Department of Visual Studies

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Unlock Endless Opportunities for Your Future

The Department of Visual Studies engages students in the critical understanding and creative production of contemporary culture.

We support students in their efforts to situate themselves within a complex, interdisciplinary and technologically mediated world. Offering major and minor degrees in Animation, Art, Digital Storytelling and Content Creation, Graphic Design, Photography and Media Arts, User Experience Design and Video Game Development, and an additional minor in Art History, we are dedicated to developing the creative and technical skills of students through diverse course offerings and extracurricular experiences. Example course titles include Sequential Art, Social Design, UX Methods, Kinestasis & Motion Graphics, Interactive Storytelling, Contemporary Issues in Art, Screenprinting, Sculpture: Materials, Installation & Public Art, Video and Studio & Location Projects. 

Our facilities include fine art studios for drawing, painting, ceramics and sculpture, printmaking, and photography. We also have state of the art digital labs for animation, graphic design, digital photo, and video game development. The Fine Arts Gallery serves all of our students and the wider community by providing compelling exhibits and artist talks. In addition, our Graphic Design faculty maintain a Risograph Lab for printing student projects and publications.

Majors & Minors

Animation

Create new worlds and characters through a solid foundation in drawing, script writing and sequential art.

Art

Develop a strong foundation of design and art history, while refining your artistic process.

Art History

Develop a discerning eye for art, an appreciation of the artist’s relationship to the world in which they live, and make connections between past and present.

Digital Storytelling & Content Creation

The Digital Storytelling and Content Creation degree prepares you to shape, design and produce compelling interactive stories in demand by employers across sectors — and it’s fun.

Graphic Design

Cultivate your creative voice and spark cultural change as you chart your own path in design.

Photography & Media Arts

As a Photography and Media Arts major, you’ll go beyond creating photographs to understanding the messages they encode in our highly visual culture. 

User Experience Design

St. Edward’s is one of a handful of universities offering a bachelor’s degree in User Experience Design. Gain the creative, technical and communication skills to enter a career in this fast-growing industry. 

Video Game Development

Learn to adapt and become well-versed in interactive storytelling techniques, game design and audio.

Additional Information

Command G

Command G is a graphic design group which spreads the influence of design around campus. This group hopes to further students' on-the-job skills they may not encounter in normal classroom settings and assignments. 

Chroma Art Club

The purpose of this organization is to provide an opportunity for St. Edward’s students to join together to explore, share, and engage in art-related activities. We want to create a strong artistic community that is open to everyone on campus.

Image-making Students Organization (ISO)

ISO aims to unite photo students, as well as those with an interest in photography and give students an opportunity for experiences outside of a classroom setting.