Graphic Design

Program Overview

From magazine ads and interactive graphics to book covers and digital signage, graphic designers have the power to express emotions, influence decisions and bring ideas to life. Students learn to design and produce logos, brochures, magazine layouts and annual reports. Graduates of this program create advertising and branding campaigns, corporate identity systems, packaging and integrated content for media networks and the web.

NOTE: Students enrolling in this program are required to purchase their own laptop. For specific hardware and software requirements for this program click here.

Laptop Program

Design

Field Placement

Admission Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
Grade 12 English (C or U)
Grade 11 mathematics (C, M or U)
Senior-level visual or media arts credits or portfolio of work

Note: this program has additional recommended requirements. Please visit the Admission Requirements tab for further information.

View All Requirements

Intakes and Availability

Date	Domestic Availability	International Availability
September 2020	Open	Open

Tuition

Year one domestic: $3,188 (CDN)
Year one international: $13,788 (CDN)

View Full Costs

Semester 1 Courses

View All Courses

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Graphic designer
Art director
Creative director
Freelance graphic designer
Digital production designer
Freelance graphic designer
Graphic designer
Marketing coordinator
Production artist
Prepress technician
Web designer
Motion graphic designer
Agency studio artist

View all Career Options

Program Details

NOTE: Students enrolling in this program are required to purchase their own laptop. For specific hardware and software requirements for this program click here.

This program prepares graduates for work as entry-level designers. Students learn skills required to solve specific visual problems through practical work that covers a broad spectrum of visual communication in corporate, editorial, advertising and package design. The program of studies in first year includes:

Design concepts
Digital technology
Illustration and photography
Fundamentals of design
Typography

Your second and third year will give you an opportunity to apply these principles to a variety of design problems.

Other areas of study include:

Advertising
Branding and campaigns
Editorial and corporate design
History of graphic design
Packaging
The business of graphic design

You will spend your sixth semester off campus as an intern at a design or in-house studio. As a graduating student, you will have the opportunity to display design projects from your Portfolio Studies course at an annual student design exhibition.

In The News

Admission Requirements

Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or Mature Student Status
Grade 12 English (C or U)
Grade 11 mathematics (C, M or U)
Senior-level visual or media arts credits or portfolio of work

Please note: For applicants who have a senior-level visual arts or media arts credit (C, M or U levels) on their high school transcript, a portfolio submission is not required. For those without a senior-level visual arts or media arts credit, applicants are required to submit a portfolio of work to be considered for admission.

Additional requirements

In addition to the academic requirements, admission to this program MAY require the submission of a portfolio of artwork. The purpose of the portfolio is to allow students to demonstrate their creative ability. There are several (optional) free portfolio information sessions, which are designed to help applicants develop a portfolio.

Courses

Semester 1

Semester 2

Semester 3

Semester 4

Semester 5

Semester 6

Field Placement - Graphics (FWK 6303)

Courses and course descriptions are subject to change.

Costs

YEAR ONE FEES	Domestic	International
Tuition	$3,188	$13,788
Compulsory Ancillary	$1,337	$1,812
Program Incidental	$400	$400
Total Fees:	$4,925	$16,000

Please note: fees are based on the 2019-2020 academic year and do not include textbooks. For more information please see Other fees to consider.

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Graphic designer
Art director
Creative director
Freelance graphic designer
Digital production designer
Freelance graphic designer
Graphic designer
Marketing coordinator
Production artist
Prepress technician
Web designer
Motion graphic designer
Agency studio artist

WHERE YOU COULD WORK:

Advertising agencies
Graphic design studios
In-house corporate design studios
Interactive design studios
Package design studios
Printing companies
Publishing companies
Self-employment (freelance)
Web development studio
Media networks

Field Placement

Your learning experience will be complemented by a 14-week field placement in the last semester of your program, which provides the opportunity to integrate theory with practice at an agency or studio under the supervision of an industry professional. The placement must be approved by faculty, and your progress will be monitored. Many students are offered employment at the end of their field placement.

Program Transfer, Degree Completion and Additional Credentials

Durham College also offers degree completion opportunities with a number of Canadian and international institutions. Sample diploma-to-degree opportunities include:

Please visit our pathways page to learn more about how you can transfer your credits towards a degree.

Laptop Requirements

Hardware recommendations and FAQ document

Software requirements

Operating System (bundled with new notebook computer purchase)
Membership in Adobe Creative Cloud™ is included in your Student Fees and will be made available during your first week. There is no need to purchase a subscription.
Microsoft Office (Available for free for students from Microsoft through your DC Mail account. Please do not buy it.)

Creative Cloud brings together everything you need to create your greatest work. One simple membership gives you and your classmates to the very latest versions of all the Adobe professional creative desktop applications like Photoshop®, Illustrator®, Premiere Pro® and more — plus new features and upgrades as soon as they're available. And that's just the beginning. With Creative Cloud™, everything you need to create intuitively and collaboratively is included.

Free downloadable software (please download and install prior to the start of classes. Caution: To avoid malware, only download from the actual developer or using the links below):

OTHER RECOMMENDED HARDWARE

All students MUST have a Cat 5e or Cat 6 Ethernet cable 2 meters long to connect to the campus network and an adapter to connect to Ethernet depending on the laptop.
USB flash drive for storing smaller amounts of data
External hard disk USB-3 or USB-C 1 TB or larger
Wacom Intuous 3 6×8-inch digital graphics tablet (optional)

NOTE: These requirements were accurate at the time of posting and are subject to change. Please be aware that hardware and software versions are subject to change and will be updated as needed.

Program Overview

Admission Requirements

Intakes and Availability

Tuition

Semester 1 Courses

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

Program Details

In The News

Admission Requirements

Additional requirements

Courses

Semester 1

Semester 2

Semester 3

Semester 4

Semester 5

Semester 6

Costs

Career Options

WHAT YOU COULD BE:

WHERE YOU COULD WORK:

Field Placement

Program Transfer, Degree Completion and Additional Credentials

Laptop Requirements

Software requirements

OTHER RECOMMENDED HARDWARE

Graphic Design in the news

Helpful Resources

College guide September 2020 [PDF]

College guide September 2020 [Interactive]

Graduate Employment Report [PDF]