Why Elms for your Graphic Design degree?

  • Cultivate your skills using state-of-the-art software and Wacom Cintiq drawing tablets.
  • Connect with your professors in small class settings (5-15 students).
  • Gain experience producing work for real clients through the CITS summer internship.
  • Learn graphic design in the Lyons Center, a $12 million facility equipped for innovative research.

Delve into the creative and artistic side of computer technology

Graphic design is the applied art of arranging images and text to communicate a message. It may be applied in any medium, such as print or digital media, movies, animation, product decoration, packaging, and signage.

We offer courses in graphic design, web design, digital illustration, imagery for business, animation, game design, photography, and video production and editing. Our hands-on courses are taught in the CIT Lab using Wacom Cintiq drawing tablets and the state-of-the-art software. Class sizes are small, with 5 to 15 students per class. We also offer an in-house summer internship experience, where our students design graphic materials and websites for local businesses.

Curriculum

Click to view course requirements for the Graphic Design (B.A.).

The Graphic Design major requires 42 credits.

General Requirements

Course #Course Name# of Credit Hours
ART 1002Basic Drawing and Design (required)3
ART 2000Color Exploration3
CIT 1005Cyber Culture3
CIT 1202Concept Design3
GDS 1709Introduction to Computer Graphics3
CIT/GDS 2506Web Design3
GDS 2709Digital Imagery3
GDS 2809Digital Graphic Design3
GDS 34012D Animation3
GDS 3505Digital Photography3
GDS 3708Computer Imagery for Industry3
GDS 3809Digital Illustration3
GDS 4802Internship3
GDS 4809Digital Showcase (Senior Capstone)3
GDS elective (see below)

Electives (3 credits)

Course #Course Name# of Credit Hours
CIT 2001Technology Through Film3
GDS 3406Interface Design3
GDS 3900Digital Video3
Any GDS or CIT course not listed above3

Click to view course requirements for the Graphic Design minor.

Graphic Design Minor Requirements (27 credits)

Course #Course Name# of Credit Hours
ART 1002Basic Drawing and Design (required)3
ART 2000Color Exploration3
GDS 1709Introduction to Computer Graphics3
CIT/GDS 2506Web Design3
GDS 2709Digital Imagery3
GDS 2809Digital Graphic Design3
GDS 34012D Animation3
GDS 3505Digital Photography3
GDS 3708Computer Imagery for Industry3
GDS 3809Digital Illustration3

Taytum Bouchard ’17

Photo of graphic design and CIT double major Taytum Bouchard

“I diversified what I did within graphic design so that I didn’t limit myself on the job market.”

As valedictorian for the class of 2017, Taytum achieved great success as a graphic design and CIT double major. For her senior capstone project, she exhibited an interactive multimedia collage titled “Insert Color Here.” After graduation, she found a job as a prepress graphic designer at Pioneer Packaging in Chicopee, MA. Read Taytum’s story.