Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Design

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About

Whether you want to become a print designer, a web guru or a mixture of the two, the Bachelor of Design (BDes) program will help you build the skills you need to succeed. In the BDes program, you’ll explore many different types of design, work closely with skilled faculty members and learn from your fellow students.

The majority of the courses required for the degree are studio-based, so you’ll get plenty of hands-on experience. You’ll have the chance to practice your drawing, sketching and illustrating skills. You’ll also learn how to use a variety of digital tools, including Adobe Creative Cloud, GitHub and more. With each project, you’ll receive feedback from others so that you can continue to improve.

Curriculum & RequirementsAcademic Plan

General Advising SheetAdvising Sheet for SFCC Transfers

What You'll Learn

The following information comes from the official EWU catalog, which outlines all degree requirements and serves as the guide to earning a degree. Courses are designed to provide a well-rounded and versatile degree, covering a wide range of subject areas.

Visual Communication Design Major, Bachelor of Design (BDes)

Required Courses
DESN 100DRAWING FOR COMMUNICATION5
DESN 200VISUAL THINKING + MAKING5
DESN 216DIGITAL FOUNDATIONS5
DESN 243TYPOGRAPHY5
DESN 263VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN 15
DESN 338USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN 15
DESN 359HISTORIES OF DESIGN5
DESN 363VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN 25
DESN 368WEB DESIGN 15
DESN 463VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN 35
DESN 480PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE5
DESN 493PORTFOLIO PRACTICE (may be repeated)2
Media Studies-choose one of the following, other choices may count as electives.5
EMERGENT DESIGN
INTRODUCTION TO ANIMATION
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
MOTION DESIGN
DIGITAL SOUND
Electives15
VISUAL STORYTELLING
SOCIAL MEDIA DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT
GAME DESIGN
3D ANIMATION
TYPOGRAPHY 2
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN 2
ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHY
ZINE AND PUBLICATION DESIGN
MOTION DESIGN 2
PRODUCTION DESIGN
WEB DESIGN 2
ADVANCED DIGITAL SOUND
DIRECTED STUDY
IMAGINARY WORLDS
4D ANIMATION
USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN 3
WEB DESIGN 3
SENIOR PROJECT
INTERNSHIP
EXPERIMENTAL
DIRECTED STUDY
Senior Capstone
DESN 490SENIOR CAPSTONE5
Total Credits82

The following plan of study is for a student with zero credits. Individual students may have different factors such as: credit through transfer work, Advanced Placement, Running Start, or any other type of college-level coursework that requires an individual plan.

Courses may be offered in different terms and not all courses are offered every term, checking the academic schedule is paramount in keeping an individual plan current. There may be some courses that have required prerequisites not listed in the plan, review the course descriptions for information. Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduation.

All Undergraduate students are required to meet the Undergraduate Degree Requirements.

First Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
DESN 1005DESN 200 (Humanities & Arts BACR 1)5DESN 2165
ENGL 1015ENGL 2015Social Science BACR 215
Social Science BACR 115MATH 107 or 1705Natural Science BACR 115
 15 15 15
Second Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
DESN 359 (Diversity - graduation requirement)5DESN 2435DESN 325, 326, 350, 355, or 384 (Media Studies elective)5
Global Studies - graduation requirement15DESN 2635DESN 3635
Natural Science BACR 215Humanities & Arts BACR 215Design Elective25
 15 15 15
Third Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
DESN 3385Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Design Elective25
DESN 3685Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
 15 15 15
Fourth Year
Fall QuarterCreditsWinter QuarterCreditsSpring QuarterCredits
DESN 4635DESN 4805DESN 490 (Senior Capstone - graduation requirement)5
DESN 495 (Design Elective)25DESN 4932Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective5
 Elective - certificate, minor, or general elective3 
 15 15 15
Total Credits 180
1

University Graduation Requirements (UGR) and Breadth Area Course Requirements (BACR) courses may be less than 5 credits and additional credits may be required to reach the required 180 total credits needed to graduate.  Students should connect with an advisor to ensure they are on track to graduate.

2

Design Elective - complete 15 credits from the approved list.