Design Major

The BA in Design is a 14-credit major available to students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. The major in Design innovatively explores the expansive nature of contemporary design and its relationship to the humanities, the sciences, and emerging technologies. The major’s curriculum emphasizes an integrated understanding of design that brings together different disciplinary approaches that respond to complex social, cultural, and environmental challenges. Students studying design acquire contemporary representation, prototyping, and fabrication skills, while engaging with theoretical frameworks yielding advanced research and knowledge production. These skill-sets are gained through exposure to diverse approaches to design methodologies, histories, and theories. Learning outcomes are evident through individual and collaborative projects utilizing conceptual, technological, and speculative approaches that emerge from the core and integrative studios. Design electives and seminars enrich, complicate, and expand disciplinary modalities, while engaging in deeper explorations of positionality within a global context. Ultimately, the Design Major guides students through a process of learning to independently question, interpret, and analyze integrative design.

To declare the major, please schedule an advising appointment.

Core Studio Requirements (2 CU)
Students are encouraged to take these classes their freshman and sophomore year.

DSGN 0010  Art, Design & Digital Culture *
DSGN 0020 Design 21: Design After the Digital

*Course fulfills a College of Arts and Sciences sector requirement (Sector IV: Humanities and Social Science).

Integrative Design Studio Requirements (3 CU)
Select three integrative design studio courses, such as:

DSGN 1020 Art of the Web: Interactive Concepts for Art & Design
DSGN 1050 Typography
DSGN 1070 Graphic Design I: Creative Technologies
DSGN 1200 Procedural Design Systems for Virtual Environments
DSGN 2070 Graphic Design II
FNAR 2100 Computer Animation
DSGN 2220 Immersive Media Studio
DSGN 2260 Pixel to Print
DSGN 2570 UX/UI Design

Art History & Theory Requirements (3 CU)
Select one Art History (ARTH) course,
and two theory courses such as:

any Design or Fine Arts Seminar: DSGN 3000-3999 OR FNAR 3000-3999
VLST 1010 Eye Mind Image
DSGN 3250 MATTERS
URBS 2050 Intro to Environmental Design
ARCH 4110 Geometry in Design
EAS 2030 Engineering Ethics
CIS 1070 Visual Culture

Design Seminar Requirements (2 CU)

DSGN 4020 Senior Seminar -  Fall
DSGN 4030 Senior Seminar - Spring

Art and Design Electives (4 CU)

Select any combination of four FNAR and DSGN courses to fulfill this requirement.

The Design Minor is a six-credit program available to undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, Wharton and the School of Nursing. The curriculum emphasizes an integrated understanding of design as a tool for inquiry that responds to social, cultural, and environmental challenges. Students minoring in design will engage in theoretical frameworks that utilize contemporary methods of representation, technology, and fabrication with a focus on knowledge production.

To declare a minor, please request using PATHforms.

Core Studio Requirements (1 CU)

DSGN 0010  Art, Design & Digital Culture*

*Course fulfills a College of Arts and Sciences sector requirement (Sector IV: Humanities and Social Science).

Integrative Design Studio Requirements (2 CU)
Select two integrative design studio courses, such as:

DSGN 1020 Art of the Web: Interactive Concepts for Art & Design
DSGN 1050 Typography
DSGN 1070 Graphic Design I: Creative Technologies
DSGN 1200 Procedural Design Systems for Virtual Environments
DSGN 2070 Graphic Design II
FNAR 2100 Computer Animation
DSGN 2220 Immersive Media Studio
DSGN 2260 Pixel to Print
DSGN 2570 UX/UI Design

History & Theory Requirement (1CU)
Select one of the following courses:

DSGN 0020 Design 21
any Design or Fine Arts Seminar: DSGN 3000-3999 OR FNAR 3000-3999
VLST 1010 Eye Mind Image
DSGN 3250 MATTERS
URBS 2050 Intro to Env Design
ARCH 4110 Geometry in Design
EAS 2030 Engineering Ethics
CIS 1070 Visual Culture

Design Electives (2 CU)
Select any two FNAR and DSGN courses.

Majoring and Minoring in Design and Fine Arts
If a student chooses to major in Fine Arts and minor in Design or major in Design and minor in Fine Arts,  a maximum of 2 courses can be double counted for the major and minor. Four of the six courses in the minor must be unique.

To request an advising appointment, please schedule here.

The Undergraduate Program in Fine Arts & Design accepts transfer credits, credit away credits, as well as study abroad credits. To request a transfer, credit away, or study abroad credit to be reviewed by the Fine Arts Department, students must submit all course syllabi and other supporting materials from the respective institution using the College of Arts and Sciences External Course Approval Tool (XCAT). Credits will be evaluated and approved on a case-by-case basis, and must align with current Undergraduate Fine Arts or Design curriculum and course offerings. 

Students must confer with College of Arts and Sciences policies governing credits