MFA Graphic Design Curriculum

Our Mission

The Otis MFA in Graphic Design program is a community of students, faculty, and international and Los Angeles-based designers dedicated to visual research and discovery through making. We blend design exploration, critical inquiry, and applied projects to interrogate and better the field of graphic design. We partner with organizations and engage in studio visits and travel to foster impact beyond the classroom.

Students use curriculum to explore visual culture and critical thinking and making, while faculty develop curriculum in response to students and contemporary culture.

During the course of study, students work across platforms to complete a series of studio projects. Writing and discussions enrich in-class making; students and faculty learn from each other. Coursework engages research, discourse, and the iterative process with the goal of discovering many possible outcomes. In so doing, the program supports students in taking on the challenges and opportunities in contemporary graphic design practice.

Program Learning Outcomes:

Students in Graduate Graphic Design will:

• Conceive, design, and execute a successful body of work that reflects candidate's interests, agendas, and values.
• Develop work that engages communities and contexts which address technological, social and economic conditions.
• Conduct a robust and sustained inquiry into graphic design practice and its artifacts, with deep examination of current issues and ideas.
• Develop a critical iterative process and criteria for assessing research, information and design outcomes.
• Cultivate working methodologies and formal agility across media and platforms.
• Articulate a set of ideological and aesthetic agendas for future practice.

Degree Requirements

All programs’ curricula are developed in response to Program Learning Outcomes, which signify what students learn within a degree program or emphasis area. All program learning outcomes respond to overarching Institutional Learning Outcomes. View the MFA in Graphic Design program learning outcomes here or request information.