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Quick Facts

Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design

Additional programs offered:

Bachelor of Science Degree

Full-time program duration: 5 years
Program Code: 23BSDESGRPH

Real-world learning components:
   Required co-op

Find related programs in the following general interest areas:
Design

Location: Main Campus

Admission Criteria
Highly competitive
Percentage of applicants offered admission: 33.3%

Freshman Class Profile for this Major
Based on the middle 50% of the 08-09 entering freshman class:
GPA: 3.725 - 4.000
ACT: 28.0 - 31.0
SAT: 1200 - 1380
Average Class Rank: Top 8.4%

Contact
College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning
School of Design
University of Cincinnati
College of DAAP, School of Design
P.O. Box 210016
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0016
Phone: 513-556-6828
School of Design
daap-admissions@uc.edu

Office of Admissions
340 University Pavilion
PO Box 210091
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0091
513-556-1100

Ask Admissions a Question

Apply for Admission

Check Your Degree Progress

Check Course Applicability
(if considering transfer to UC)

Web Degree Audit
(for advisors)

Graphic Design

  What is Graphic Design?

  Success Factors

People who are successful in graphic design have visual and kinesthetic/tactile learning styles. Graphic designers are creative, imaginative and artistic, as well as possess good hand-motor skills. They are methodical and process-oriented in approaching their work, exercising good time- and project-management skills. They critically analyze the things they see and contemplate. Graphic designers have an enormous curiosity about learning different things. They must possess strong communication skills, and they need to know how to create informative and persuasive proposals while maintaining good client relationships.

  Career Possibilities

Graphic design career opportunities include the design of advertisements, exhibitions, publications, corporate communication, packaging, posters, Web sites, branding systems, books, signs, magazines, environmental designs and video messages. They may be identified as a communications designer, visual designer or graphic designer; and they may work in art direction and design consultation. Students may find employment with a private or public organization or a design agency. Some choose to work on a freelance basis.

  Majoring in Graphic Design

Graphic design is a five-year program that includes cooperative work experience and leads to a professional bachelor of science degree in design. Students spend their first year in foundation studies, which provide a concentrated study of rudiments related to optical and tactile sensations that intensify perception. The focus of these studies concerns formal and fundamental concepts of two- and three-dimensional organization. Emphasis is placed on the ingredients of process: inquiry, analysis, comparison, evaluation and a language. The studies are an introduction to tools, methods and materials, including development of basic technical ability. The chronological order of courses provides a continual linear experience through a carefully planned analytical sequence of interlocking components.

The concentration on design process continues as students move into the graphic-design curriculum. Each assignment and course, each quarter and year, grows from the previous, supports parallel course work and anticipates the next stage. Each assignment attempts an integrated intellectual, visual and manual methodology. Faculty members maintain close contact with students and a careful supervision of curriculum. Our process involves critical analysis, research, experimentation, visualization, testing, refinement and the eventual message transmittal to an intended audience. This requires knowledge concerning conceptualization and aesthetics as well as the employment of form, drawn imagery, typography, symbology, photography, composition, legibility, production and digital technology.

  Minoring in Graphic Design

  Curriculum

This curriculum information is intended as a general information guide for students considering enrollment in this program. These online tools are designed to assist you, but are not a substitute for planning with an academic or faculty advisor.

If you are currently confirmed or enrolled, you can check your degree requirements online (http://www.onestop.uc.edu/degree_audit.html). If you are considering transferring to this major from another school use the Course Applicability System (CAS) (https://oh.transfer.org/cas/) to see how credits you have earned will apply to this major at UC. For course descriptions by college, click here (http://www.uc.edu/courses). (http://www.uc.edu/DegreePrograms/Collage/documents/daap/Graphic_Design_Curriculum.pdf)

Graphic Design Curriculum (http://www.uc.edu/DegreePrograms/Collage/documents/daap/Graphic_Design_Curriculum.pdf)

  UC Advantages and Special Opportunities

• The city of Cincinnati, once called the "Queen City of the West" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, provides an excellent array of cultural resources for students who intend to pursue a degree in the visual arts. It offers the energy and assets of a larger city, along with quiet neighborhoods steeped in rich traditions. Cincinnati offers live music venues that range from top-notch symphony and opera companies to a growing pop and rock community. Home to the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Taft Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center, the city also enjoys the presence of numerous art galleries and a strong support system among practicing artists. Cincinnati is situated within driving distance of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and New York City, allowing DAAP students to take advantage of the rich cultural resources of these cities as well.
  

• The DAAP College Library has an outstanding collection of books, periodicals and visual resources supporting architecture, planning, design, art history and related subjects. Access to library holdings is provided by an automated online catalogue, UCLID, which provides access to the University of Cincinnati Library information database, and through OhioLINK, the holdings of other academic libraries throughout Ohio.
  
• The Computer Graphics Center is a state-of-the-art university facility with hardware that includes PCs, Apple computers and peripherals such as scanners, plotters and digital video-editing suites. Students have access to sophisticated graphics equipment and receive hands-on instruction to augment the use of laptops in the classroom. All computing equipment is linked by high-speed Ethernet to facilitate access across the campus.
  
