Graphic Design Degrees in Tennessee
There are a number of accredited graphic design degree programs in Tennessee, and finding which of them is the best fit can be somewhat daunting. The information below hopes to make facing the challenge of selecting a program to enter easier by detailing the campus context of each program and the kinds of coursework that will be required, as well as by offering contact information so that prospective students can learn more. College is an investment, and it always pays to invest wisely. If you are interested in an online program, visit Top 10 Online Graphic Design Degree Programs.
Carson-Newman University
Art Department
The Art Department at Carson-Newman University exists in part to ensure that the institution offers the broad, rounded learning that marks the traditional Western university. It seeks to instill in its students, and in the students of the University at large, an appreciation for art as an integral part of human experience. Housed in the Warren Art Building, the Department offers computer labs and studios to its students, as well as exhibition space so that student work can be seen by the public.
BA in Art in Graphic Design
The Department offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art with an emphasis in Graphic Design, perhaps the most popular of its programs. The program seeks to prepare students for either entry-level professional work or further academic study. To those ends, it requires students to take 128 hours of coursework, including
• Forty-seven hours of Liberal Arts core courses, which include six hours of instruction in a single foreign language
• Thirty hours of Art Core courses, including Art Fundamentals I and II, Photography I, Drawing I and II, Computer Graphics, Watercolor I, Art History I and II and a senior seminar
• Eighteen hours of required Graphic Design courses, including Graphic Design I through IV, History of Graphic Design and Digital Imaging
• Electives, totaling at least 33 hours
The elective hours facilitate students taking a minor in a different field, allowing them to broaden their skillsets and ensure that they have the knowledge and expertise to succeed after graduation.
Accreditation
• University: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Department: National Association of Schools of Art and Design
Contact Information
Art Department 71995
1646 Russell Ave.
Jefferson City, TN
Phone: 865.471.4985
Email: rburgett@cn.edu
Website: https://www.cn.edu/academics/art
East Tennessee State University
College of Arts & Sciences
The College of Arts & Sciences at East Tennessee State University reports its mission as supporting its “seventeen academic departments, three Centers of Excellence, and two museums in their efforts to help students develop responsive intellects: minds attuned to the beauties, the demands, and the opportunities within our natural, social, and cultural worlds.” Programs are offered in a number of humanistic and natural sciences disciplines ranging from Appalachian Studies to Physics, English to Chemistry, representing much f the breadth of human knowledge.
BFA in Graphic Design
The College, through the Department of Art and Design, offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design that seeks to equip students to apply refined problem-solving skills to graphic media. A professional degree, it obliges students to take 120 hours of coursework, including
• Forty-one to forty-two hours of General Education courses
• Twelve hours of Major Field Core courses, including Core Studio I and II, Drawing and Color & Practice
• Thirty hours of Graphic Design Core courses, including Web Design & Development, Layout & Production, Commercial Art/Graphic Design I, Digital Photography I, Typography, Graphic Design, Intermediate Graphic Design, Displays & Package Design, Senior Projects in Graphic Design and Portfolio & Exhibit
• Twelve hours of Art History, including Art History Survey II, History of Graphic Design, an elective and either Modern or Contemporary Art
• Twenty-four hours of prescribed electives
Accreditation
• University: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Department: National Association of Schools of Art and Design
Contact Information
Department of Art and Design
70708 Ball Hall
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN 37614
Phone: 423.439.4247
Email: tiptondm@etsu.edu
O’More College of Design
School of Visual Design
The School of Visual Design at O’More College of Design seeks to prepare students for passion-driven careers in such fields as graphic design and interactive design. The School features student-centered curricula that balances traditional design instruction with training in emergent design principles and technologies, ensuring that students are able to draw upon the deep histories of their disciplines to meet the changing demands they will face in their lives after graduation.
