Graphic Design

The Graphic Design program at Boston University takes a studio-driven approach to design thinking and visual communication. With an emphasis on process and critical design thinking, the program sets itself apart as a maker-based design department set within an art school. The design faculty are leaders in the field who work closely with students to develop their technical and conceptual skills, challenging them to think creatively and strategically, and placing them at the forefront of entrepreneurial thinking in the business world.

Degrees Offered

BFA Graphic Design
Degree Type

Undergraduate
The BFA program in Graphic Design provides a sequenced studio approach to design, preparing students to thrive in a dynamic, creative professional environment. A solution-based practice, framed by the key principles of form, authorship, audience, medium, and context defines the program’s core.
Formats

In-Person

Availability

Full-Time

Location

On-Campus
MFA Graphic Design
Degree Type

Graduate
The Master of Fine Arts Graphic Design program provides a two-year, sequenced studio approach to advanced design thinking and problem solving for visual communication, preparing students to thrive in a dynamic, creative professional environment.
Formats

In-Person

Availability

Full-Time

Location

On-Campus
Graphic Design Certificate
Degree Type

Certificate
Boston University’s Certificate in Graphic Design offers students a one-year, full-time rigorous and intensive study in graphic design. The program includes core studio and typography requirements and allows students to choose elective courses based on their speciﬁc interests and career goals. Students bolster conceptual and artistic skills through a professionally focused curriculum.
Formats

In-Person

Availability

Full-Time

Location

On-Campus

One of the Best Academic Design Spaces in the Nation

The recent introduction of new facilities in the Graphic Design program includes new graduate student studios, two spacious open communal studios, two classrooms with LCD projectors and critique walls, the latest printing facilities, and a new seminar room. Take a closer look at these and all of CFA’s Graphic Design facilities.

Featured Faculty

What are some of the strengths of BU’s graphic design programs?

Designer and educator with over two decades of experience, James Grady, assistant professor of graphic design at BU School of Visual Arts and creative director at BU Spark!, came to BU with an interdisciplinary career leading design projects for clients such as Google, Nike, and Samsung.

In CFA’s Faculty Feature series, Grady shares with CFA his excitement in teaching the next generation of graphic designers and elaborates on the strengths of BU’s graphic design programs – from collaboration opportunities expanding beyond CFA to our state-of-the-art graphic design studios.

We offer prolific form-making, with lots of divergent ideas, prototyping, sketching, and concepts. We don’t have a ‘one-solution’ point of view. Once students find their curiosity, they can match it with a visual form. They can bring them closer, converging them. The question always is: how do they want to frame their point of view through the lens of graphic design and all the many different mediums it can employ? So, the idea is to go really wide and then converge on a thesis that can be topic-driven or process orientated. We help them to define their own process and can direct them to various topics.
James Grady, Assistant Professor