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Program Learning OutcomesWhat You Will Learn
Program Learning Outcomes define what students are expected to know, understand, and be able to demonstrate by the time they complete an academic program.
They provide a framework for evaluating student learning and ensuring that coursework supports the knowledge, skills, and competencies graduates are expected to develop.
Foundation
See: Use observational strategies to analyze and represent form, proportion, and spatial relationships.
Organize: Demonstrate proficiency in utilizing the principles of art and design, such as balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, unity, and variety.
Explore: Utilize a range of tools, materials, and processes with intention and developing proficiency
Generate: Generate and revise creative concepts through research, experimentation, iterative design processes, problem-solving strategies, and ongoing inquiry
Think: Think critically by analyzing and producing work that integrates material and technical choices with form, concept, and cultural and social context
Communicate: Communicate formal, conceptual, and cultural ideas clearly in critique, writing, and collaborative dialogue.
Practice: Exhibit responsible studio habits, including meeting deadlines, collaborating constructively, and working safely, in preparation for advanced study.
Animation
Communication & Presentation: Articulate artistic intent and creative process through written and oral presentation, and engage constructively in critique through actively listening and respectful dialogue.
Creative Scholarship: Produce original animated work through sustained studio practice informed by research, creative inquiry, and intentional decision-making.
Conceptual & Critical Frameworks: Critically analyze animation practices and situate their own creative work within relevant artistic, cultural, historical, and professional contexts.
Creative Resilience & Risk-Taking: Demonstrate creative resilience through experimentation, iteration, revision, and informed risk-taking
Technical Mastery & Emerging Technologies: Plan, produce, and refine animated works using specialized tools, design principles, and emerging technologies with proficiency across independent, alternative, and industry-standard workflows.
Cultural Awareness & Ethical Engagement: Apply culturally informed and ethical decision-making in animation practice through responsible cultural engagement.
Professional Practices: Demonstrate professional readiness through meeting deadlines, clear communication, and producing work that meets the professional expectations for industry and independent practice standards.
Art History
Communication: Effectively communicate and express ideas orally and in writing.
Critical Thinking: Evaluate readings and develop written arguments by integrating ideas from multiple perspectives and approaches.
Research Skills: Conduct independent research through critical engagement with scholarly sources, using proper citations practices.
Emerging Technologies: Use emerging technologies ethically and transparently in support of human-centered creativity and sustained authorship.
Analysis & Interpretation: Analyze and interpret works of art by evaluating style, technique, process, and possible meaning(s).
Cultural & Global Perspectives: Interpret art with cultural awareness and global understanding.
Inquiry: Formulate questions that extend beyond one’s lived experience and deepen critical inquiry.
Ceramics
Communication Skills: Communicate ideas clearly through oral, written, and visual presentations..
Conceptual and Critical Framework: Analyze and apply conceptual and critical frameworks to guide artistic inquiry and creation.
Inquiry and Research: Conduct independent research using historical, cultural, and contemporary sources to inform one's studio practice.
Creativity, Curiosity & Risk Taking: Experiment, take creative risks, and demonstrate curiosity through an evolving studio practice and iteration.
Technical expertise: Demonstrate technical proficiency in ceramic production and presentation, utilizing knowledge of forming and finishing techniques using historical and emerging technologies.
Professional Practice: Develop professional materials appropriate to diverse career pathways within the discipline, including resumes, statements, proposals, and the presentation of a cohesive body of work.
Creative Writing
Communication: Write clearly and expressively. Use language as an art medium.
Critical Thinking: Analyze a literary text using logic and evidence, exercising close observation of pattern, telling detail, and nuance.
Reading: Develop a reading practice capable of sustaining ambitious creative work.
Research Skills: Conduct creative and comprehensive research, using emerging technologies responsibly and ethically.
Technique & Craft: Be conversant with poetic and narrative techniques.
Risk-Taking: Practice formal, stylistic, and thematic inventiveness.
Cultural Literacy: Contextualize literary work, expanding your lived experience.
Fiber
Technical & Material Fluency: Demonstrate technical proficiency in material selection, construction, and finishing across traditional and emerging technologies.
Critical & Conceptual Frameworks: Create a cohesive and original body of work that demonstrates a developing artistic voice through idea-driven exploration of fiber materials, processes, and concepts.