BFA in Graphic Design
The School offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design that seeks to prepare students for careers in graphic design. Students are obliged to complete a 123 hour prescribed curriculum that includes general education courses to support a four-year degree as well as focused coursework in design and in graphic design. Required courses for the major include
• A senior presentation
• Advertising Design I and II
• An internship
• Architecture and Design I and II
• Basic Drawing
• Business for Visual Design
• Color Theory and Application
• Corporate Design I
• Design Fundamentals I and II
• Digital Imaging
• Digital Publishing
• History of Art
• History of Graphic Design
• Illustration I
• Interactive Design I
• Introduction to Visual Design
• Package Design I
• Photography
• Portfolio Studies I and II
• Print Design I and II
• Typography I and II
• Vector Imaging
Accreditation
• College: Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
Contact Information
423 South Margin Street
Franklin TN, 37064
Phone: 615.794.4254
Email: info@omorecollege.edu
Website: http://www.omorecollege.edu/Academics/GraphicDesign.aspx
Tennessee State University
College of Liberal Arts
The College of Liberal Arts at Tennessee State University emphasizes both traditional University education and emergent interdisciplinary work to equip students to succeed across the breadth of human endeavor. It offers baccalaureate degrees in Art, Communications, Criminal Justice, English, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Music and Political Science, as well as a master’s in Criminal Justice. Minors are available in Africana Studies, Art, Communications, Criminal Justice, English, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, International Affairs, Foreign Languages, Geography, Music, Philosophy, Political Science and Women’s Studies.
B.S. Studio Art in Graphic Design
The College, through the Department of Art, offers a Bachelor of Science in Studio Art with an emphasis in Graphic Design. The degree requires a minimum of 120 hours of course work, of which at least 58 must be in Art courses and 42 are in the General Education Core. Additional requirements include:
• Twenty-one hours in Art Core classes, including Fundamentals of Drawing, Figure Drawing, Drawing I and II, African American Art, a portfolio seminar and a senior project
• Twelve hours in the emphasis, taken from such courses as Illustration I and II, Graphic Design and Advanced Graphic Design
• Twelve hours of studio courses
• An art history elective
• Fifteen hours of general electives, possibly informing a minor so as to broaden and enrich student curricula
The recommended course of study has students take the most hours during their sophomore year.
Accreditation
• University: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Department: National Association of Schools of Art and Design
Contact Information
3500 John A. Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, TN 37209
Phone: 615.963.1577
Email: cjohnson26@tnstate.edu
Website: http://www.tnstate.edu/art/degrees.aspx
The Art Institute of Tennessee
Design
One of four areas of instruction available, the Design area at the Art Institute of Tennessee offers programs in Interior Design and Graphic & Web Design. Both offer the professional Bachelor of Fine Arts degree; an Associate of Arts degree is also available in Graphic & Web Design. Programs are narrowly focused on their majors, although they do offer general education courses as is expected of degree, rather than certificate, programs.
Graphic Design BFA
The Institute offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree concentrated in Graphic Design. It requires 180 quarter credits, of which 48 are in general education courses. The remaining 132 are taken from the following:
• A capstone and capstone research
• Advanced Layout Design
• An internship or additional elective
• Applications & Industry
• Art Direction
• Business of Graphic Design
• Concept Design
• Corporate Identity
• Design Fundamentals
• Digital Color Theory
• Digital Illustration
• Fundamentals of Web Page Scripting
• Image Manipulation
• Information Design
• Interactive Motion Graphics
• Interface Design
• Intermediate Layout Design
• Intermediate Web Page Scripting
• Introduction to Layout Design
• Observational Drawing
• Package Design
• Portfolio I and II (sophomore and senior levels, respectively)
• Publication Design
• Rapid Visualization
• Timeline Animation & Interaction
• Typography (three courses: Traditional, Hierarchy and Expressive & Experimental)
Of note, Typography- Expressive & Experimental and Sequential Illustration are required of Graphic Design students. Some general education courses also bear in on Graphic Design information.
