Art Degrees Online

The typical Illustration curriculum is as follows:
Sophomore
3 Introduction to Illustration
3 Drawing for Illustration
3 Studio Elective
3 Drawing, Painting, or Visual Communication Design
3 Sculpture or Ceramics
3 Photo, Video, Printmaking, or Media Arts
3 Academic Elective
3 AUC Other Cultures or Academic Requirement
4 AUC Science/Tech. or Academic Requirement
3 Mathematics or Academic Requirement
0 Sophomore Review*
Junior
9 Intermediate Illustration I, II & III
3 Intermediate Illustration: Figure
3 Digital Illustration
3 Studio Elective
3 Art History or Academic Requirement
3 AUC Western Heritage or Academic Requirement
3 AUC Social Context or Academic Requirement
3 Academic Elective
0 Junior Review*
Senior
6 Two from the following: Book Illustration, Editorial Illustration or Advertising Illustration
3 Senior Project: Illustration
3 Senior Portfolio Preparation
6 Studio Elective
3 Art History or Academic Requirement
3 Academic Elective
6 Unrestricted Elective

*All students must pass a department review prior to undertaking further course work

Illustration is a form of visual communication in which students use their artistic abilities to effectively convey ideas for a specific use. The illustration program is rigorous in its demands, emphasizing conceptual problem solving, technical expertise, meeting deadlines and other professional practices. The program is structured to develop drawing abilities, skill with diverse traditional media and digital technology in progressive stages. Techniques classes prepare students for the editorial, advertising, and children’s book markets that are explored through challenging assignments.

The professional standards of the program are maintained through sophomore and junior reviews, which students must pass in order to advance. The program prepares students to work at a professional level, giving them a comprehensive understanding of illustration and the ability to merge client needs with their own creative problem solving.

The Visual Communication Design (VCD) major involves the development of visual language systems for communication. The VCD department emphasizes practice, theory, methodology, and history, which are the foundations of the discipline. Students learn that the visual products of design are a conscious integration of the human factor with technology and aesthetics. The faculty encourages students to become designers who function as interpreters of human communication in a social context. This requires not only specific vocational tasks but also critical thinking and intellectual flexibility. Toward this goal, the program is intended to provide a broad educational background within a professional context.

The visual communication design department is housed in the Harry Jack Gray Center and comprises two teaching classrooms, a conference room/presentation space, two departmental computer labs and a designated senior studio space. The lab is equipped with Apple Macintosh computers, large-format color inkjet and black-and-white laser printers including an EPSON 9500, slide and flat-bed scanners, and lending library of high-end digital still and video cameras. Software used in VCD instruction includes the Adobe CS3 Suite, QuarkXPress, and many others. A GS-15 plotter/cutter, donated by Gerber Scientific Products, is available to all art students to create vinyl type and graphics. Silkscreen printing equipment is also available.

Photography Credit Requirements

The typical photography curriculum is as follows:
Sophomore
6 Introduction to Photography I & II
3 Visual Communication Design, Drawing, Painting, or Illustration
3 Printmaking, Video or Media Arts
3 Sculpture or Ceramics
3 Studio Elective
3 AUC Other Cultures or Academic Requirement
4 AUC Science/Tech. or Academic Requirement
3 Mathematics or Academic Requirement
3 Academic Elective
Junior
3 View Camera: Field and Studio
3 Color Photography I
3 Junior Seminar in Photography
3 Digital Photography
6 Studio Electives
3 Art History or Academic Requirement
3 AUC Western Heritage or Academic Requirement
3 AUC Social Context or Academic Requirement
3 Academic Elective
Senior
3 Senior Seminar in Photography
9 Photography Electives: Color II, Sicily Travel Class Advanced Printing Techniques, Studio Lighting, Documentary, Photojournalism, Experimental Processes
6 Studio Electives
3 History of Photography or Art History
3 Academic Elective
6 Unrestricted Elective

The photography department emphasizes the use of the photographic medium as an artistic tool. While some courses address commercial issues, the thrust of the department is toward producing visual artists who use photography as a primary means of expression. A variety of formats are integrated within a curriculum that includes experimental, narrative, and documentary approaches to the medium. Students are trained in B&W and color wet processes, studio practices, digital technologies and a variety of historical techniques. A senior exhibition marks the culmination of the program of study.

The photography department is housed in Taub Hall and the Renée Samuels Center and supports two multiple-station, black-and-white darkrooms equipped with Beseler 23CII and 45M enlargers, a color lab that includes a Colenta color print processor and Beseler and Durst 4×5 enlargers, film loading and processing rooms, and a finishing area for mounting, matting, and storage. The department maintains a shooting studio outfitted with overhead quartz, fluorescent, and strobe lighting systems, backdrops and assorted camera supports. The studio also contains a 4×5 view camera with a Leaf Aptus digital back and an 8×10 film camera. In addition, there is a large number of 4×5 view camera kits available for individual student use. The department includes a state of the art digital lab equipped with Apple Macintosh computers and a variety of scanners, printers, and digital cameras.