The four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Graphic Design at Missouri Western State University prepares our students with the technical skills and creative knowledge to become successful in today’s ever-changing design industry. Graphic Designers can be employed by large or small advertising agencies, design firms, publishers, and in-house creative departments. The type of design work includes logo and brand development, advertising campaigns, environmental graphics, layouts, poster design, mobile application prototypes, interactive websites, and digital and social media marketing.
All Graphic Design majors complete internships at businesses, design firms, advertising agencies, and organizations to gain practical experience in their field before they graduate. Internships offered in the student’s final year, advance the educational process by extending the curriculum into the business world. Students have the opportunity to pursue internships on-campus, locally, regionally, and nationally. The following list contains just a few of the internship experiences our students have completed.
- Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art
- C3 Creative Concepts International
- Callahan Creek Marketing Agency
- Empower U
- Kansas City Magazine
- Meredith Corporation
- Pipeline Productions
- Saint Joseph Museums
- Sandlot & Co.
- Sporting KC
- The Phoenix Magazine
- The Pitch, Kansas City
- The Roark Group
- TOMS Shoes (Creative)
- Two Tone Press
- Valhalla Studios
MWSU Student Graphic Design Employment
All positions are in the graphic design field
Graphic Designers can be employed by large or small advertising agencies, design firms, publishers, and in-house creative departments. The type of design work includes logo and brand development, advertising campaigns, environmental graphics, layouts, poster design, mobile application prototypes, interactive websites, and digital and social media marketing. The following is a partial list of businesses and corporations where MWSU graphic design graduates are currently employed.
ACI Architects (Graphic Designer)
Advisors Excel (Graphic Designer)
Angus Media (Graphic Artist, Graphic Artist, Web Designer)
Ashley Cameron Design, Inc. (Branding, Web Development, Marketing)
Barkley (Senior Designer, Senior Studio Artist, Studio Designer)
Benedictine College (Graphic Designer)
BicMedia (Art Director)
Boehringer-Ingelheim (Graphic Design Technician)
Bright Ideas (Products Manager)
Charter Spectrum (Product Designer)
Common Era Collective (Partner/Designer)
Element – MJH, LLC (Senior Graphic Designer)
Entertainment Media (Creative Director)
Gear For Sports (Image Specialist, Screen Production Artist, Graphic Artist, Graphic Designer)
Gill Studios (Prepress Graphic Artist)
Good Notion (Design Lead, COO)
Greenwell Design (Owner, Designer)
Hallie Fry (Owner, Designer, Photographer)
Hallmark (Graphic Designer, Creative Technology Manager)
HERLIFE Magazine (Editor-in-Chief)
Highland Community College (Graphic Design Instructor)
Jones Huyett Partners (Graphic Designer)
Kansas City Ballet (Graphic Designer & Marketing Coordinator)
Kansas City Union Station, Inc. (Graphic Designer)
Kiewit Energy Jobs (Mechanical Designer)
Lifestyle Publications (Graphic Designer, Layout Designer, Layout Designer)
NewsPress (Graphic Designer, Multimedia Marketing Consultant)
North Kansas City Hospital (Creative Production Specialist)
One Source (Marketing Coordinator & Graphic Design Specialist)
Populous (Graphic Designer and Associate)
Proud Salemander (Art Director)
Red 5 Interactive (Graphic Designer)
Sandlot & Co. (Graphic Designer)
Sandweiss Koster/SKOPOS (Designer/Production Artist)
SelectQuote (Manager, Branding & Creative Services)
St. Joseph Museums, Inc. (Graphic Designer/Marketing Coordinator)
Sunshine Electronic Display Corporation (Graphic Designer)
Timmermann Group (Interactive Designer)
UNELKO (Lead Graphic Designer)
US Toy (Graphic Designer)
Vision Graphics and Design (Graphic Designer)
Walsworth Publishing (Creative Services Designer, Graphic Designer, Creative Services Designer)
West Rose (Designer, Photographer)
WORboys Design (Lead Creative)
Yellow Frog (Graphic Design Manager, Graphic Designer, Installer)
Graphic Design Student Stories
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Studies | ||
| 42-47 | ||
| Major Requirements | ||
| ART 110 | Beginning Drawing I | 3 |
| ART 120 | Two-Dimensional Design | 3 |
| ART 129 | Design Software Applications | 3 |
| ART 160 | Beginning Drawing II | 3 |
| ART 170 | Three-Dimensional Design | 3 |
| ART 192 | Digital Imaging | 3 |
| ART 205 | Survey of Art History I | 3 |
| ART 255 | Survey of Art History II | 3 |
| ART 290 | Graphic Design I | 3 |
| ART 292 | Graphic Design II | 3 |
| ART 315 | Illustration I | 3 |
| ART 333 | Typography | 3 |
| ART 344 | User Experience Design | 3 |
| ART 349 | Interactive Design I | 3 |
| ART 359 | Photography I | 3 |
| ART 390 | Graphic Design III | 3 |
| ART 449 | Interactive Design II | 3 |
| ART 488 | Final Portfolio | 3 |
| ART 490 | Graphic Design IV | 3 |
| ART 493 | Internship In Art | 2-6 |
| Select six additional credit hours of advanced graphic design electives | 6 | |
| Graphic Design II | ||
| Typography | ||
| Graphic Design III | ||
| Graphic Design IV | ||
| Select three additional credit hours of guided electives | 6 | |
| Motion Graphics | ||
| Painting II | ||
| Topics in Ancient/Medieval Art | ||
| Topics in Modern/Contemporary Art | ||
| Topics in Renaissance/Baroque Art | ||
| Topics in Non-Western Art | ||
| Internship In Art | ||
| Introduction to Mass Media | ||
| Digital Videography | ||
| Media Design | ||
| Principles of Marketing | ||
| Digital Marketing | ||
| Advertising and Promotion | ||
| Selection six additional credit hours of Art History | 6 | |
Program Graduation Requirements
- Earn a grade of C or higher in all major coursework.
- Earn an overall GPA of at least 2.0 and a major GPA of at least 2.0.
University Graduation Requirements
- Earn a minimum of 120 credit hours (100 level and higher, maximum of 6 CED credit hours applicable).
- Earn a minimum of 30 credit hours in upper-division courses. Lower-division transfer courses accepted as meeting upper-division departmental course requirements cannot be used to fulfill this requirement.
- Earn 30 of the last 45 credit hours at MWSU in institutional coursework (exclusive of credit by examination).
- Participate in required departmental and campus wide assessments.
- Fulfill the Missouri Constitution requirement.
- Successfully pass the Missouri Higher Education Civics Achievement exam.
Requirements
Grade of C or higher must be earned in all classes required of the major.