School of Architecture and Design

Department of Design

Bob Dahm, Interim Head

Faculty

• Shoaib Nabi Ahmad
  
• Tarek Al-Ghoussein
  
• Paul Bantey
  
• Amir Berbić
  
• John Botthoff
  
• Zlatan Filipović
  
• Roderick Grant
  
• David Hewitt 
  
• Masood Khan
  
• Mark Pilkington
  
• Phil Sheil
  
• Tonya Stewart
  
• Jack Swanstrom
  
• Seth Thompson

Bachelor of Science in Design Management (BSDM)

The Bachelor of Science in Design Management (BSDM) provides students with the opportunity to engage in a design-based program with entrepreneurial and communication components. Design management as a discipline integrates visual design and business studies. This major is especially well suited to students who have a keen interest in the managerial aspects of design. The essential elements of this profession are the ability to communicate design needs, track progress and outcomes, identify the requirements of design projects and coordinate with clients as well as with professional teams in the field of design.

The program provides broad insights into the foundations, theory and application of design and business studies. A solid foundation in visual design prepares students to understand the language and complexities involved in the efforts of the creative teams, as well as to speak fluentlythe“language”of design. Additionally, course work in the disciplines of business, management and communication prepares students to recruit clients, pitch projects, write copy for print, television and radio, as well as master systems and marketing skills.

Typical target professional positions in the fast growing fieldofdesignmanagement include administrative and managerial careers in media and service industries as advertising agency principals, project managers and team leaders, advertising campaign planners, client services specialists, advertising buyers, account and sales representatives, communications specialists, public relations professionals, exhibition and event planners, material culture administrators, market-research analysts and more.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 120 credits, including the following, is required:

• a minimum of 42 credits of general education requirements (of which 12 credits double count as major requirements)
• 60 credits of major requirements
• a minimum of 21 credits of major electives
• 12 credits of free electives
• six weeks of approved professional training (internship)
• a minimum CGPA of 2.0

General Education Requirements

• English language competency requirement (minimum of 12 credits): 100 level or above of English (ENG)/writing (WRI) courses, including ENG 204 and ENG 225
  
• Arabic heritage requirement (minimum of 3 credits)
  
• mathematics and/or statistics requirement (minimum of 6 credits): MTH 101 or MTH 111and STA 202 or QBA 201
  
• science requirement (minimum of 6 credits): two science courses
  
• humanities and social sciences requirement (minimum of 15 credits): DES 121, DES 122, DES 231, ECO 201, ECO 202 (DES 121or DES 122, DES 231, ECO 201 and ECO 202 double count as major requirements)
  
• computer literacy requirement: satisfied through extensive use of computer resources throughout the curriculum
  
• information literacy requirement: satisfied through WRI 102

For complete information on general education requirements, please refer to the Graduation Requirements section within the Academic Policies and Regulations section of this catalog.

Major Requirements (60 credits)

The following courses constitute the major requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Design Management degree.

In the School of Architecture and Design (33 credits)

• DES 100 Digital Media in Design
• DES 111 Descriptive Drawing I
• DES 121 History of Material Culture I or DES 122 History of Material Culture II
• DES 131 Design Foundations I
• DES 200 Communication Design
• DES 230 Digital Media in Communication Design
• DES 231 History of Design
• DES 300 Design Project
• DES 397 Internship in Design Management
• DES 462 Design Management
• DES 472 Exhibition Project
• VIS 361 The Design Profession

In the School of Business and Management (27 credits)

• BIS 101 Business Information Systems
• ECO 201 Principles of Microeconomics
• ECO 202 Principles of Macroeconomics
• MGT 201 Fundamentals of Management
• MGT 311 Organizational Behavior
• MGT 315 International Business
• MGT 361 Business Ethics and Social Responsibility
• MIS 201 Fundamentals of Management Information Systems
• MKT 201 Fundamentals of Marketing

Internship

Internship is a requirement for graduation. Arrangements for the internships are normally made with the students in the spring semester of their third year. The internship comprises six weeks of full-time work placement (normally 240 hours) at an approved professional company during the summer of the student’s third year. A review of the student’s internship journal and feedback from the employer are the basis of passing the internship requirement.

Major Electives (minimum of 21 credits)

Electives in Major Fields (minimum of 15 credits)

Students are required to complete at least two of the five electives in major fields at the 300 level or above, and are strongly advised to take VIS 360 (Critical Discourse in Design). They can also choose to take courses from the following:

• DES 132 Design Foundations II
• DES 494 Special Topics in Design Management
• MCM 150 Introduction to Mass Communication Studies
• MCM 227 Principles of Public Relations

Electives in Related Fields

(minimum of 6 credits)

Three of six credits for the electives in related fields must be at the 300 level or above. Students must obtain approval of their advisor before selection of courses in these related fields:

• ENG 231 Writing for Visual Media
• PSY 101 General Psychology
• PSY 102 Social Psychology
• any course in SA&D
• any course in SBM
• any course in mass communication

Free Electives (minimum of 12 credits)
Any courses offered at or above the 100 level.

Minor in Design Management

Students enrolling in the design management minor should have normally completed a minimum of 30 credits of course work and be in good academic standing. The following rules apply:

• The minor consists of a minimum of 18 credits including at least nine credits in courses at or above the 300 level.
  
• Free electives can be taken toward the minor.
  
• At least nine credits of the minor must be taken in residence at AUS.
  
• A grade of at least C- in each course and a GPA of at least 2.0 must be earned in courses taken to satisfy the minor.

Minor Requirements (18 credits)

Students seeking a minor in design management must complete the following courses or their equivalent. All course prerequisites must be satisfied.

•  at least nine credits in SA&D undergraduate courses, including DES 100
•  at least nine credits in SBM undergraduate courses, including MGT 201

Back