Design |
The Department of Art and Design helps students develop their artistic and intellectual potential, explore new areas and discover career opportunities. Drake offers both intensive experiences in art and a solid liberal arts education. Students are immersed in a professional art and design environment, develop consummate technical skills and achieve formalistic and conceptual abilities in preparation for a rewarding visual arts career.
Graphic design majors receive individual attention from their faculty adviser and other professors who are passionate about teaching. Classes are small, generally ranging in size from 10 to 20 students.
MAJOR INFORMATION
The graphic design program prepares graduates to work as professionals. Graduates have mastered a broad range of conceptual, formal and technical skills that allow them to plan and execute the design of visual communications creatively and responsibly. This is achieved through the study of fine art, craftsmanship, and design theory coupled with practical design experiences. The program allows students to develop a personally fulfilling approach to design by focusing on critical thinking and process-oriented design explorations. Students have 24-hour access to advanced computer graphic labs with Internet access and current industry software and hardware. Advanced students have the opportunity to work in professional internships.
Students will also benefit from activities with local and national professional organizations, such as the American Institute of Graphic Arts and the Art Directors Association of Iowa. Drake has a student chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts as well.
DEGREE OPTIONS
Bachelor of Arts in art: This degree recognizes that many students want a graphic design degree in combination with concentrated coursework in an academic field.
Bachelor of Fine Arts in art: This degree is for students who wish to enter an intensive graphic design program. Professional skills and a personal aesthetic philosophy are achieved by students while concentrating in graphic design. Students must possess an exceptionally strong commitment
to their work.
The comprehensive art curriculum is enhanced with a variety of individualized choices from the Drake Curriculum.
FACULTY
The Department of Art and Design includes 9 full-time faculty; all hold the highest degrees in their field and are practicing designers, artists and scholars. All full-time faculty are engaged in teaching classes from the introductory to advanced levels.
ACADEMIC PREPARATION
Students do not have to show a portfolio to be admitted to the design program. However, students must provide evidence of their work to apply for merit scholarships offered by the Department of Art and Design. A scholarship application form that requires applicants to submit digital images of their work is available on the Department of Art and Design Web site.
REQUIRED CREDIT HOURS AND COURSES FOR A MAJOR
A minimum of 124 credit hours is required for all undergraduate art degrees.
FIRST-YEAR PROGRAM
Design majors begin with the fundamentals in drawing, design and art history that are essential to any area selected. These courses challenge students to develop basic artistic skills as they learn about career opportunities in the visual arts. First-year art courses are listed below.
| FIRST SEMESTER |
HRS |
SECOND SEMESTER |
HRS | |
| ART 1 |
1 |
ART 13 or 14 - 2D or 3D Design |
3 | |
| ART 13 or 14 - 2D or 3D Design |
3 |
ART 16 - Drawing |
3 | |
| ART 15 - Drawing |
3 |
ART 76 - Survey of Art History |
3 | |
| ART 75 - Survey of Art History |
3 |
ART 21 |
3 | |
| First Year Seminar |
3 |
Drake Curriculum |
3 | |
| Drake Curriculum |
3 |
Total |
15 | |
|
Total |
16 |
REQUIRED COURSES AND CREDIT HOURS OUTSIDE MAJOR
The Drake Curriculum, required of all undergraduates, is designed to help students meet personal and professional goals as they acquire fundamental knowledge and abilities in ten Areas of Inquiry, including communication, critical thinking, artistic experience, historical consciousness, information and technology literacy, international and multicultural experiences, scientific and quantitative literacy, values and ethics and engaged citizenship. Students work closely with their academic advisers to craft a program of study in general education that prepares students for civic and professional leadership.
The Drake Curriculum also requires first-year seminars, which foster development of critical thinking and written and oral communication skills through a topical focus; and a Senior Capstone, in which students demonstrate the capacity to bring information, skills and ideas to bear on one project.
EXHIBITIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES
Drake provides students with many opportunities to engage in art outside the classroom. The Department of Art and Design holds exhibitions of work by students, faculty and invited artists during the school year, including the annual juried Student Art Exhibition.
Facilities in the Harmon Fine Arts Center include the 3,500-square-foot Anderson Gallery. Providing 1,800 square feet of exhibition space, rooms for handling and storing works of art, and a reception lobby, the Anderson Gallery is an exciting showcase for work by visiting artists, students and faculty. Annual assistantships are available through the gallery, providing students with a unique opportunity for hands-on experience in gallery management. Students also have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with exhibiting artists from around the country. The Anderson Gallery is a visible and vital member of the Des Moines art community, attracting local and national visitors.
Adjacent to the Anderson Gallery is the Weeks Gallery, providing an additional 1,000 square feet of exhibition space. The Weeks Gallery is exclusively reserved for student exhibitions, from senior thesis shows to group shows by the student-led Art Club. Nationally and internationally recognized artists and other visual arts professionals come to campus each year to give lectures and workshops. In addition, field trips allow students to observe major collections and exhibitions in such cities as Chicago and Kansas City. Drake students also take advantage of the exhibitions and lectures offered by the Des Moines Art Center, internationally recognized for its collection of 20th century works of art.
STUDY ABROAD
Drake University offers a variety of international study programs on every inhabited continent with learning opportunities in more than 60 countries. Interim, summer, semester and yearlong programs are available to students with or without foreign language backgrounds. There are a number of study abroad programs designed specifically for art and design students in cities such as Buenos Aires, Argentina; Dublin, Ireland; Melbourne, Australia; Freiburg, Germany and Milan, Italy.
INTERNSHIPS
Many nonprofit organizations and businesses in Des Moines, Iowa's capital, value Drake design majors as high-quality candidates for part-time positions. Design majors are in high demand for producing works for campus organizations, publications and events.
Visit the Art and Design website
