BA in Art & Design

Image Credit: Colin Huvane, Alumni of the Art & Design Department, Class of 2020

Express yourself – and impact the world – through art. Give voice to thoughts and feelings through creative, expressive work. Use that work to affect communities and individuals around the world.

Why Earn Your BA in Art and Design at Sacred Heart?

The Art and Design department prepares students to become artists and designers who are knowledgeable, educated, compassionate and responsive to social and civic obligations in an ever-changing world. Sacred Heart’s ideal location––near New York City and within the world-class design community of Fairfield County––provides students with unprecedented support and inspiration. Internships and a career-launching senior portfolio night give students the experience and connections to find continued success in art.

Benefits

• Access to digital design laboratory with state-of-the-art computers, audiovisual design studio and the latest wireless technology, prints, scanners and software
• Art studios dedicated to work in graphic design, illustration, painting, figure drawing and foundational arts
• Professionally active faculty members
• Study abroad opportunities
• Student Art Club
• Art and design gallery exhibitions showcase the collaboration between local, regional, national and international artists as well as the enormous talent of university faculty and staff

Concentrations

All students in the art and design program take foundational coursework in digital visual communication design and traditional fine arts. Students may choose a major or minor from the following concentrations:

Graphic Design

Students prepare to join the modern profession that demands designers be capable of organizing highly complex clusters of digital creation tools in order to make the non-visual aspects of communication into visible solutions through print, internet, social media and digital delivery systems. Beyond the solid base established in the department’s foundation programs are five semesters dedicated exclusively to graphic design. Some topics covered are: 

• Editorial design
• Web design
• Online animation
• Corporate identity
• Packaging design
• iPad development
• Design in service to the community

Illustration

The field of illustration reflects and helps define the cultural trends of society using the vocabulary of images unique to a given period. Students concentrating in illustration develop strong critical thinking skills and hone their application through visual communication. Additionally, students will develop a variety of skills in descriptive and expressive techniques utilizing a wide range of media. Emphasis is placed on the study of key illustration principles such as conceptual problem solving, composition and textual layout. Students are encouraged to develop a personal style to give them a competitive edge in the ever-changing field of contemporary illustration.

Studio Art

Our sequential curriculum provides students with the highly developed skills and knowledge necessary for a professional visual arts career in drawing, design, painting, illustration, art history, mixed media, computer programs and web design. Students in the program begin with the fundamentals of drawing, design and art history. As students master visual language and its vocabulary, they progress to color theory, figure drawing and painting, relying on principles they learned in their foundation year. Students are introduced to illustration and web design while continuing studies in painting. Exploration of aesthetic approaches, ideas and cultural themes in student work is integral to the studio art program. 

The culmination of the studio art program is a capstone class in which students create a professional body of work that will be exhibited at the university. This exhibition is an artistic statement of the students’ education and contributes to professional portfolios to utilize in the pursuit of exhibiting professionally.

Dual Degree Program Options for Art & Design Majors

Sacred Heart University’s dual degree programs make it easy for first-year students to move from an undergraduate degree to a graduate degree.

Some programs need specific majors, but others are open to most fields of study. Apply as an incoming first-year student, and you can be accepted into both programs at once. Reach out to your admissions counselor to learn about your options.

Art & Design Media Gallery

Career Connections

Internship Program

Students work with nationally-recognized companies in the area and abroad. We work to see that every qualified student earns a professional internship by their senior year, with some students beginning internships as juniors.

Sites that our students have interned for:

• WWE, Stamford, CT
• SCMA Broadcasting, Fairfield, CT
• FTMA Film Broadcasting, Fairfield, CT
• ESPN, Bristol, CT
• Elle Magazine, New York, NY
• CT Magazine, New Haven, CT
• Sikorsky, Shelton, CT
• Yale Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

Senior Portfolio Night

The highlight of an art and design student’s academic career, this formal event provides an opportunity for seniors to share their portfolios, conduct both real and practice interviews and meet hundreds of guests, including the leading design, advertising and marketing companies in Fairfield County, home to some of the most prestigious organizations of this type in the nation.