Studio Practice: Make intentional material and process decisions through experimentation and iteration that strengthen the quality, meaning, and innovation of the work.
Research & Inquiry: Engage in critical inquiry and independent research drawing on historical, cultural, scientific, and theoretical frameworks to inform an individual practice.
Ethics & Cultural Awareness: Situate textile traditions within global histories, social systems, and emerging technologies.
Communication & Critique: Articulate material and conceptual decisions clearly in critique and presentation through informed critical reflection.
Professional Practice: Demonstrate professionalism through effective project management, documentation, collaboration, and the exhibition or presentation of a cohesive body of work
Graphic Design
Research & Inquiry: Conduct independent inquiry and research by critically engaging with wide-ranging, multidisciplinary information sources and analyzing the socio-cultural power dynamics that shape design contexts.
Communication, Presentation & Professional Practice: Articulate design concepts and processes clearly and effectively in critique, presentation, discussion, and professional materials—including documentation, portfolios, and proposals—while demonstrating active listening.
Design & Visual Form: Create critical, culturally appropriate, and meaningful digital and analog work with a high level of craft and attention to detail in response to defined design opportunities or interventions.
Collaboration & Community Practice: Contribute constructively to collaborative work with designers, makers, and thinkers across all phases of the design process.
Tools, Technologies & Adaptability: Adapt design processes in response to ambiguity, shifts in tools and technologies, and disruptive systems by applying criticality, flexibility, and reflective decision-making to sustain a resilient design practice.
Dedicated Creative Practice: Demonstrate creative experimentation, risk-taking, intellectual curiosity, and a thorough process by investigating ideas that extend beyond one’s lived experience and informing the development of original design work.
Context & Inclusivity: Apply a contextualized and pluralistic approach to design practice by recognizing diverse abilities and perspectives and making informed, inclusive design decisions.
Illustration
CLIENT/ARTIST RELATIONSHIP
Analyze the complexities of the client/artist relationship, collaborate effectively with clients and other creatives, and engage the broader community to resolve visual and creative challenges.
COMMUNICATION
Actively listen and clearly articulate and present ideas—visually, verbally, and in writing—to clients and other stakeholders.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Present themselves professionally and ethically, assume accountability for decisions, deliver work in a timely manner, and demonstrate the capacity to work autonomously and collaboratively within an organization or firm.
STUDIO PRACTICE
Develop and maintain an individual creative voice and studio practice by producing authentic, original, and distinct work informed by ongoing self-directed creative inquiry.
SKILLS/TECHNIQUE
Employ a diverse range of media and methodologies for visual storytelling and problem-solving, demonstrating advanced proficiency in analog and digital techniques and recognizing the value of varied approaches.
CULTURAL AWARENESS
Identify the social, political, historical, and cultural dimensions of the illustration industry—globally and locally—and demonstrate awareness of how these contexts influence the industry and its practitioners.
Painting
Context: Identify and analyze the myriad manifestations of context within contemporary painting and place one’s work within relevant cultural, professional, and critical frameworks.
Studio Focus: Develop and sustain a comprehensive studio practice that serves as a critical platform for continued growth and exploration.
Research: Develop a practice of ongoing observation and research to cultivate external references that support and sustain the conceptual scaffold of studio practice.
Interdisciplinarity: Demonstrate a familiarity with alternative disciplines and contemporary technologies and the dialogues, philosophies, and critiques that surround their use.
Material Craft: Demonstrate a professional command of materials and processes and apply them effectively within the development of a personal language and practice.
Professional practice: Integrate professional practice skills - such as documentation, presentation, communication, and project management - into one’s ongoing studio practice.
Photo/Film
Creative Practice: Generate original, conceptually driven photographic and film work that demonstrates a distinct artistic voice through sustained inquiry, creative risk-taking, and revision.
Communication & Critique: Articulate ideas, research, and analysis through writing, critique, documentation, and audiovisual presentation, engaging in reflective listening, productive discourse, and respectful exchange.
Technical Fluency: Demonstrate advanced technical proficiency in camera, lighting, editing, sound, and installation across analog and digital methods, and evaluate how technical choices shape meaning.
Critical Contexts & Frameworks: Analyze and situate their own work and the work of others within historical, cultural, theoretical, and contemporary frameworks in photography, filmmaking, and media arts.
