At a young age, I was exposed to the fascinating field of painting due to the subtle influence of my uncle, who is a professor at China Central Academy of Fine Arts. With two decades passing, I realized that painting only focuses on self-expression, whereas design focuses on solving people’s problem. Hence, I chose graphic design as my university major. When I had my first job after graduation, most of the work I did was focused on sales and publicity, but graphic design is much more important than this. The essence of graphic design is recognizing the world in which we live, finding out the problems in our life and solving them through characters and pictures, to make our life better. Since graphic design is a major of leading edge, the ability of foresight to artistic ideas and emerging works is the top priority. It is necessary to keep a perfect balance on both artistic attainment and creative thinking, thus the U.S. becomes my best bet. The MA in Graphic Design from GMU offers students a comprehensive study and preparation for the graphic design profession. The program calls for 36 credits, which includes courses in typography, web design, image making, and brand design. I hope that this program will develop my critical thinking ability, and enable me to conduct my experiments. The development of China’s design affairs in an incredible high speed led to shortage of talent resources in frontier domains. This was a calling for me to cherish my further education with new possibilities to broaden my horizon in the range of critical and creative thinking. After I return to my homeland, I will open my own graphic design company.
Core Courses / credits / note
Select 8 credits from the following: 8
AVT 519
Special Topics in Graphic Design / (1-6)
/ Admission to AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
AVT 596
Independent Study / (1-6)
/ Admission to AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
AVT 599
Special Topics in Art and Visual Technology / (1-6)
/ Admission to AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
AVT 611
Graduate Design Seminar / 3
AVT 612
Independent Project Research / 1
/ completion of 30 graduate credits
AVT 613
Experiential Design History / 3
/ Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor.
AVT 617
Advanced Typography / 4
/ Admission to graphic design MA (or MFA) program, AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor.
CVPA 600
CVPA Graduate ProSeminar / 0
/ Acceptance into a CVPA Graduate Program. Must be taken within the student's first 2 semesters.
Total Credits: 19
Electives / credits / note
Select 13 credits from the following: 13
AVT 519
Special Topics in Graphic Design / (1-6)
/ Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor.
AVT 614
Brand Identity Design / (4)
/ Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
AVT 619
Advanced Web Design / (4)
/ Admission to Graphic Design MA program or permission of instructor.
AVT 596
Independent Study / (1-6)
/ Admission to AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
Total Credits: 13
Final Project / credits / note
AVT 794
Graphic Design Project / 4
/ Admission to the AVT Graphic Design graduate program and completion of 30 graduate credits.
Total Credits: 4
Core Courses / credits / note
Select 8 credits from the following: 8
AVT 519
Special Topics in Graphic Design / (1-6)
/ Admission to AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
AVT 596
Independent Study / (1-6)
/ Admission to AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
AVT 599
Special Topics in Art and Visual Technology / (1-6)
/ Admission to AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
AVT 611
Graduate Design Seminar / 3
AVT 612
Independent Project Research / 1
/ completion of 30 graduate credits
AVT 613
Experiential Design History / 3
/ Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor.
AVT 617
Advanced Typography / 4
/ Admission to graphic design MA (or MFA) program, AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor.
CVPA 600
CVPA Graduate ProSeminar / 0
/ Acceptance into a CVPA Graduate Program. Must be taken within the student's first 2 semesters.
Total Credits: 19
Electives / credits / note
Select 13 credits from the following: 13
AVT 519
Special Topics in Graphic Design / (1-6)
/ Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of the instructor.
AVT 614
Brand Identity Design / (4)
/ Admission to the AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
AVT 619
Advanced Web Design / (4)
/ Admission to Graphic Design MA program or permission of instructor.
AVT 596
Independent Study / (1-6)
/ Admission to AVT graduate program or permission of instructor.
Total Credits: 13
Final Project / credits / note
AVT 794
Graphic Design Project / 4
/ Admission to the AVT Graphic Design graduate program and completion of 30 graduate credits.
Total Credits: 4