University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is one of the nation’s premier research universities. With a variety of majors and minors available, it is no surprise that students often consider majoring in graphic design at UCSD. After all, the university has an outstanding reputation for its top-notch academic programs and innovative research initiatives.
At UCSD, the Visual Arts department offers courses in various media including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and digital media. Within this department are three distinct academic programs: Art History & Visual Culture; Studio Art; and Design & Media Arts.
While there is not an official major specifically for graphic design at UCSD, Design & Media Arts offers a concentration that focuses on the field of visual communication design. This concentration provides students with a foundation in visual language as well as essential skills needed to create effective visual communications such as typography and color theory. Additionally, this concentration requires students to take courses related to interactive media technologies such as coding and animation basics.
The Design & Media Arts program also offers courses in web design and development, digital video production and interactive media technologies — all of which are highly sought after skills in today’s digital age. With this program students can acquire the knowledge necessary to pursue a career in graphic design or multimedia technology. Additionally, due to its renowned reputation, graduates from UCSD have access to some of the best job opportunities available in the field of graphic design or multimedia technology.
To sum it up — while there is not a major specifically for graphic design at UCSD—the university does offer an excellent concentration within its Design & Media Arts program which provides students with essential skills needed for success in the field of visual communication design or multimedia technology.
Conclusion: In conclusion, yes — UC San Diego does offer a concentration within its Design & Media Arts program which focuses on graphic design and related multimedia technologies. The university’s excellent reputation also gives graduates from this program access to some of the best job opportunities available in this field.