BFA in Graphic Design

Bachelor of Fine Arts 2024 through2025

Graphic Design


About the Program Untitled 1

Students in the BFA Graphic Design program are forbidden from minoring in Graphic Design.

Curriculum Requirements

Displaying Spring 2024-2025 Course Availability
  • In-Class
  • In-Class and Online
  • Online Only
  • Not Offered This Quarter
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First Year

  • ART 106 Beginning Drawing
  • FILM 265 Digital Still Photography
    OR ART 224 Beginning Digital Photography
  • GD 101 Creative Studio Methods
  • GD 105 Intro to Visual Design
  • GD 109 Web Design Tools Workshop (2 quarter hours of credit)
  • GD 150 Illustrator Workshop (2 quarter hours of credit)
  • GD 200 Graphic Design: Form
  • GD 230 Typography: Form
  • UXD 101 Design Principles for User Experience Design
    OR ANI 101 Animation for Non-Majors
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • LSP 110 Discover Chicago
    OR LSP 111 Explore Chicago
  • WRD 103 Composition and Rhetoric I
  • WRD 104 Composition and Rhetoric II
  • 2 Arts & Literature

Second Year

  • GAM 240 Playgramming
  • GD 110 Web Design
  • GD 151 Photoshop Workshop (2 quarter hours of credit)
  • GD 152 Indesign Workshop (2 quarter hours of credit)
  • GD 201 Introduction to Visual Design Research
  • GD 205 Graphic Design: Concept
  • GD 210 Digital Illustration I
  • GD 220 Histories of Design
  • Eight (8) credit hours of Major Electives
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • MAT 120 Quantitative Reasoning
  • LSP 200 Seminar on Race, Power, and Resistance
  • 1 Historical Inquiry
  • 1 Philosophical Inquiry

Third Year

  • ANI 361 Motion Graphics
    OR POST 110 Editing I
    OR UXD 210 Introduction to User Experience Design
  • GD 215 Web Design for Commercial Projects
    OR GD 216 Web Design for Artists
  • GD 221 Trends in Contemporary Graphic Design
  • GD 232 Typography: Systems
  • GD 270 Semiotics and Visual Design
  • GD 300 Graphic Design: Projects
  • GD 330 Typography:Projects
  • Twelve (12) credit hours of Major Electives
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • 1 Experiential Learning GD 380 (Recommended)

Fourth Year

  • GD 340 Publication Design
  • GD 356 Logo, Branding, and Visual Identity
  • GD 360 Advertising Design
  • GD 381 Graphic Design Portfolio Development
  • GD 394 Capstone Project I
    AND GD 395 Capstone Project II
  • Eight (8) credit hours of Major Electives
Liberal Studies Requirements
  • 1 Religious Dimensions
  • 1 Scientific Inquiry Lab
  • 1 Social, Cultural and Behavioral Inquiry

Major Electives

Students must complete 28 Major Elective credit hours from any undergraduate courses in CDM or the College of Business, or from PRAD in the College of Communication. Students must earn a grade of C- or higher in all major elective courses.

Students must earn a grade of C- or higher in all major elective courses.

Open Electives

Open Elective Credit Hours are required to meet the minimum graduation requirements of 208 hours. Open electives may be taken from any unit at DePaul.

Liberal Studies

The Liberal Studies program is the general education portion of the curriculum at DePaul University. Students must earn a grade of D or better in all courses taken to satisfy these requirements. The only exception is the Capstone course which is considered also a major requirement and WRD 103 and WRD 104 in which students need to earn a C- or better.

Students may choose to take some CDM courses that carry Liberal Studies credit but they cannot double count them if they are part of the major requirements. A complete list of courses that carry Liberal Studies credit can be found on the Liberal Studies website along with an overview of the Liberal Studies requirements for this program. Students can search for courses that satisfy a particular Liberal Studies requirement on campusconnect.

Although students are free to take course requirements in any order they choose, provided they have mastered the course-specific prerequisites, it is strongly recommended that students follow these year-by-year suggestions, especially regarding the first-year major courses.

Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements.

Degree Requirements

Students in this degree must meet the following requirements

  • complete a minimum of 208 credit hours (generally 54 courses)
  • Earn a grade of C- or higher in WRD 103, WRD 104, and all Major and Minor courses
  • Earn a grade of D or higher in all other Liberal Studies and Open Elective courses
  • maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher

Students who earn a cumulative DePaul University GPA

  • between 3.500 and 3.699 will graduate cum laude
  • between 3.700 and 3.849 will graduate magna cum laude
  • of at least 3.850 will graduate summa cum laude

For DePaul's policy on repeat courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Undergraduate Handbook in the Course Catalog.