What is design studies?
In the interdisciplinary design studies minor, you’ll apply design principles to visual expressions in the fine, commercial, industrial and performing arts. The minor is part of the studio arts program at UNH. In your coursework, you’ll receive an introduction to design as a discipline and learn how it is applied in the visual arts, theatre, film, architecture and on the internet. You’ll receive hands-on training in a range of design software programs. Combine this minor with a major such as English, theatre or communication to enhance your career opportunities.
Why study design studies at UNH?
This minor offers the benefit of being a structured yet flexible undergraduate program, and your course of study can be tailored to your interests. With the UNH Museum of Art and Paul Creative Arts Center right on campus, the culturally rich community of Portsmouth just minutes away, and the fine art museums of Boston within an hour’s drive, you’ll be surrounded by dynamic art events and exhibits. You’ll meet and learn from artists and historians from around the world through our Visiting Artists & Art Historians program.
Potential career areas
- Art education
- Commercial art
- Communications
- Costuming
- Graphic design
- Illustration
- Marketing
- Media
- Photography
- Set design
- Website design
Curriculum & Requirements
Situated within the studio arts program, the interdisciplinary minor in design studies brings together the formal and conceptual principles of design in the visual expressions of the fine arts (painting, sculpture, photography, etc.), the commercial arts (graphic design, illustration, etc.), the industrial arts (engineering) and the performing arts (stage, costume and lighting design).
Course options in communication, marketing, English and art history offer the opportunity to contextualize the principles and products of design in a broader historical, sociological and cultural context.
Course requirements and options within the design studies minor enable students to develop a common skill set of literacy and fluency in a range of design software programs (Photoshop, InDesign, Light Box, Fuse, etc.), the utility of which has become increasingly more essential to a range of fields of study and vocations.
Five courses (20 credits) are required.1
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Applied/Studio Practice | ||
| ARTS 510 | Principles of Design | 4 |
| Select two of the following: | 8 | |
ARTS 501 | Introductory Ceramics | |
ARTS 525 | Introductory Woodworking | |
ARTS 532 | Introductory Drawing | |
ARTS 536 | Introduction Printmaking: Intaglio | |
ARTS 546 | Painting Design I: Perceptual Painting and Color Theory | |
ARTS 551 | Introduction to Darkroom Photography | |
ARTS 567 | Introductory Sculpture | |
ARTS 610 | Principles of Typography | |
ARTS 613 | Design and Place | |
ARTS 614 | Design and People | |
THDA 460 | Elements of Design | |
THDA 546 | Costume Design for the Theatre | |
THDA 548 | Stage Lighting Design and Execution | |
| Technical Practice | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
ARTS 552 | Introductory Digital Photography | |
ARTS 611 | Animation and Motion Design | |
ARTS 612 | Interaction & Game Design | |
CEE 402 | 2D Computer Aided Design 1 | |
CEE 700 | Building Information Modeling 1 | |
CMN 596 | Special Topics in Media Studies (Multi-media Communication) | |
ENGL 712 | Multimedia Storytelling | |
IT 403 | Introduction to Internet Technologies | |
IT 502 | Intermediate Web Design | |
| Historical/Theoretical Context | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
ARTH 480 | Introduction to Art History | |
ARTH 474 | Introduction to Architectural History | |
CMN 697 | Seminar in Rhetorical Study (Rhetoric of the Photograph) | |
CMN 756 | Rhetorics of Display | |
CMN 772 | Seminar in Media Theory | |
ENGL 533 | Introduction to Film Studies | |
ENGL 616A | Studies in Film/Genre | |
ENGL 616B | Studies in Film/Authorship | |
ENGL 616C | Studies in Film/Culture and Ideology | |
ENGL 616D | Studies in Film/Narrative and Style | |
MKTG 520 | Topics in Marketing (Understanding Your Customer or Digital Marketing Communications) | |
| Total Credits | 20 | |
- 1
19 credits are required to complete the minor if CEE 402 or CEE 700 is selected.
Students must receive a minimum grade of C in all required courses.
A maximum of two courses (8 credits) may be transferred from another accredited institution, provided UNH has accepted them as transfer credits. Transfer courses must be a minimum of 3 credits. Students with 3 credit transfers must make up the credit shortage.
Only two courses from the student’s area/department of concentration may be used to meet requirements towards a minor in design studies.
