – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120, junior/senior standing

A critical examination of the history of art history from its origins in the enlightenment to the post-modern age.
KCAH 408 – African American Art – 3 Credits
Prerequisites: KCAH 111, KCAH 112, KCHU 120, junior/senior standing

A critical examination of the issues associated with the art of African Americans of the modern and postmodern eras.

GD200 Graphic Design I 3 credits
Students develop technical skills and become familiar with basic tools and materials of the graphic designer. Through short projects, emphasis is placed on visual aesthetics, composition, and craft.
Prerequisites:
Fulfills: Graphic Design I Requirement (Graphic Design students); Digital Illustration Elective (Illustration Students); Lens, Technology, Time elective; Studio Elective

GD205 Graphic Design II 3 credits
Students continue to refine technical skills and become familiar with the evolution of typographic forms with fundamental aspects of typography. Through a series of typographic projects, emphasis is placed on visual expression, composition, and problem solving.
Prerequisites: 15 Studio credits including Graphic Design I, or Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Graphic Design II Requirement (Graphic Design students) or Studio Elective

GD212 Typography I 3 credits
An intensive introduction to the fundamentals of the manipulation and management of type, from individual letterforms to large bodies of textual information, for digital and paper platforms. Attention to formal, technological, rhetorical, and historical issues. While the focus is on page layout and vector graphics programs, the school’s letterpress facilities may also be employed.
Prerequisites:
Fulfills: Typography I Requirement (Graphic Design students); Studio Elective

GD214 Using Images 3 credits
An introduction to the borrowing, generation, editing and usage of visuals in design contexts. Emphasis on imaging tools, and on critical and theoretical consideration of the use and ubiquity of images in the world.
Prerequisites: Drawing I, 2-D Design, LTT Elective, or Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Using Images Requirement (Graphic Design students); Studio Elective

GD216 Design Stories 3 credits
A studio/seminar investigation of the nature and practice of design as a story-telling and framing activity. Within this context, attention is devoted to episodes of design history, to the ways that history has been told, and to design practice as a rhetorical activity. Participation involves research and development and presentation of ideas in a seminar setting in papers, and in design exercises.
Prerequisites: Typography I and Using Images or Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Design Stories Requirement (Graphic Design students); Studio Elective

GD217 Advertising 3 credits
An overview of the key aspects of the art and industry of advertising, including art direction, strategy, research, copywriting and account management. The emphasis is on idea generation and development in studio projects. Lectures address the broad and ever-changing landscape of advertising. Readings include classic and contemporary sources, which seek to place advertising in the larger cultural, social and economic settings that it both drives and is driven by.
Prerequisites: Graphic Design I and English Composition II
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); Studio Elective

GD222 The Art and Design of the Poster 3 credits
This course treats the poster format as historical source and contemporary medium of expression and investigation. Class format includes lectures and reading, fieldtrips and studio exercises on digital and analog tools. Analog tools will include letterpress, and raise issues including the relationship of the poster to the typographic broadside; and screenprinting , which will enable printing in multiple colors and large scale. Lectures and studio exercises alike are dedicated to exploring the uses and evolving aesthetics and technologies associated with the poster.
Prerequisites: 12 Studio credits including LTT Elective, or Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); Studio Elective

GD223 Interactive Design 3 credits
Students explore interactive screen-based media as a design tool and environment. Focus here is on digital creations that embody their own application software, suiting them not only for the web, but for use in CDs and other independent media. Students gain experience with graphics, video, sound, 3D objects, and markup and scripting languages as they consider issues of usability, transitions, duration and motion to create and control meaning. Emphasis on flowcharts and project management.
Prerequisites: Drawing I, 2-D Design, LTT Elective, or Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Animation Requirement (AI+M students); Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); Studio Elective

GD256 Web Authoring I 3 credits
This introductory course is devoted to building websites. Students survey and critique existing web sites, develop a body of graphic and typographic information, and develop their own web pages through which this information can be effectively communicated. As students build each web page and/or site, they progressively incorporate new aspects of codes, as well as other aspects they have previously worked with (e.g., HTML, CSS, Javascript, tables, framesheets and inline frames). Attention is paid to validation for different browsers. Students also learn about the evolution of the Internet and the technologies associated with it.
Prerequisites: Drawing I, 2-D Design, LTT Elective, or Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Animation Requirement (AI+M students); Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); Studio Elective

