Jan 07, 2026

2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

Graphic Design, BFA

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Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts > School of Art > Graphic Design, BFA

The Graphic Design program at the University of Houston prepares students for a career in design through a comprehensive investigation of design practices, theories and methods. Success is fostered through individual inquiry and group collaboration to promote critical and imaginative thinking.

A tight cohort within a sequenced curriculum provides content flexibility, ensuring the most innovative education within a continually shifting media environment. Design research, interdisciplinary collaboration, professional cross-pollination, team building, community outreach, ethical inquiry and sustainable practices are all tools that position our students to become top competitors in the national design job market and leaders within the profession.

Engagement with the broader Houston community and its leaders gives our designers real-world experience and situates their practice in a larger sociocultural framework. At the undergraduate level, emerging designers utilize these skills and approaches as they begin their careers in the field.

Students seeking the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design degree must fulfill the 42-hour university core curriculum, complete 3 hours of electives and complete 81 credit hours in studio art and art history courses as follows:

Twelve credit hours of 1000-level or 2000-level fundamentals studio courses.
Thirty-six credit hours Graphic Design courses, typically called the Graphic Design block courses.
Twenty-one credit hours in approved related arts courses for the major in Graphic Design.
Twelve credit hours in art history including ARTS 1303 and ARTS 1304 and six credit hours of art history at the 2000-level or above. ARTS 1303 and 1304 will double count with six hours of university core curriculum.
A minimum of 57 credit hours must be earned in 3000- or 4000-level studio courses.

Fundamentals Courses

Eighteen credit hours total, including twelve credit hours of fundamental studio courses (four 1000-level or 2000-level studio courses) and Art History I and II (ARTS 1303 and ARTS 1304 ) constitute the lower level, foundational courses for B.F.A. majors.

Related Arts Courses

A basic prerequisite for any related arts studio course is completion of 12 credit hours of fundamental studio courses. A minimum of 21 credit hours in related arts courses is required for the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design.

The term “related arts” is meant to include all intermediate-level courses offered by the school. Students must have completed the fundamental course in a discipline before they take an intermediate level course in that discipline or have specific consent of the instructor. Related arts courses can include any art history course at the 2000 or higher level, any course approved by a major program’s faculty that is offered by another department, and any 3000-4000-level art or design studio course.

Exception: Students wishing to begin work in B.F.A. major courses who have not previously taken the fundamental course in the major, should take the corresponding 1000-level or 2000-level course, which can be petitioned for related arts credit.

B.F.A. Major Courses

Prerequisites for a major vary among the B.F.A. majors. All majors require participation in the competitive portfolio review and formal individual approval by the major faculty known as Block Review.

On completion of junior courses in the major, a review of the student’s progress by the major faculty is mandatory. No student is allowed to continue in the major until formal approval has been granted by the major faculty. Students must have an approved degree plan on file in the KGMCA Office of Student Success before they begin their senior major program. Any substitutes for junior or senior major courses must be approved by the faculty of the major area.

At a minimum, transfer students to the Graphic Design major must take one three-credit pre-major studio course and the final 36 credit hours in the major. Students may not apply any major courses completed more than seven years prior to the graduation semester in fulfillment of degree requirements.

Texas Core Curriculum

Communication Core (010-6 hours)

ENGL 1301 - First Year Writing I Credit Hours: 3.0

ENGL 1302 - First Year Writing II Credit Hours: 3.0

Mathematics Core (020-3 hours)

Choose 1 Mathematics: Approved Core Courses Credit Hours: 3.0

Life and Physical Sciences Core (030-6 hours)

Choose 2 Life and Physical Sciences: Approved Core Courses Credit Hours: 6.0

Language, Philosophy & Culture Core (040-3 hours)

Note: ARTS 1303 is also a major requirement.

ARTS 1303 - Art History I (Prehistoric to the 14th Century) Credit Hours: 3.0

Creative Arts Core (050-3 hours)

Note: ARTS 1304 is also a major requirement

ARTS 1304 - Art History II (15th Century to the Present) Credit Hours: 3.0

American History Core (060-6 hours)

Choose 2 American History: Approved Core Courses Credit Hours: 6.0

Government/Political Science Core (070-6 hours)

Choose 2 Government/Political Science: Approved Core Courses Credit Hours: 6.0

Social and Behavioral Science Core (080-3 hours)

Choose 1 Social and Behavioral Sciences: Approved Core Courses Credit Hours: 3.0

Mathematics/Reasoning Core (090-3 hours)

Choose 1 Mathematics/Reasoning: Approved Core Courses Credit Hours: 3.0

Writing in the Disciplines Core (090-3 hours)

Choose 1 Writing in the Disciplines: Approved Core Courses Credit Hours: 3.0