At Loyola Marymount University, we understand design as a foundational form of communication—an essential means by which people think, express, and connect. Grounded in Jesuit values of justice, reflection, and service, our Graphic Design program prepares students to use visual design not only to craft messages, but to foster inclusion, challenge inequities, and contribute to social good.
Through interdisciplinary learning and community engagement, students develop the visual literacy and ethical imagination necessary to address real-world issues with empathy and clarity. We believe that design—when practiced with care and purpose—can serve as a powerful tool for civic participation, cultural dialogue, and lasting impact.
Major Requirements
A total of 78 semester hours: 32 semester hours of lower division courses and 46 semester hours of upper division courses.
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32 semester hours of lower division courses: 24 semester hours of Studio Arts and 8 semester hours of Art History.
Studio Arts Foundations
- ART 1001 Foundation I 4 semester hours
- ART 1002 Foundation II 4 semester hours
- ART 1003 Foundation III 4 semester hours
- ART 1010 Freshman Workshop in Studio Arts 2 semester hours
Visual Communication Design Lower Division Requirements
- ART 1020 Portfolio Workshop in Studio Art 2 semester hours
- ART 1660 Design Literacy: Two-Dimensional Design 4 semester hours
- ART 2668 Typography I 4 semester hours
- ARHS 2510 Social Design 4 semester hours
- Lower Division Art History electives 4 semester hours
Choose one class from:
- ARHS 2000 Foundations of Western Art 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 2002 Art and Society: Early Christian to Early Modern 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 2004 Modernism 4 semester hours
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46 semester hours of upper division courses: 38 semester hours of Studio Arts and 8 semester hours of Art History.
- ART 3602 Design Concept to Form 4 semester hours
- ART 3603 Experimental Typography 4 semester hours
- ART 3660 Visual Communication Design I 4 semester hours
- ART 3668 Typography II 4 semester hours
- ART 3695 Design Entrepreneurship 4 semester hours
- ART 4660 Visual Communication Design II 4 semester hours
- ART 4668 World Typography 4 semester hours
- ART 4696 Design Praxis 2 semester hours
- ART 4960 Senior Design Thesis 4 semester hours
- ART 3xxx or 4xxx Upper Division elective 4 semester hours
- ARHS 3560 History of Design 4 semester hours
- ARHS Non-Western elective 4 semester hours
Choose one class from:
- ARHS 3311 Pre-Columbian Art 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 3331 Arts of Africa 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 3341 Arts of Islam 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 3351 Arts of Asia 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 4301 Arts of India 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 4303 Arts of China 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 4305 Arts of Southeast Asia 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 4307 Arts of Japan 4 semester hours or
- ARHS 4998 Special Studies 4 semester hours (if a non-Western topic is to be studied)