Oct 04, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Art, Graphic Design Concentration, B.F.A.


Art and Design  
615-898-2455

Noël Lorson, director of graphic design
Noel.Lorson@mtsu.edu

The B.F.A. program is designed for those who wish to work professionally as artists in art-related fields and/or work toward a graduate degree (M.F.A.). All students pursuing a major in Art are required to complete the True Blue Core requirements as specified by the department. Students should consult with their advisors each semester in order to plan their schedules of courses.

Academic Map


Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Art, Graphic Design, B.F.A., Academic Map   

Degree Requirements


True Blue Core (TBC) 41 hours
Major Requirements 79 hours
     Foundation    18 hours*
     Graphic Design Concentration    21 hours
     Upper-Division Art History    6 hours
     Graphic Design Electives    25 hours
     Studio Electives    9 hours
Electives 0-3 hours
TOTAL 120 hours

*This program requires courses that can also fulfill requirements of the True Blue Core curriculum. If program requirements are also used to fulfill True Blue Core requirements, the number of elective hours will increase.

True Blue Core (41 hours)


True Blue Core (TBC)  requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in the Foundational Skills areas of Written Communication (WC), Information Literacy (Info Lit), Non-Written Communication (NWC), and Quantitative Literacy (Quant Lit). Knowledge Domains include Human Society and Social Relationships (HSSR), Scientific Literacy (Sci Lit), Creativity and Cultural Expression (CCE), and History and Civic Learning (HCL), which include Discovery and Explorations categories. Students must choose at least one course from each Discovery category.

The following courses required by the major meet True Blue Core requirements:

Major Requirements (79 hours)


The Graphic Design concentration requires a grade of C in ART 1610 , ART 1620 , ART 1630 , ART 1640 ART 1650 , ART 1920 , ART 1930 ART 2310 ART 2325 , DSGN 3325 , ART 3330 , DSGN 4310 DSGN 4320 , and ART 4330 .

Foundation (18 hours)


Graphic Design (21 hours)


Upper-Division Art History (6 hours)


Graphic Design Electives (25 hours)


A minimum of 3 credit hours in Illustration and 3 credit hours in Interaction are required. Maximum 6 hours allowable in Print Media.

Electives (0-3 hours)


Candidacy Program


The Graphic Design concentration includes a candidacy program based on successful completion of certain required classes with specified minimum grade point expectations and performance for retention in Graphic Design. The candidacy program imposes requirements in several areas:

  1. Admission to most upper-division professional courses in the Graphic Design concentration will be restricted to students admitted to candidacy.
  2. All students in the Graphic Design concentration should apply for admission to candidacy at the end of the semester in which they will have completed 45 semester hours of coursework.
  3. At a minimum, students in the Graphic Design concentration must have completed each of the following courses with a grade of C (2.00) or better before applying for candidacy:
    ART 1610 - Two-Dimensional Design 
    ART 1620 - Drawing I 
    ART 1630 - Three-Dimensional Design 
    ART 1640 - Drawing II 
    ART 2310 - Graphic Design Technologies 
    ART 2325 - Typographic Design 
    DSGN 3325 - Word and Image 
  4. At a minimum, students applying for candidacy in the Graphic Design concentration must have an overall GPA of at least 2.00 on all University-level coursework.
  5. Students applying for candidacy in the Graphic Design concentration must twice submit for juried review a portfolio containing work completed in the courses listed in item 3 above (specified graphic-related electives). (The majority of the work in the portfolio must be two-dimensional.) The first portfolio review will follow completion of ART 2325  and a second review will follow completion of DSGN 3325 . If after the second portfolio review a student is not admitted to candidacy the student may, with modifications, submit the portfolio one additional time before being asked to find another major or concentration.

Curriculum: Art, Graphic Design


Freshman Fall


Subtotal: 15 Hours


Freshman Spring


Subtotal: 15 Hours


Sophomore Fall


Subtotal: 16 Hours


Sophomore Spring


  • 3 credit hours
  • Studio Elective 3 credit hours
  • Graphic Design elective 3 credit hours
  • Non-Written Communication 3 credit hours
  • Quantitative Literacy 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 15 Hours


Junior Fall


  • 3 credit hours
  • Graphic Design elective 3 credit hours
  • Studio elective 3 credit hours
  • Upper-division art history 3 credit hours
  • Scientific Literacy 4 credit hours

Subtotal: 16 Hours


Junior Spring


  • Graphic Design electives 9 credit hours
  • Upper-division Art History 3 credit hours
  • History and Civic Learning 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 15 Hours


Senior Fall


  • Graphic Design electives 7 credit hours
  • Studio elective 3 credit hours
  • Human Society and Social Relationships 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 13 Hours


Senior Spring


Subtotal: 12 Hours