College Schools, Departments & Programs

School of Art, Architecture + Design

Comprehensive Design—B.S.
Purpose

The B.S. in Comprehensive Design is a studio-intensive interdisciplinary program that builds towards an independent capstone project demonstrating unique linkages between and among the diverse disciplines that constitute the IU School of Art and Design (IUCA-D). Comprehensive Design students will have unique access to the resources and opportunities that grow out of the public/private collaborations coordinated by IUCA-D in Columbus, Indiana. The broad-based curriculum incorporates a liberal arts education as delivered by the IU College of Arts and Sciences with an innovative program of study in art and design that emphasizes interdisciplinary training and collaboration. Requirements span the disciplines and fields of study of departments across the School of Art, Architecture + Design in the recognition that multidisciplinary training will benefit future design professionals, providing them with skills and knowledge necessary to make an immediate impact. Degree requirements reflect the founding principles of the school including the belief that design thinking, grounded in the creative practices of the arts, will be essential as contemporary society attempts to meet new challenges and establish a "culture of making" as an essential component of the nation's economic future. Graduates will be well-prepared to join the workforce in a variety of professions or to pursue graduate study in art, design, and architecture, to name just a few possibilities open to them.

Requirements

In addition to the CASE Credit Hour and Residency Requirements, students must complete the following requirements:

  1. Foundations
    1. CASE English Composition
    2. Mathematical Modeling (students who intend to pursue advanced study in architecture are encouraged to take MATH-M 119 or M211)
  2. CASE Foreign Language: proficiency in a single foreign language at or above the first semester of the second year of college-level coursework.
  3. CASE Intensive Writing
  4. CASE Breadth of Inquiry
    1. Arts and Humanities: four (4) courses 
    2. Social and Historical Studies: four (4) courses 
    3. Natural and Mathematical Sciences: four (4) courses (students who intend to pursue advanced study in architecture are encouraged to take PHYS-P 201)
  5. CASE Critical Approaches
  6. CASE Public Oral Communication
  7. CASE Culture Studies
    1. Diversity in the United States
    2. Global Civilizations and Culture

Students pursuing the B.S. in Comprehensive Design must also complete the following requirements:

  1. Creative Core. Complete the following:
    1. SOAD-A 100 Pathways: Introduction to Art, Design and Merchandising
    2. SOAD-A 101 Creative Core: Color
    3. SOAD-A 211 Cross-Disciplinary Workshops in Art, Design, and Merchandising (complete 2 times with a different topic)
  2. Forums of Exchange. Complete the following:
    1. SOAD-A 201 Forum of Exchange I (complete 2 times for a total of 2 credit hours)
    2. SOAD-A 401 Forum of Exchange II (complete 4 times for a total of 4 credit hours)
  3. Art History. Complete any two (2) Art History (ARTH) courses at the 300–400 level.
  4. Comprehensive Design Sequence. Complete each of the following courses:
    • SOAD-C 181 Design: Creative Revolution
    • SOAD-C 280 Introduction to Comprehensive Design
    • SOAD-C 380 Topical Issues in Comprehensive Design
    • SOAD-C 381 Topical Issues in Collaborative Design
    • SOAD-D 304 Critical Theory, Writing and Thinking for the Studio Practice
    • SOAD-C 480 Special Problems in Comprehensive Design
    • SOAD-C 481 Intensive Seminar in Comprehensive Design
    • SOAD-X 373 Internship in Professional Practice
  5. Immersive Design Experience. Students must complete a semester-long immersive design experience such as supervised studio work and independent study with a distinguished designer in residence, participation in an IU-approved/sponsored Study Abroad Program, a full-time design-related internship in the private sector, or a semester in residence at IUCA+D in Columbus.
  6. Capstone. Complete the following:
    • SOAD-X 490 Independent Study in Interior Design (complete 2 times for a total of at least 4 credit hours)