Visual Communication Arts
The Visual Communication Arts major offers an interdisciplinary course of study, encompassing the fine arts, graphic design, illustration, and photography, as well as courses from Communication and Media Studies, Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, and film studies. It focuses on communication and creativity as fundamental elements of human expression and encourages students to think critically about creative expressions within the context of and across cultures, ethnicities, race, and gender. In this course of study, students focus on the visual arts and will be able to express themselves in a variety of media.
The program prepares students for entry-level positions in careers of museums, galleries, media, consulting, and the publishing sector. Students may also choose to pursue fine art or design careers or enter graduate and specialized studies in the arts.
Major Requirements (42 Credits)
Required Courses (9 credits)
| AHT 102 | Introduction to Art History and Visual Culture I: Antiquity to Early Renaissance | 3 |
| AHT 103 | Introduction to Art History and Visual Culture II: High Renaissance to Contemporary Art | 3 |
| COM 105 | Introduction to Communication and Media Studies in the Global Context | 3 |
100-Level Courses (6 credits)
Two of the following:
| STA 106 | Introduction to Printmaking | 3 |
| STA 107 | Introduction to Digital Photography | 3 |
| STA 111 | Introduction to Drawing | 3 |
| STA 112 | Introductory Watercolor Techniques | 3 |
| STA 114 | Drawing Related Media | 3 |
| STA 115 | Introductory Painting | 3 |
| STA 125 | Basic Design | 3 |
| VCA 120T | Documentary and Street Photography on Location: Munich | 3 |
200-Level Courses (9 credits)
Three of the following:
| AHT 222T | Design Studies | 3 |
| STA 200 | Computer Graphics in Advertising | 3 |
| STA 206 | Intermediate Printmaking | 3 |
| STA 207 | Intermediate Digital Photography | 3 |
| STA 211 | Intermediate Drawing | 3 |
| STA 212 | Intermediate Watercolor Techniques | 3 |
| STA 214 | Drawing Related Media | 3 |
| STA 215 | Intermediate Painting | 3 |
| STA 220 | Heads and Bodies: the Human Head and Proportions in Art History, Theory and Practice | 3 |
| STA 235 | Sustainability and the Studio | 3 |
| STA 275T | Studies in Ceramics: Northern and Central Italy | 3 |
| STA 280T | Adventures in Printmaking | 3 |
| VCA 200 | Creative Publishing | 3 |
| VCA 210 | Fundamentals of Digital Video Production | 3 |
| VCA 212 | Design Thinking for Academic and Entrepreneurial Minds | 3 |
Upper-Level Courses (6 credits)
Two of the following:
| STA 300 | Computer Graphics in Advertising, Advanced | 3 |
| STA 306 | Advanced Printmaking | 3 |
| STA 307 | Advanced Digital Photography | 3 |
| STA 311 | Advanced Drawing | 3 |
| STA 312 | Advanced Watercolor Painting | 3 |
| STA 314 | Drawing Related Media | 3 |
| STA 315 | Higher Painting | 3 |
| STA 330T | Umbria: A Warm Refuge for Inspiration: Art, Music and Life in Umbria, the Heart of Italy | 3 |
| STA 331T | Umbria: Sustaining Art in the Heart of Italy | 3 |
| VCA 200 | Creative Publishing | 3 |
| VCA 370 | Topics in Visual Communication Arts | 3 |
Major Electives (9 credits)
Three of the following, with at least one at the 300-level:
AHT XXX
| Any course in Art History | |
| BUS 285 | Integrated Marketing Communications | 3 |
| CLCS 110 | Reading Cultures: Approaches to Cultural Studies | 3 |
| CLCS 220 | Inventing the Past: The Uses of Memory in a Changing World | 3 |
| CLCS 230 | Science / Fiction: Envisioning the Possible | 3 |
| CLCS 250 | Ecocritical Approaches to Film | 3 |
| CLCS 300 | Masculinities in Literature and Film | 3 |
| CLCS 340 | Fashion and Visual Culture | 3 |
| CLCS 350 | Culture and Human Rights | 3 |
| CLCS 360 | Critical Race Studies in a Global Context | 3 |
| CLCS 371 | Law and Culture | 3 |
| CLCS 372 | Tales of Catastrophe | 3 |
| COM 201 | Fundamentals of Media Studies and Criticism | 3 |
| COM 202 | Fundamentals of Interpersonal Communication | 3 |
| COM 225T | Technologized Bodies: Mobile ICTs in the City | 3 |
| COM 230T | Communication, Fashion, and the Formation of Taste (Italy) | 3 |
| COM 295 | Media Consumption, Fashion, and Identity | 3 |
| COM 301 | Globalization and Media | 3 |
| COM 302 | Intercultural Communication: Theory, Research, and Practice | 3 |
| COM 327 | Producing Digital Media: Communication and Media in Practice | 3 |
| COM 330 | The Digital Innovation and Media Strategies for a New Consumer Culture | 3 |
| COM 347 | Organizational Communication | 3 |
| COM 352 | Environmental Discourses | 3 |
| FRE 374 | Introduction to French Cinema | 3 |
| FRE 376 | French Cinema: The New Wave | 3 |
| GER 373 | German Film as Medium of Culture | 3 |
| ITA 373 | Italian Film and Society | 3 |
| ITA 374 | Italian Cinema | 3 |
| ITA 375 | Italian Film Adaptation: From the Page to the Screen | 3 |
| MUS 206 | Music History From Mozart to Mahler; Classicism, Romanticism, Modernism | 3 |
| MUS 213 | Classical Music in Film | 3 |
| MUS 216 | A History of Opera: From Orpheus to West Side Story | 3 |
| MUS 217 | Masterpieces of Western Classical Music | 3 |
| MUS 218 | Music and Politics: From the French Revolution to Communism | 3 |
Note: Prerequisites may be required for courses outside of the major.
Senior Capstone (3 credits)
One of the following:
| VCA 495 | Senior Project in Visual Communication Arts | 3 |
| VCA 497 | Visual Communication Arts Internship | 3 |
| VCA 499 | Visual Communication Arts Thesis | 3 |