StudyQA — Bachelor: Graphic Design — University of Illinois at Chicago

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Description Contents Requirements Funding

Graphic design makes ideas visible. It is a nuanced visual language that conveys concrete ideas by abstract means, combining the art of typography with the skillful rendering of signs, symbols, and images.

Graphic designers vocalize thought, solicit engagement, influence behavior, stage a dialectic, facilitate connection, provoke a response. Students of graphic design learn its formal principles and acquire the skills necessary to engage these principles in practice. They learn to look—a faculty of vision—and to see—a faculty of the mind. They learn discernment; to excise the trivial from the significant. Students learn to communicate visually—and compellingly—in the service of a greater public and, potentially, the greater good.

Freshman Year
Fall Semester		Hours
DES 110	Design Colloquium	1
DES 120	2D Form Studio (S or F)	4
DES 130	3D Form Studio (S or F)	4
DES 160	Design Photography (S or F)	4
ENGL 160	Academic Writing I: Writing in Academic and Public Contexts	3
	Hours	16
Spring Semester
DES 140	Design Drawing (S or F)	4
DES 150	Digital Media Design I (S or F)	4
DES 170	Color Theory (S or F)	4
ENGL 161	Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research	3
CC 120	UIC First-Year Dialogue Seminar (Required of new freshmen only)	1
	Hours	15-16
Sophomore Year
Fall Semester
AH 110	World History of Art and the Built Environment I	4
DES 208	Typography I: Form	4
DES 250	Digital Media Design II	4
DES 220	Form and Image Studio	4
	Hours	16
Spring Semester
AH 111	World History of Art and the Built Environment II	4
DES 209	Typography II: Systems	4
DES 251	Digital Media Design III: Motion Design	4
Understanding the Individual and Society course		3
General Elective		3
	Hours	18
Junior Year
Fall Semester
DES 235	History of Design I: 1760-1925	3
DES 318	Typography III: Dimension	4
DES 350	Digital Media Design IV: Advanced Interactive Design	4
General Elective		4
Understanding the Past course		3
	Hours	18
Spring Semester
DES 236	History of Design II: 1925 to the Present	3
DES 319	Typography IV: Expression	4
DES Elective		4
Analyzing the Natural World course		4
General Elective		3
	Hours	18
Senior Year
Fall Semester
DES 480	Graphic Design Thesis I	4
Professional Practice Track
Select one of the following:		4
DES 420	Professional Practice Project I
DES 430	Interdisciplinary Product Development I
DES 440	Design Thinking and Leadership I
DES 452	Informational Aesthetics I
General Elective		4
Exploring World Cultures course		3
	Hours	15
Spring Semester
DES 410	Senior Design Colloquium I	1
DES 411	Senior Design Colloquium II	1
DES 481	Graphic Design Thesis II	4
Professional Practice Track
Select one of the following:		4
DES 421	Professional Practice Project II
DES 431	Interdisciplinary Product Development II
DES 441	Design Thinking and Leadership II
DES 453	Informational Aesthetics II
ART Elective		4
Understanding U.S. Society course		3
	Hours	17
	Total Hours	133

Requirements

Admission to the School of Design is highly competitive. Our admission standards exceed the minimum average ACT/SAT and HSPR (high school class ranking) for the campus. The middle 50% of our Freshmen class enter with an ACT Composite score of 21-26. Applications are evaluated and selected based on a holistic review of a student’s Common Application, transcripts, GPA, ACT/SAT score, HSPR, recommendation letters, and personal statement.
Application and processing for students interested in attending any university is lengthy and should always be completed as early as possible. School of Design programs require international applicants to present a minimum Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 550 (paper-based); 213 (computer-based); 80, with sub-scores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (International).
Submit $30 international credential evaluation fee, assessed once per term of all undergraduate applicants presenting any coursework taken outside the United States. The evaluation fee must be paid after submission of the application through your UIC Admissions checklist.
Transcripts/mark sheets must be official and submitted directly from all schools you have attended. If new transcripts cannot be submitted, a photocopy of your version should be sent to the school to be attested and then sent to UIC for review.