GD260 Letterpress Printing I 3 credits
An introduction to the process of letterpress printing with an eye to building books. Emphasis on the narrative and conceptual potentials of letterpress and simple (single section pamphlet, accordion and double-fan adhesive) binding structures. Students work through setting type; proper use of all of the different presses in the College’s letterpress shop; registration and imposition; polymer plates; study of the history of metal and wood type. Projects include a group broadside, individual (announcement or business) cards, one and multicolor posters, and small pamphlets. Individual and more complex projects may be possible if time allows. Field trip to the Museum of Printing History in North Andover.
Prerequisites: Drawing I, 2-D Design and LTT Elective; or Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); Studio Elective

GD265 Bookbinding I 3 credits
This course is focused around the book as structure, object and information. In the first half of the semester, students create models of basic binding structures (focusing mostly on the codex structure) — one model per week. Homework and projects during this time involve creating content filled books based on the structure leaned during the week. These books/homework projects serve as not only practice in binding, but also as “sketches” of production of ideas that could be expanded on or refined in the projects later in the semester. Structures covered include link stitch, long stitch, Coptic, Japanese style and case bindings, as well as other structures for one and multiple signatures; different approaches to the “cover” are also addressed. Throughout, use and choice of materials, adhesives and tools are emphasized. Students provide content, which for those who have taken Elements 1 may be produced through letterpress printing. In the second half, students work on the individual projects based on structures learned up to that point. Field trip to working print shops and binderies.
Prerequisites: Drawing I, 2-D Design and LTT Elective; or Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); Studio Elective

GD299 Topics in Graphic Design 3 credits
This course provides an in-depth study of a topic in Graphic Design. The topic may be selected to take advantage of special events, to allow further exploration of a subject covered in a preliminary way in other courses, or to explore areas not sufficiently covered by the regular class rotation.
Prerequisites: Prerequisites will be developed in conjunction with the course description for each topic.
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design Students); 200-Level Studio Elective

GD300 Graphic Design III 3 credits
In this study of visual communications, students work on concept development and apply the principles of design to several realistic projects that combine type and image. Projects include the design of an identity program and a study of grids and formats through the design of a publication.
Prerequisites: Graphic Design II and Typography I
Fulfills: Graphic Design III Requirement (Graphic Design Students); 300-level Studio Elective

GD351 Typography II 3 credits
Attention to structuring information on and across sequences of pages; formal and expressive issues; development of a text face.
Prerequisites: Typography I or Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Typography II Requirement (Graphic Design students); 300-level Studio Elective

GD356 Web Authoring II 3 credits
Students build upon the skills and concepts from Web Authoring I to develop a suite of websites that involve more extensive projects and time management, research and code development. Greater emphasis on economy of coding, resourcefulness (about generating one’s own code), and validation of websites to World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Specifications. In conjunction with design projects, coursework includes in class presentations and demonstrations made by students, along with in-depth individual and group critiques.
Prerequisites: Web Authoring I
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); 300-level Studio Elective

GD358 Design Portfolio and Professional Practice 3 credits
Following an assessment of their portfolio of work from other classes, students develop and/or enhance existing work and also initiate and complete new work, as determined in consultation with instructor. The objective is a focused portfolio of work in print and digital media, at a consistent level of quality, demonstrating competence, concept and a high level of craft. Prepress, presentation and other issues are addressed within the class or in workshops in which attendance is mandatory.
Prerequisites: Graphic Design III and Typography II. A substantial body of previously completed work is required.
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); 300-level Studio Elective

GD360 Letterpress Printing II 3 credits
This course is designed to build on the basic skills developed in Letterpress Printing 1. It emphasizes book production (rather than broadsides and posters); projects involving greater complexity and requiring more planning and attention to detail; and experimentation. The course addresses: further experience with setting text-weight type; practical work with polymer plates, including their production and ordering; editioning; multi-color and multi-pass printing; and use of type as a visual element (type, rules and sorts as ornament and pattern). The course is enriched by examination of examples and by field trips.
Prerequisites: Letterpress Printing I
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); 300-level Studio Elective

