Interdisciplinary Art and Design Studies

Overview

We live in a world of images. Websites, magazines, films, television and public art surround us. What impulses drive us to make and desire these images? How do we understand them? What do they do? How do they make meaning in a diverse world?

The BA in Interdisciplinary Art and Design Studies is a genuinely interdisciplinary study of art and design with coursework in such diverse fields as Anthropology, Film, Communications, Art History, and Sociology. The program introduces students to the breadth of artistic and design media and the interpretive strategies employed to decipher them. The degree teaches students to understand images as objects to be read for their visual, physical, technical, social, and historical properties. It explores the social, philosophical, and psychological reasons why humans make and need images as well as how humans have used images to communicate throughout history and around the globe. The degree prepares students to understand the power and significance of images in the world around them.

Undergraduate Program

The program consists of 120 semester credit hours. All students complete the College of Visual Arts and Design Core program, acquiring general skills in art, design, and art history. Students then select from a menu of introductory courses in specific studio art and design disciplines to gain more specific knowledge of two of these fields. During the next stage of the degree, students take courses outside the School of Visual Arts, selecting from an array of classes that address images and visual communication from different perspectives. They also complete a broad selection of advanced art history courses to gain a deeper understanding of the history of images from around the globe, and the analytical tools used to study them.

As part of the 120-hour program, students complete a Minor outside of the College of Visual Arts and Design. The minor is intended to complement the major degree program and offer a different perspective on the use of art and design. Students are strongly advised to consider a minor in Anthropology, Journalism, Foreign Language, History (including area and gender/sexuality studies), or Sociology.

• The Interdisciplinary Art and Design Studies Manual answers many questions associated with the degree (PDF opens in a new window).
• Suggested Undergraduate Curriculum for Interdisciplinary Art and Design Studies 2009-2010 (PDF opens in a new window).

Faculty & Staff