Accreditation
• Institute: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Contact Information
100 Centerview Drive, Suite 250
Nashville, TN 37214-3439
Phone: 615.874.1067
Website: http://new.artinstitutes.edu/nashville/Programs/Graphic-and-Web-Design/3863
Tusculum College
Art & Design Program
The Art & Design Program at Tusculum College offers concentrations in Graphic Design, Studio Art and Art Education, as well as an Art minor. All majors must produce an exhibition of their work before graduating, ensuring that they have applied practice in one of the most important aspects of any artist’s or designer’s work, and course offerings are directed towards preparing students for continued formal study. Civic outreach opportunities are also made available to students in the Program.
B.A. Art and Design in Graphic Design
The Program offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and Design concentrating in Graphic Design that focuses on preparing students for the demands of commercial graphic design. Baccalaureate degrees at the College require a minimum of 128 hours of coursework, including a common core curriculum. Requirements for the Graphic Design concentration also include
• Twenty-four hours of Art & Design core coursework, including Basic Design, Basic Drawing, Ancient through Renaissance Art, Baroque through Modern Art, Service-Learning in the Arts and the final portfolio and exhibition
• Thirty-two hours in the concentration, including Graphic Design I through III; Web Design; Publication Design; two courses from among Basic Photography, Introduction to Art, Painting I, Sculpture I, Ceramics I, Printmaking I, Two-Dimensional Art and Three-Dimensional Art; and one course from among Painting II, Sculpture II, Printmaking II, Intermediate Drawing, Graphic Design Seminar and Art History Research
Accreditation
• College: Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Contact Information
60 Shiloh Road
Greeneville, TN 37743
Phone: 423.636.7300×5274
Email: dbryan@tusculum.edu
Website: http://www.tusculum.edu/academics/programs/art/
Union University
College of Arts & Sciences
The College of Arts & Sciences at Union University undergirds the school’s core curriculum and represents much of the breadth of human knowledge. Hosting the Departments of Art, Biology, Chemistry, Communication Arts, Computer Science, Engineering, English, History, Language, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology & Family Studies, it also maintains pre-health-profession and pre-law programs, as well as interdisciplinary digital media work, equipping students not only with the traditional foundations of knowledge, but also professional skills and training.
Graphic Design
The College offers both a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art degree and a Bachelor of Arts in art degree with an emphasis in Graphic Design that emulate the apprenticeship system in a Bauhaus-formulated model. In addition to University general education requirements, the degrees oblige
• Thirty-one hours in the Art major core, including Foundations of 2D Design, 3D Design, drawing, figure drawing, digital media; an introductory visual arts seminar; Art History 01-03, covering prehistory through the present; either Art History 04: Contemporary Issues in Art History or Art History: History of Graphic Design, a mid-program review and a capstone/research course
• Eighteen (for the BFA) or twelve (for the BA) hours in the primary emphasis of Graphic Design, with BFA students taking Motion Graphics and Digital Design for the Screen among those house
• Twelve (for the BFA) or six (for the BA) hours in a secondary emphasis chosen from Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture and Photography
The BFA additionally requires nine hours of Art electives and two visual aesthetic courses.
Accreditation
• University: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Program: National Association of Schools of Art and Design
Contact Information
1050 Union University Drive
Jackson, TN 38305
Phone: 731.661.5075
Email: cgooch@uu.edu
Website: http://www.uu.edu/academics/coas/art/
University of Memphis
College of Communication and Fine Arts
The College of Communication and Fine Arts at the University of Memphis hosts the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music and the Departments of Architecture, Art, Communication, Journalism and Theatre & Dance. Its programs thus cover much of the range of human expression, artistic and otherwise, offering an unusual combination and selection of fields in conjunction with one another and in some ways overlapping with the offerings of the College of Arts and Sciences.
