Program Overview

With an ever growing presence of the visual in contemporary life, from on-line activity to the exploding phenomenon of social media, visual communication is a field relevant to all professions.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication (B.F.A.) program at AUD will equip students with the artistic skill sets needed for successful careers in the advertising, design and creative industries.

Offering majors in Advertising, Digital Media, Graphic Design and Studio Art, the program endeavors to develop awareness and critical perception of the historical, cultural and theoretical foundations for art and design. The curriculum encourages the amalgamation of aesthetics, technique, concept development, critical thinking and digital technology.

The primary goal of the Department of Visual Communication and its programs is to deliver an educational experience based on the best practice and standards of quality institutions of art and design. We provide an academic curriculum, professional instruction, and world-class facilities and technologies, culminating is a creative and dynamic learning environment.

Upon completion of the degree program, students will be able to:

• Effectively articulate the conceptual foundations of visual communication works;
• Demonstrate the design process for developing new, creative visual communication projects;
• Execute the production and presentation of new works of art and visual design;
• Evaluate and critique contemporary art and design works;
• Recognize and integrate the ethical, and sociocultural ideals of the target audience in each work of visual communication.

Program Details

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication at AUD is a 120 credit-hour, four year program.

The curriculum focuses on a combination of aesthetics, technique, concept development, critical thinking and digital technology. The program offers a multi-lingual typography and multi-cultural art. AUD were the first in the Arab world to offer an Arabic type design course, calligraphy workshops and cultural events, producing several awards, exhibitions and features in various design periodicals, regionally and internationally.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication is split into the following majors:

ADVERTISING
Involving sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, event marketing and new media, Advertising focuses on the following professional specializations:

• Print advertising (magazines and newspapers)
• Point of sale display (in retail)
• Cinema advertising
• TV advertising
• Non-traditional advertising (music, sponsorship)
• Outdoor and online advertising

DIGITAL MEDIA
Designed to nurture creativity and equip students with practical and critical skills to adapt to constantly evolving technology, the Digital Media major prepares students for the following professions:

• Web design
• Animation
• Video
• Interactive media
• Game design
• Sound design
• Non-traditional advertising & design (ambient music, sponsorship of events, campaigns in unexpected places and ways)
• New media art

GRAPHIC DESIGN
The art of creating, choosing and arranging images and text to create visual solutions that will inform, promote, amuse or persuade, the Graphic Design major can lead graduates into the following professions:

• Publication design (brochures, magazines and newspapers)
• Book design
• Poster design
• Packaging design
• Corporate identity (logos and branding)
• Information design (maps, charts, diagrams and interface design)
• Web design and multimedia
• Motion graphics (movie titles and TV graphics)
• Environmental design (signage systems and environmental graphics)
• Exhibition design

STUDIO ART
Studio Art is the study of painting, photography, sculpture and printmaking, entailing a final-year self-directed studio project and written thesis. Graduates of the Studio Art major can pursue the following professions:

For the full course details and sequencing view the e-brochure.

Facilities

• Well-equipped and advanced studios and lecture rooms.
• Fully equipped 3-D studio
• Laptop classroom with multimedia presentation equipment, surround sound system, 27inch Apple monitors, and a large HD TV with the ability to stream to/from Apple computers and devices;
• Fully equipped print making studio;
• VC Studio for painting and freehand drawing courses;
• Darkroom lab;
• Hybrid media studio;
• Computer lab with 20 Apple 27inch iMac, fully equipped with the latest design and animation software such as Adobe CC, Maxon Cinema 4D, etc.; 
• Rotunda Gallery - fully equipped exhibition space;
• State-of-the-art multipurpose editing suites, equipped with the latest top of the range Apple MacPro Computers with dual displays, Thunderbolt 2 external raid storage, Pro Audio, Video, Interactive and Animation software and hardware;
• Extensive printing facilities containing A3 color printers, A3 mini plotter and A0 format color printer;
• Resource Center, stocked with the latest 4K digital cameras, sound and lighting equipment;
• Commercial print shop located in the Student Center building.

ADMISSIONS ENTRY

All applying students must have:

• A high school/secondary school certificate or equivalent from an institution accredited by the Ministry of Education in the U.A.E. or by the relevant national or regional institutional accrediting body;
• International TOEFL^®or Academic IELTS^TM or the equivalent score on another internationally-recognized English exam. PBT is accepted from specific centers in the UAE;
• The University administers the ACCUPLACER^TM Exam (Math) to place students at the appropriate mathematics level. Students may substitute the SAT for this, depending on the score.

 Students should consult with the Admissions Office for further details at admissions@aud.edu.

FACULTY

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