• The College supports a Rapid Prototyping Center, which is the home of state-of-the-art equipment that allows students to create communication aids for their design projects. Using CAD (computer-aided design) models, students are able to create physical models using three basic methods: 3-D printing, large format laser-cutting and CNC (computer numeric control) devices, including a Kuomo CNC Router. This facility is intended for all DAAP students to use in creating large-scale designs.
  

• The professional practice program (also known as cooperative education or co-op) offers students an opportunity for selected practical experience purposefully intermingled with a gradually expanding academic background. The University of Cincinnati invented the concept of cooperative education over 100 years ago, and is currently the second largest U.S. cooperative education institution. Approximately 45 percent of School of Design students co-op locally, and an additional 20 percent co-op elsewhere in Ohio, with the remaining students working across the country and overseas.

  Special Programs

• Graphic design students work for both small design firms and large businesses across the country, such as Pentagram (New York), Landor Associates (San Francisco), and Stoltze Design (Boston) in the areas of corporate identity, environmental graphics, print, packaging and new media. Students begin their co-op experiences in either the third or fourth quarter of their sophomore year, and alternate quarters of full-time work and study on a year-round calendar until the final quarter of the fifth year (there is no tuition for the quarters students work). They graduate with six quarters, or a year and a half, of work experience in their field.
  

• DAAP students learn creative and technical skills in the studio environment, taught by a passionate faculty who interact with their students on a daily basis. The goal is to guide students as they grow both intellectually and professionally. Faculty are innovative in transforming the art and design disciplines by applying the newest technologies. They inspire students to take advantage of interdisciplinary studio projects and work within corporate partnerships. This, along with a broad liberal arts background, prepares DAAP students to practice their art and design in both local and global markets.
  

• Computer Requirements: All undergraduate students entering the School of Design in the graphic design program are required to purchase a personal laptop computer. Each discipline has its own specific requirements for hardware and software. You can review the current requirements at www.daap.uc.edu/compreq (http://daap.uc.edu/compreq). Please note that these requirements may be slightly altered as equipment evolves. The requirements listed on the Web site will always be the most recent and accurate. Therefore, students new to DAAP are encouraged to delay their computer purchase until the summer prior to entering to make the most informed computer purchase. Many of our programs have additional technology requirements for students in the later years of study.

  Admission Requirements

The School of Design at the University of Cincinnati seeks to attract, enroll and graduate academically talented students of varied and diverse backgrounds. Success in our programs is largely dependent upon sound academic preparation. However, in multidisciplinary programs like those in design, students’ insight and perspective are greatly enhanced by exposure to students from different backgrounds, geographies and co-curricular interests. We have designed an admissions review process and a timetable to support these goals.

Freshmen

Admission criteria for graphic design varies based on the relative strength of test scores, class rank and GPA. Please see the Freshman Class Profile for this major in the Quick Facts sidebar on this page for the range of academic credentials typically accepted into this program. Test scores in the lower range may be acceptable with higher class rank and/or GPA. Submission of an art portfolio is not required.

Freshmen applying to this program should also have completed the following college-preparatory subjects:

• 4 units of college prep English
• 3 units of college preparatory math
• 2 units of science
• 2 units in one language
• 2 units of social studies
• 1 unit of fine arts
• 2 additional college prep subjects

  Transferring to UC Requirements

Students seeking to transfer from another regionally accredited university or college must have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in previous college work to be considered for admission. For priority consideration, complete transfer applications should be received by March 1 for the following fall quarter. Transfer students to the School of Design programs generally are admitted to the foundation year program.

  Changing Majors within UC Requirements

Students seeking to transfer from other colleges and programs at UC must have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in previous college work to be considered for admission. For priority consideration, complete transfer applications should be received by March 1 for the following fall quarter. Transfer students to the School of Design programs generally are admitted to the foundation year program.

  Graduation Requirements

All students accepted into the School of Design must take the first-year curriculum as outlined on the foundation studies curriculum guide. Graphic design students must complete 103 lecture hours and 90 studio hours for a total of 193 credit hours for graduation. Students must also complete six quarters of mandatory professional practice (co-op) and receive a satisfactory (S) for all required work quarters. Students must obtain a minimum overall grade point average of 2.0 and, in addition, must have at least a 2.0 grade point average for the senior year to be eligible for graduation. In order to be eligible for graduation with honors, a student must have completed at least 90 credits in the college and have earned at least a 3.6 grade point average.

  Application Deadlines

Freshmen priority deadline for programs in the School of Design: Applicants who submit a complete application by 5 p.m. on November 15 will be pooled and reviewed for selection in December. Consideration of the applicants' personal statements and Statements of co-curricular activities will be factored into the admissions decisions. Applicants who submit a complete application by 5 p.m. on November 15 will be notified of selection decisions by December 31. Please do not call prior to this date regarding a decision on your application. Applications received after November 15 may be considered on a space-available basis. 

Students seeking to transfer from other colleges and programs at UC or another regionally accredited university or college should submit a complete application for admission by March 1 for the following academic year.

  Accreditation

All programs in the School of Design are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.