B.F.A. in Art- Graphic Design
The College offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art with a concentration in Graphic Design that seeks to prepare students to begin professional work in the changing field. Students seeking to enter the concentration are required to pass an Incoming Evaluation, and the degree requires 120 hours of coursework. Aside from the 41 in required general education classes, they must include
• Major Core courses: Foundations Studio I and II and Drawing I and II
• Concentration entrance courses: Typographic Design I, Visual Thinking, Computer Assisted Graphic Design and Drawing and Composition
• Nine hours in art history
• Concentration completion courses: a photography course, Typographic Design II, Image Design, Graphic Design Method, Electronic Pre-Press Production, Writing/Design Process, Graphic Design/Print Communication, Interactive Multimedia/Graphic Design, Special Studies in Graphic Design, either Visual Design Business Practice or Design Practice Studio, Graphic Design Portfolio, Workshop in Art and one from among Special Studies in Graphic Design, Graphic Design Internship, Visual Design Business Practice and Design Practice Studio
• Art electives to complete 79 hours in the major
M.F.A. in Art- Graphic Design
The College also offers a Master of Fine Arts degree in Art with a concentration in Graphic Design that brings students to the leading edge of graphic design knowledge. The three-year, 60-hour curriculum requires
• Six hours of thesis coursework resulting in a written thesis and accompanying visual documentation
• Thirty-six hours of studio art exclusive of the thesis
• Nine hours in art history courses
• Nine hours of electives
• Twelve hours in Problems in Graphic Design and Visual Communication Research (at least one course must be repeated to gain the requisite hours)
• Completion of comprehensive exams
Note that 42 of the 60 hours must be at the 7000-level. They typically include several sections of directed readings courses, among others, although the catalog does not necessarily specify what the hours must be.
Accreditation
• University: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Program: National Association of Schools of Art and Design
Contact Information
The University of Memphis Department of Art
Room 200 Art & Communication Bldg
Memphis, TN 38152-3088
Phone: 901.678.2216
Email: art@memphis,edu
Website: http://memphis.edu/art/
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offers students in the fine arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences the opportunity to study in small classes and with faculty attention as well as the support of a large, metropolitan university. The College hosts the departments covering fields as diverse as literature and physics, military science and theology, representing a significant cross-section of human knowledge.
BFA Studio in Graphic Design
The College, through the Department of Art, offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a concentration in Graphic Design that recognizes the inextricability of academic and applied knowledge in the field. It requires 120 hours of coursework, including
• Thirty-one hours of general education courses
• Eighteen hours in art foundations: Visual Studies I through III and Drawing I through III
• A sophomore portfolio review
• Six hours of core art history and nine hours of art history electives
• Thirty-three hours in the concentration: Visual Literacy for Graphic Design, Typography I and II, Photo and Media Arts, Graphic Design History, Processes and Materials of Graphic Design, Web Media I and II, Graphic Design Workshop I and II and Professional Practices in Graphic Design
• Twelve hours of art electives
• A capstone
• General electives to complete the required course hours
Accreditation
• University: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• Department: National Association of Schools of Art and Design
Contact Information
615 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga, TN 37403
Phone: 423.425.4178
Website: http://www.utcart.com/programs/bfa-studio/graphic-design/Default.htm
University of Tennessee Knoxville
College of Arts & Sciences
The College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is the largest of the University’s Colleges. It hosts 21 academic departments, as well as nearly a score of centers, institutes and interdisciplinary programs, covering fields in the humanities, social sciences, performing arts and social and natural sciences. Nearly 9,000 students are enrolled in its programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, following the finest liberal and fine arts traditions.
