Graphic Design Major
What is Graphic Design?
The Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design at Drexel prepares students to inform, persuade, educate, and entertain through the creative use of words and images. The program prepares students with diverse backgrounds to enter the field of graphic design with a competitive edge as skilled design practitioners, creative problem solvers, and multi-talented team members.
Drexel’s top-ranked four-year degree program in Graphic Design provides a balance of theory and practice in rigorous design study enhanced by general education coursework in the humanities, art history, and the physical and social sciences. The curriculum enables students to develop a sophisticated approach to creative problem-solving and analysis, to effectively communicate through excellence in typography and image-making, and to have an immersion in all aspects of visual communication and experience: brand identity, dynamic and time-based media environments, data visualization, and experiential and spatial design.
Graphic Design majors work in the latest applications and emerging technologies, acquiring fluency in and between digital and print media. Students in the BS Graphic Design program at Drexel win numerous awards and recognitions each year from national and international publications such as Graphic Design USA, Communication Arts, UCDA, Print, Graphis, and Creative Quarterly. In addition to studio and classroom experience, Drexel University’s co-operative education program (coop) provides graphic design majors with experience as professional designers in the workplace before graduation. Graduates of the program are equipped to meet the challenges of an ever-changing design industry and work in various media.
Why Study Graphic Design at Drexel?
Drexel’s campus is located in the heart of Philadelphia, a city with countless resources and opportunities to engage with design and the arts. Students can marvel at the city’s ubiquitous public art and significant architecture, visit the world-class Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the Barnes Collection, or visit galleries and design firms in Old City. Graphic Design faculty organize frequent field trips that include studio tours, Design Philadelphia events, and other opportunities to experience and discuss design off campus. The program also leads an annual field excursion to New York City; recent trips have included the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, Bard Center for Graduate Studies (tour and curator talk on Jan Tschichold), Soviet avant-garde design at the Jewish Museum, and various typography and poster exhibitions.
Drexel offers a diverse range of over 100 undergraduate academic minors, allowing students to explore their interests outside their officially declared major. Graduating with the addition of a minor demonstrates the breadth of their knowledge and their desire to get the most from their education. Listed below are a few examples of minors our graphic design students have graduated with:
- Art History
- Fashion Industry & Merchandising (FIM)
- Marketing and Communications
- Photography
- Product Design
- UXID (User Experience & Interaction Design)
The graphic design program brings in various guest designers, educators, alumni, and related art professionals throughout the year for the graphic design community, the university, and the city at large. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear firsthand about the work and life stories of those who have achieved successful careers in many areas of graphic design. Past guests have included:
- Marin Venezky
- Matt Willey
- Carin Goldberg
- Kubo Shu
- Breonna Danielle Rodriguez Delgrosso
- Kira Karlstrom
Graphic Design students also have the opportunity to study abroad in London, England, during their summer sophomore year. The Global Studies program offers the opportunity to take courses in design and design history complemented by studio and academic electives taught by various Drexel graphic design and FIE faculty each year.
In addition to the numerous opportunities mentioned above, many graphic design students participate in various organizations in and outside the university.
- AIGA (Professional Association for Design) student chapter
- Anime and Gaming Organization
- Asian Students Association
- Campus Activities Board
- Dragon Climbers
- Greek Life
- Intramural sports
- Jewish Student Association
- University newspaper
- University Ensembles (Choral Ensembles, Jazz Orchestra, and Concert Band)
What Skills Will You Learn in a Graphic Design Undergraduate Program?
Graphic Design majors learn to conceptualize, design, and produce visual communication in various media (see list below). All students are engaged in the core Adobe software applications such as InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects, as well as Figma, one of the leading website prototype software. Students in the Graphic Design program use this work to develop an expansive portfolio of diverse projects, an invaluable tool for our graduates as they seek future employment.
Through the collaborative, project-based curriculum, Graphic Design majors will learn skills and competencies such as:
- Advertising
- Book Design
- Brand Identity
- Data Visualization
- Exhibition and Experiential Design
- History of Art and Design
- Illustration
- Magazine Design
- Motion Graphics
- Packaging Design
- Posters
- Photography
- Printmaking
- Social Media Graphics
- Typography
- UXID
Learn more about the curriculum and see sample plans of study for the undergraduate Graphic Design degree here.
Facilities for Graphic Design Majors
The Graphic Design undergraduate program is housed in the award-winning URBN Center, the hub for creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration within the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. Five dedicated studios serve the Graphic Design program, which includes labs outfitted with monitors, color and black-and-white printers, ViewSonic touch-screen monitors, and dedicated spaces for student work storage. Constant updates are made to both hardware and software to provide students and faculty with the most current and cutting-edge industry tools.
Graphic Design majors can use the Hybrid Making Lab, which houses laser cutters, a table-top CNC router, several 3-D printers, a 3-D scanner, and small hand tools. Students use this space starting their freshman year, developing a variety of projects and collaborating with other students in the College. Additionally, students have access to a wood shop and metal shop in the Design Arts Annex.
Career Opportunities with a Graphic Design Degree
Graphic Design majors are widely sought for diverse co-op opportunities, and graduates are employed by top advertising agencies, design studios, corporate design departments and publishers. A Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design prepares graduates for careers in the competitive and ever-changing graphic design profession and related fields, such as:
- Art Director
- Content Developer
- Creative Director
- Exhibition Designer
- Marketing Director
- Motion Graphics Director
- Package Designer
- Publication Designer
- Social Media Content Designer
- User Experience/User Interface Designer (UXID)
Drexel Graphic Design students and alumni have secured co-op positions or full-time employment at such companies as:
- Apple
- ESPN
- Facebook
- Google
- Ketchum
- Marvel Entertainment
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Prophet
- Sesame Workshop
- Spotify
- Under Armour
- Urban Outfitters
Learn more about the co-op program and Graphic Design career opportunities here.
Student Graphic Design Portfolio
Applicants to the BS in Graphic Design program at Drexel University are required to submit a portfolio for admission. Applicants should submit eight to twelve pieces of recent work that demonstrate originality and creative problem-solving. Your portfolio submission can include any combination of paintings, drawings, photographs, graphic design, video, animation, sculpture, or many other examples of creative work, all listed here.
Additional guidelines and portfolio requirements, including how to submit your portfolio to SlideRoom, can be found on Drexel’s undergraduate admissions website.
To see the kind of work you’ll create in Drexel’s Graphic Design major, visit our Creative Work webpage.
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