GD365 Bookbinding II 3 credits
This course is designed to build on the basic skills and knowledge developed in Bookbinding 1. Students will explore more involved and complex structural models, including album structures, long-stitch and exposed spine structures, and boxes and enclosures. Other issues to be addressed include edition binding, and correlation of content, structure and material. The course is enriched by the examination of examples, attention to the history of artists’ books, and field trips.
Prerequisites: Bookbinding I
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design students); 300-level Studio Elective

GD399 Topics in Graphic Design 3 credits
This course provides an in-depth study of a topic in Graphic Design. The topic may be selected to take advantage of special events, to allow further exploration of a subject covered in a preliminary way in other courses, or to explore areas not sufficiently covered by the regular class rotation.
Prerequisites: Prerequisites will be developed in conjunction with the course description for each topic.
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design Students); 300-Level Studio Elective

GD405 Senior Design Seminar 6 credits
Students work on self-defined, typically communication-oriented, projects over the course of one and in rare cases two semesters. They work with the instructor to clarify objectives, develop or assemble content, and design and produce a body of work that demonstrates facility with appropriate tools and techniques, high craft values, awareness of relevant contexts, and evidence of aesthetic judgment. Students meet as a group to discuss their work with peers, the course instructor and professional guests. The studio emphasis of the course is underpinned by one-on-one and group crits and discussion; panel review sessions involving other design instructors and guest critics; and a public exhibition of completed work. It may be complemented by assigned readings, seminar presentations and discussions, and writing exercises. The discussion component emphasizes contemporary design and communication practice in the print and digital realms, and in various professional and public contexts. Course may be repeated once for credit. Graphic Design concentrators will ordinarily have completed most if not all of their other studio requirements prior to taking Design Seminar. They have the option of taking two studio courses in lieu of a second semester of Seminar. Concentrators in Book Arts and other areas for which Design Seminar is a capstone option are expected to declare their intention to enter Design Seminar at the time they declare their concentration. Book Arts concentrators will ordinarily have completed most if not all of their other studio requirements prior to taking Design Seminar. Design Seminar may be taken as a studio elective by any student who applies and is accepted on the basis of her or his proposal, and evidence of a mature body of work.
Prerequisites: See Senior Program Entrance Criteria
Fulfills: Senior Program Requirement (Graphic Design Students); Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design Students)

GD900 Graphic Design Independent Study 3 credits
Advanced work in the student’s major field of study, supervised by a designated faculty member.
Prerequisites: Permission of Instructor
Fulfills: Graphic Design Elective (Graphic Design Students); Studio Elective

INT300 Internship 3 credits
Required during the junior year, INT300 provides the opportunity for real world experience through the Internship & Apprenticeship Program. Students complete a minimum of 120 hours on-site as an intern with a business or as an apprentice with an established artist. Other requirements include keeping a journal, writing a reflection paper and attending a debriefing seminar with other interns and apprentices. A learning contract outlining educational objectives as well as work duties and responsibilities is completed prior to starting INT300.
Prerequisites: Junior level standing
Fulfills: Internship Requirement (All Concentrations)

PH203 Introduction to Photographic Media 3 credits
This course introduces the basic tools, techniques and concepts of photographic media. Students are introduced to a variety of photographic methods for generating and outputting images, with a primary emphasis on lens based representation and production. Modes of image generation and output that are addressed include black and white and color film, digital, and time-based visual imaging systems. Students explore the aesthetic aspects of photography while they complete a series of assignments geared towards developing their technical and conceptual abilities. Issues related to camera vision, representation and picture interpretation are also explored.
Prerequisites:
Fulfills: Introduction to Photographic Media Requirement (Photography and Graphic Design students); Lens, Technology, Time Elective; Studio Elective

Animation, digital 3d animation
Analytical drawing
Technical aspects of animated filmmaking
History of animated film
Character animation
From idea to storyboard
Film aesthetics
Filmmaking
Image
Sound
Montage
Acting and directing for the screen
Writing for film
Production design
History of film to 1959
Studies in film directors
Le cinéma québécois
Experimental film
Women and film
Aspects of national cinemas
Studies in film genres