Visit Samford
The School of the Arts offers a variety of events for interested students to meet faculty and current students. These will be listed on our open house page or you can reach out to our Arts Recruiter at arts@samford.edu to schedule an appointment with the School of the Arts.Our Program
The BFA in Graphic Design is a full-time, four-year program that prepares students for a career in print and publication design, user experience design, web and interface design, social media, motion graphics for broadcast and film, branding, identity, typography, and design history. A comprehensive senior capstone project is completed during the senior year.
Approximately two-thirds of the credits within this degree are specifically in art and graphic design. This ensures students have as much exposure as possible to various graphic design and artistic techniques and processes. View recent student work here.
Being a graphic designer is extremely rewarding. It requires dedication, hard work, good communication skills, and the ability to continually adapt and learn. The curriculum is rigorous. Students are pushed to learn as much as possible, so they are well prepared to take their place in the workforce when they graduate.
The graphic design classes are practical and give students the opportunity to create graphic design portfolio work. Students use their portfolio to find internships and graphic design jobs. Our curriculum gives students the opportunity to create a portfolio book, website, and digital PDF portfolio.
Art and Design Scholarships are available. Please contact arts@samford.edu for more information about our scholarship program.
Portfolio Review
The BFA in Graphic Design and the BFA in Studio Art require a portfolio review for all majors at the end of the third semester. Students are required to pass the Portfolio Review to remain in one of these BFA program.
Graphic Design Careers
Graphic design is a wonderful career because it merges creativity, art, and visual problem solving. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated. Common uses of graphic design include identity (logos and branding), publications (magazines, newspapers and books), print advertisements, posters, billboards, website graphics, and elements and sign and product packaging. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as images, shapes, and color which unify the piece. (source: Wikipedia).
You can learn more about graphic design at AIGA. If you are unsure about majoring in graphic design you could try contacting a graphic designer in your area and shadow them at work for a day.
Here are some examples of the amazing places our graduates have worked
- Richard Attias & Associates
- Threadbird
- New York Times Interactive
- OOBE
- Mountaintop Community Church
- Salesforce
- Signet Jewelers
- Big Communications
- Cayenne Creative
- Womens Missionary Union
- Jones Valley Teaching Farm
- International Missions Board
Internships
Samford students gain valuable experience through internships. We recommend students do their internship during the summer between their junior and senior year. Internships give students real work experience and this often leads to job opportunities. The majority of students are paid during their internships and many receive job offers. The following are a few places our students have interned:
- Books-a-Million
- Moon Dog Animation Studios
- Shades Mountain Baptist Church
- Luckie Advertising
- International Missions Board
- o2 Ideas
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
- Blue Sky
- Hatch Show Prints
- Good Grit Magazine
Technology Requirements
Our faculty are committed to bringing students the best quality educational experiences. Due to the technological nature of art & design, it necessary for students to have a personal computer which is able to support creative software. This requirement allows students to work independently and integrate digital technologies into their learning.
Change of Major
Are you thinking about changing your major to Graphic Design? Are you a freshman? If so (depending on the classes you have taken) it should be possible for you to change majors to Graphic Design and graduate on time or close to on time. New and current majors are required to have and maintain a 2.5 GPA. Please contact srfisk@samford.edu with questions about transferring into graphic design.