Ethics & Representation: Examine representational choices through ethical frameworks, recognizing the responsibilities involved in depicting others in photographic and film-based work.
Professional Practices: Demonstrate professional readiness by managing projects effectively and applying transferable skills such as sustained project execution, responsiveness to feedback, and adaptability to changing constraints in careers across the arts, creative industries, or independent practice.
Emerging Technologies & Adaptability: Demonstrate critical awareness and fluency with emerging technologies by independently learning and integrating new tools and platforms into creative practice.
Printmaking
Communication: Communicate printmaking ideas, processes, and methods clearly through oral presentations, writing, and critique, while demonstrating effective listening and visual communication skills.
Conceptual & Critical Frameworks: Apply conceptual and critical frameworks to artistic inquiry, analyzing how the materiality of the print medium informs concept, context, and meaning.
Research & Inquiry: Expand upon ideas developed in critiques by conducting independent inquiry and research through critical engagement with diverse, multicultural, and multidisciplinary sources.
Creativity, Innovation & Risk-Taking: Demonstrate creative exploration and risk-taking through the development of original print-based work that extends beyond one’s lived experience.
Technical Mastery in Printmaking: Demonstrate mastery of printmaking techniques and skills across traditional, contemporary, and experimental processes
Context, History & Cultural Perspectives: Analyze historical and contemporary printmaking practices and contextualize one’s work within diverse worldviews, cultural perspectives, and global print traditions.
Professional Practice: Apply professional practices associated with the discipline of printmaking, including documentation, presentation, grant writing, safe studio operation, and preparation for exhibition or dissemination
Product Design
Apply Human-Centered Research and Empathy: Investigate and respond to diverse human needs and experiences through research, observation, and synthesis to generate meaningful design opportunities.
Integrate Design Thinking and Creative Problem Solving: Employ iterative, exploratory, and critical design methods to identify problems, generate concepts, and develop innovative solutions that improve quality of life.
Practice Sustainable and Ethical Design: Evaluate and apply principles of environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and ethical awareness in the conception, development, and realization of products and systems.
Demonstrate Systems-Level and Strategic Understanding: Analyze and design within complex systems, recognizing interdependencies among products, users, technologies, and environments, to propose future-oriented design strategies.
Exhibit Technical and Material Proficiency: Utilize appropriate tools, materials, fabrication methods, and emerging technologies to effectively prototype, test, and communicate design intent at professional standards.
Communicate Effectively: Present design concepts and outcomes clearly and persuasively using visual, verbal, and digital media.
Collaborate Effectively: Work collaboratively within interdisciplinary and community contexts.
Engage in Reflective Design Practice and Professional Growth: Advance personal and professional development in Product Design through self-directed practice, adaptability, and ethical leadership.
Sculpture
Tools/Techniques: Demonstrate technical proficiency in applying digital, analog, and emerging technologies to advance individual studio practice.
Studio Practice: Create artwork that demonstrates a sustained studio practice, showing clear integration of conceptual ideas and formal elements.
Communication: Communicate artistic and conceptual ideas effectively in oral presentations and written formats, including critiques, statements, and proposals.
Independent and Collaborative Work: Manage individual responsibilities and contribute effectively to collaborative projects within studio and community contexts.
Research and Development: Research and synthesize diverse sources to inform and apply cultural context in studio practice.
Critical Thinking: Engage in critical analysis of sculptural work, including self and peer critique, and propose revisions based on formal, spatial, material, and conceptual considerations.
Professional Practice: Develop and present professional materials, including documentation, résumés, portfolios, statements, and proposals that demonstrate readiness for diverse professional pathways in contemporary sculptural practice.
Liberal Arts
Communication: Write, speak, and listen actively and effectively.
Critical Thinking: Analyze arguments by reasoning logically, identifying bias and fallacies, and representing opposing viewpoints fairly.
Research Skills: Conduct research by applying strong investigative skills, identifying and evaluating relevant sources, and using emerging technologies responsibly and ethically.
Creative Problem-Solving: Solve intellectual and artistic problems in ways that are original and true to you.
Cultural Literacy: Demonstrate informed global citizenship through the analysis of cultural, historical, linguistic, and aesthetic perspectives.
Intellectual Curiosity: Formulate questions that challenge and expand your lived experience.