Graphic and Visual Communication Design (BA)

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Offered by the Department of Art , College of Arts and Sciences .

Admission to the Program

A student admitted to AU under any major, school, college, or undeclared, may be admitted to the program and declare the major after completion with a grade of C or better of at least 6 credit hours from the following courses:

Students are accepted based on programmatic approval and formal declaration of major.

University Requirements

120 credit hours with minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 2 )
Completion of all requirements for a major (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 9 )

AU Core Requirements

Completion of AU Core foundation requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.2-8.6 )
Completion of AU Core Habits of Mind requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.7 )
Completion of AU Core integrative course requirements (Undergraduate Academic Regulation 8.8-8.11 )

For additional information, see AU Core Curriculum .

Major Requirements

39 credit hours with grades of C+ or better
- To remain in good standing in the major, a course can be repeated once in order to achieve the required minimum grade
- Subject to the approval of the program, a maximum of 12 credit hours in graphic design transferred from another university may be substituted for required graphic design courses
- With approval of the program director, up to 6 credit hours taken abroad may be applied to the major
- No more than 3 credit hours of GDES-491 Internship (1-6) may be applied to the major
Minor or second major exclusive of Graphic and Visual Communication Design (Minor)
Minimum 2.50 cumulative GPA
Minimum 3.00 major GPA

Course Requirements

Foundations (18 credit hours)

Principles

Complete 3 credit hours from the following:

Photography

Complete 3 credit hours from the following:

Required

Specialized Practices I (9 credit hours)

Complete 9 credit hours from the following:

Specialized Practices II (6 credit hours)

Advanced Design I

Complete 3 credit hours from the following:

Advanced Design II

GDES-420 Design Capstone (3)

Electives (6 credit hours)

Complete 6 credit hours from the following or other courses approved by the department if not taken to fulfill Advanced Design I:

Minor or Second Major

Note: These courses are not included in the major GPA.

Minor or second major exclusive of Graphic and Visual Communication Design (Minor)

Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees

American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its combined bachelor’s/master’s programs. See Admission to a Combined Bachelor’s / Master’s Program and Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees for more information.