B.A. – Design Arts & Practices
The Bachelor of Arts in Design Arts & Practices (DAP) degree will provide you the opportunity to develop a foundation in design thinking and making from an interdisciplinary perspective that you will be able to apply to a career in fields such as Experience and User Interface Design, Product Design, Industrial Design, Information Design, Graphic Design/Desktop Publishing, Interior and Spatial Design, Set and Exhibition Design, Environmental and Fashion Design, Art/Illustration, Multimedia Design/Animation, Art Direction, Web Design, and more.
To pursue this degree, you must choose one of the following four emphasis areas:
Print: Visual design studies with a focus on works on paper, such as publications, posters, games, comics, books, magazines, and more. Offered to Main Campus students only. Download the BA DAP Print checklist for detailed information.
Screen: Visual design studies with a focus on works in digital form, such as websites, games, animation, apps, kiosks, and more. Offered to Main Campus students; also offered through Arizona Online. Download the BA DAP Screen checklist for detailed information.
Object Design: Design studies with a focus on works in 3D, including hand-held and portable products, furnishings, furniture, systems, and more. Offered to Main Campus students only, through the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture.
Spatial Design: Design studies with a focus on works that take place, including human scale environments, situated events, interiors, exhibitions, urban spaces, and more. Offered to Main Campus students only, through the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture.
This major is a great fit for you if you are passionate about art, design, and information, and how they come together and are applied to making a better world. In this interdisciplinary degree you will be able to take classes from the School of Art and the School of Information (Arizona’s iSchool). DAP students will develop core conceptual and technical skills to design artifacts and experiences across a range of scales and media. Project-based courses will build your abilities in problem solving and seeking, innovating with and through technologies, and developing creative visual strategies to address problems (climate change, social justice issues, representation and identity, education, limited water supplies, wildfires in local community, understanding information). History, theory, and academic courses will construct cultural frameworks for depth and breadth in research and application.
Courses across Art, Design, Information Science, and Technology in distinct, interdisciplinary ways will shape your degree plan moving from foundations and skills over the first two years, to theories and issues, and a culminating capstone project. Capstone projects will be developed through transdisciplinary lenses, and will tackle challenges spanning fields from Social Justice, Design, and the Environment.
Within the College of Fine Arts there are a number of computer labs reserved exclusively for graphic applications. Through the Office of Student Computing Resources (OSCR), students have access to a wide variety of technologies, training, and support in computer, video and audio production.
Within the School of Art there are numerous studios, labs, and classrooms dedicated to instruction and critique. Most spaces are equipped with digital projection and sound systems, pin-up walls and worktables, wireless connectivity and high speed internet.
Digital Print Studio
The Digital Print Studio uses a service based drop-off system and provides high quality, fine art digital prints using state-of-the-art printers and scanners. The studio also offers finishing services, which include mounting, matting, and framing. Visit the Digital Print Studio website for more information.
Book Art & Letterpress Lab
The Book Art and Letterpress Lab supports on campus letterpress printing, experimental printing, paper techniques, binding and bookery. Visit the Book Art & Letterpress Lab for more information.
Visit the School of Art’s Resources & Facilities page to learn more about the excellent facilities available for instruction in Design Arts & Practices.
The University of Arizona Museum of Art and The Center for Creative Photography, Joseph Gross Gallery and Lionel Rombach Gallery are just some of the on-campus sites to view contemporary as well as historic art works. Other contemporary venues are the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson and the Tucson Museum of Art in the downtown area.
There are a number of galleries on campus and additionally in Tucson and Phoenix where students have a wide variety of opportunities to exhibit by proposal, application or invitation. Graduate students can exhibit in three School Galleries, two Student Union Galleries, and several community gallery spaces. Lionel Rombach Gallery and the Graduate Gallery are currently two of the popular venues for students. Graduate students have their thesis exhibitions in the University of Arizona Museum of Art and the Joseph Gross Gallery, both adjacent to the main entrance of the School of Art.
Visit the Galleries at the School of Art website for more on current and upcoming exhibitions along with our News and Events page.
Ready to join our community of dedicated artists, educators, and scholars? Visit our Admissions page to start your application.