B.F.A. in Graphic Design
The College, through the School of Art, offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design that seeks to offer students expertise in visual literacy so that they can be successful in design careers. The degree requires 120 hours of coursework, including the University’s general education curriculum. Remaining hours include
• Art Core courses: Introduction to Studio Art I and II, Introduction to 4-D Studio Art, Drawing I and Western Art I and II (the Introduction to Studio Art and Western Art courses must be completed before admission to the major)
• Major courses: The Idea of Graphic Design; the sequence of Beginning Graphic Design I and II, Graphic Design Production, Intermediate Graphic Design I and II, Typography, Computer Enhanced Graphic Design, Advanced Graphic Design and a seminar; portfolio review and seven hours of graphic design practica
• Two courses from among Special Topics in Graphic Design (at the sophomore or senior level); Experiments in Sequencing, Space, or Systems; Computer Enhanced Graphic Design or Foreign Study
• Eighteen hours of studio art courses
• Three hours of art history
Accreditation
• University: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
• School: National Association of Schools of Art and Design
Contact Information
School of Art
1715 Volunteer Blvd.
Knoxville TN 37996
Phone: 865.974.3407
Email: art@utk.edu
Website: http://art.utk.edu/undergrad/bfa_gd.html
University of Tennessee at Martin
College of Humanities and Fine Arts
The College of Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of Tennessee at Martin hosts five Departments: Communications, English and Modern Foreign Languages, History and Philosophy, Music and Visual and Theatre Arts. They offer the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Music to their students, promoting an environment in which the contemplative human arts can flourish.
BFA Studio Art in Graphic Design
The College, through the Department of Visual and Theatre Arts, offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art degree in Graphic Design that seeks to prepare students for graphic design careers and further study. The degree requires 20 hours, including 45 hours of general education courses and
• Eighteen hours in the Arts core: The History of Art, Understanding Dance, Understanding Theatre and either Art History and Criticism or Aesthetics
• Thirty-nine hours in the area of emphasis: Two-Dimensional Design; Three-Dimensional Design; Drawing I and II; Using Color; Graphic Design I and II; Typography and Page Layout; Professional Practices in Design; and twelve hours taken from History of Graphic Design, Digital Photography, Special Topics, Interactive Multimedia, Advertising Design or an internship)
• Eighteen house in a secondary artistic emphasis
• Electives to complete the required hours
Accreditation
• University: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Contact Information
16 Mt. Pelia Rd.
201 Fine Arts Bldg.
Martin, TN 38238
Phone: 731.881.7400
Email: dcook@utm.edu
Website: http://www.utm.edu/departments/finearts/
Watkins College of Art, Design and Film
The Watkins College of Art, Design and Film is a non-profit four-year college offering the degrees of Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Arts, as well as certificate programs. Emphasis is, as the name suggests, on visual arts fields, ensuring that students are able to develop and refine their artistic passions with minimal distractions, while still getting the kind of general education that can undergird much artistic endeavor, giving it context.
B.F.A. Graphic Design
The College offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design with concentrations in Illustration and Web Design that seeks to prepare students, already talented and passionate about their art, to successfully navigate the business of graphic design. The degree requires 120 hours of coursework, including 30 in general education and nine in electives, as well as
• Twelve hours in the Visual Arts Core: Drawing I, Graphic Design I, 3-D Design and 4-D Design
• Visual Arts electives: Photography I and six hours in studio courses
• Forty-eight hours in the Graphic Design major: History of Graphic Design I, Typography I through III, Portfolio Review I and II, Graphic Design II through IV, Computer Studio I and II, Illustration I, Web Development I through III, Professional Practices, Senior Portfolio Development and Senior Exhibition
• Twelve hours of Graphic Design electives
• Twelve hours in the concentration
Accreditation
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, National Association of Schools of Art and Design
Contact Information
2298 Rosa L. Parks Blvd
Nashville, TN 37228
Phone: 615.383.4848
Email: info@watkins.edu
Website: http://www.watkins.edu/academics/graphic-design/
There are other such programs across the country, of course, and other fields of study to consider than graphic design. The information about accredited graphic design degree programs in Tennessee provided above, though, should allow prospective students to make the best possible choices about their future education.
