Apr 23, 2024  
2013-2014 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2013-2014 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Graphic Design Major (Bachelor of Fine Arts)


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Graphic designers bring order and clarity to the myriad graphic messages that saturate every aspect of daily life. In a world increasingly influenced by interactive media and time-based messaging, graphic designers have evolved from being makers of static ephemera. Designers today are collaborative and multidisciplinary information strategists, whose work involves effectively communicating complex messages and understanding the many ways in which those messages are received by audiences over time.

Training at Endicott for a career in the modern practice of graphic design includes traditional foundation-level and research-based skills as well as coursework that reflects the rapid pace of digital design technology. The BFA in Graphic Design addresses the steady morphing of the design profession to include interactive and time-based media among its required proficiencies, recognizing the growing number of post-graduate employment opportunities that specify interactive and front-end development skills in additional to the more traditional aspects of brand development.

In the Graphic Design curriculum, courses build in sequence so that students become thoroughly versed in the design process from concept to finished piece. Students develop a growing body of knowledge and expertise in research, conceptualization, composition and layout, typography, and image creation,learning more advanced methods and techniques as the course sequence continues. Students develop their visual and conceptual acuity through traditional forms, such as print media, as well as through animation, video, web and multimedia, developing both digital and traditional hand skills.

The BFA in Graphic Design includes two optional, recommended study tracks - Advertising/Brand Development and  Web Design/Development - that leverage the resources available in both the Departments of Communication and Computer Science, reflecting the need for collaborative coursework and technical skills within the modern design profession. These study tracks distinguish the Graphic Design program at Endicott by highlighting the unique interdisciplinary opportunities available to students who attend an “art school” within a liberal arts college.

In turn, Endicott’s liberal arts philosophy of education frames the Graphic Design curriculum to provide a broad understanding of historical, cultural, and social issues that deepen a student’s professional studies. The Graphic Design program is part of a holistic education that balances the professional major with coursework in the humanities, literature, science, mathematics, and the social sciences. Students learn the impact of communication design and images in a global environment along with skills needed to succeed in their respective fields. Opportunities also exist to study design abroad at formally affiliated schools, as well as through personally-tailored independent studies.

Recent Graphic Design Internship sites include:


    Avid Technology, Inc.
    EBSCO Publishing
    GAP Promotions
    Hunt & Gather
    MIT Media Lab
    Mullen Advertising
    Peabody Essex Museum
    Puma North America
    RCA Records  
    Reebook, Inc.
    Rockport Publishing
    Sky World Interactive
    Tank Design
    TD Banknorth Garden & Boston Bruins
    Yale University Graphics

Curriculum Requirements - Total Credits Required: 128-129


Sophomore - Credits: 35-36


  • Art Elective   (Cr: 3)
  • Global Issues General Education Requirement    (Cr: 3)
  • Quantitative Reasoning General Education Requirement    (Cr: 3)
  • Science and Technology General Education Requirement   (Cr: 3-4)

Junior - Credits: 30


  • General Education Elective   (Cr: 3)
  • Individual and Society General Education Requirement    (Cr: 3)
  • Literary Perspectives General Education Requirement    (Cr: 3)
  • Upper Level Art History    (Cr: 3)
  • Visual Communications Electives    (Cr: 6)
  • World Cultures General Education Requirement   (Cr: 3)

Senior - Credits: 30


  • General Education Electives    (Cr: 6)
  • Values and Ethical Reasoning General Education Requirement    (Cr: 3)
  • Visual Communications or Graphic Design Elective   (Cr: 3)

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