Interdisciplinary Programs and Minors
Designmatters
ArtCenter recognizes the power of design to change the world. Through research, advocacy and action, the College’s social innovation department, Designmatters, engages, empowers and leads an ongoing exploration of art and design as a positive force in society. Designmatters courses vary from term to term, but include academic, discipline-specific and studio-based offerings that engage students across all majors, taught with a dynamic, entrepreneurial and experiential approach to design education.
Through Designmatters’ programming, students tackle local, national and global issues head-on, from developing concepts for climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies and communicating preparation strategies for wildfires and sea level rise, to co-designing health campaigns and interventions for cancer screenings and healing environments for pediatric burn survivors and their families.
The values of sustainable development, health, public policy, social entrepreneurship and social justice are core to the curriculum, programs and projects, with student work frequently implemented with partners and in communities, making an impact beyond the walls of the classroom.
Minor in Social Innovation
The College offers a minor in social innovation through Designmatters, providing a specialization for undergraduate students who want to master a toolkit of design skills and strategies to navigate the complex dynamics of working with communities and designing for social impact. Offered across all undergraduate disciplines, the minor requires 15 units of study, comprised of 3 Humanities & Sciences courses and 2 Designmatters Transdisciplinary Studios, and can be completed concurrently with a student’s major degree program.
Humanities and Sciences
All ArtCenter students take classes in the Humanities and Sciences (H&S) Department, covering academic subjects often referred to as liberal arts and sciences. H&S classes work in conjunction with the studio programs to foster thoughtful and rigorous inquiry across the College, traversing cultural, historical, literary, philosophical and scientific perspectives. In this way, ArtCenter students receive a complete education, and upon graduation, have the knowledge required to map an informed individual path.
Minors
Students can make an ArtCenter degree do more by enrolling in one of three new minors: Creative Writing, Business and Material Science. A minor allows students to focus their Humanities and Sciences credits and requirements to customize their educational experience and support their own individual path.
Integrated Studies
ArtCenter students learn by making. And in the process of learning material common to all disciplines—basic visual vocabulary, craftsmanship and technical skills—students from multiple majors begin a journey of self-discovery. Through the Integrated Studies curriculum, they gain critical awareness and hone their personal voice while forging important relationships with their peers.
ArtCenter’s long-standing distinction for—and commitment to—craft begins with Integrated Studies classes, which are automatically incorporated into students’ first-year course of study and progressively developed into more fully formed interdisciplinary projects. The journey begins here.
Exchange and Study Away
As the world’s ideas, languages and cultures become more interconnected, ArtCenter’s curriculum offers students the means to address design challenges and explore artistic opportunities wherever and however they occur—in our own backyard or across the globe. And we have the resources to help you plan your next adventure.
Some of our signature programs include partnerships with Tama Art University in Japan, ArtCenter Berlin in Germany, and PENSOLE Footwear Design Academy in Portland, Oregon. Our London Ancient/Modern program has run for over ten years and our partnership with COANIQUEM in Chile is continually supported by Designmatters.
ArtCenter also facilitates applications to the prestigious Fulbright Program for students and recent alumni, awarding U.S. citizens scholarships to study, conduct research or exercise their creative talents abroad.