BDes General Design Route

Choose your own adventure!
This is the most flexible route in the Bachelor of Design program. In addition to all the design studio course work, the general route allows students to select options courses from any department(s) in the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science. Students may combine Visual Communication Design and Industrial Design courses with Fine Arts courses and options for experience in a variety of disciplines.

What should I do with my options courses?
Some students choose to take all 7 of their options courses from different departments; some choose to take all 7 from one department, like an unofficial minor. Some students add a credential to their degree by using their options courses to fulfill the requirements of the Computer Game Development Certificate or the Arts and Cultural Management minor, for example.

Program Requirements

Checklist

You can download a draft program checklist for planning purposes, or scroll down for the list of program requirements.

Important Notes about BDes Program Requirements

• BDes students must carry a minimum course load of 24 credits (eight 3-credit classes) over each Fall and Winter. Therefore the program will generally take between 4 and 5 years.
• Arts and Science options can not be met with ART, DES or HADVC classes. (The only exception to this rule can be found in the final line of the Year 4 courses; please see below.) Your "options" courses must come from any other Department within the Faculty of Arts or Faculty of Science.
• If you choose, you may replace up to two of your Arts/Science options with courses from other Faculties. Examples: students interested in fashion could take Human Ecology (HECOL) courses; students interested in medical illustration could take Anatomy (ANAT) courses; students interested in sports and recreation can take physical activity (PAC) courses.
• "Senior" level means 200-level courses or higher
• If you transfer into the BDes program with credit from ART 134 and DES 135 (or *6 of equivalent first year studio courses), they will take the place of ART 136 and DES 138. You will make up the missing *6 of studios with any senior ART or DES courses at any point in your degree.
• Students may adjust the sequencing of some of the courses below provided that prerequisite course requirements are met for any courses you wish to take.
• You can generally replace a lower level course with a higher level course for unspecified ART, DES, and options requirements, but not the other way around. For instance you can replace an open "300-level DES" requirement with a 500-level DES class, or a 100-level arts/science option with a 300-level arts/science option.

Year 1 (*30)

1. ART 136 and 137 (*6)
2. DES 138 and 139 (*6)
3. ART 240 (*3)
4. HADVC 100-level or 200-level (*6)
5. 100-level ENGL (*6)
6. Arts or Science option (100- or 200-level) (*3)

Year 2 (*33)

1. DES 300/301 or 393/394 (*6)
2. DES (300-level) (*6)
3. ART or DES (300-level) (*6)
4. ART 340 (*3) Note: this course is often completed during the summer term, which is why this year has 33* listed.
5. HADVC 209 (*3)
6. HADVC (200-level) (*3)
7. Arts or Science options (100- or 200-level) (*6)

Year 3 (*30)

1. DES 400/401 or 493/494 (*6)
2. DES (400-level) (*6)
3. ART or DES (300- or 400-level) (*6)
4. HADVC (200 or 300-level) (*3)
5. DES 483 (*3)
6. Arts or Science options (200- or 300-level) (*6)

Year 4 (*27)

1. DES 500/501 or 593/594 (*6)
2. DES (500-level) (*6)
3. ART or DES (300-, 400-, or 500-level) (*6)
4. HADVC (300 or 400-level) (*3)
5. Arts or Science options (200- or 300-level) or HADVC 4XX (*6)