The small closet of opportunities for an Oakland University art student has just opened another door as OU has announced a minor in graphic design. Due to strong student and community interest, the art and art history department is in the process of proposing a new bachelor of arts major in graphic design.

Graphic design is the first art minor offered at Oakland University other than studio art and art history, which are both also offered as a major.

The minor includes basics such as studies in design theory and history, materials and processes, and also incorporates graphic design studio and professional industry standards and applications.

There is presently no time frame for the possible major.

Courses toward the minor are currently being offered for the 2010 winter semester and the intro course will be offered in the summer.

“Approximately 65 percent of (the) fall 2009 introduction to graphic design enrollment was comprised of students seeking a minor in graphic design,” said Lynn Galbreath Fausone, assistant art and art history professor. “All of the required courses fill fast; full enrollment in each currently is between 10 and 14 (students).”

Fausone heads the graphic design minor and also teaches the fundamental courses as well as many of the advanced classes. Her excitement for the minor began last year when it was still in debate among the academic board. With a personal goal of offering the fine art student the knowledge needed to supplement the fine art profession, she hopes to apply this to her graphic design teachings as well.

Just like many other OU minors, 24 credits are required and the student must achieve a 3.0 GPA in the class for it to be counted toward the degree. Foundations in media, studio and graphic design begin the study and are followed by a course in each web design, graphic design, and typography.

Web design was first offered this winter semester; due to its popularity, the administration opened up another course, which filled as quickly as the original.

“Students are actually postponing their degrees to stick around for the (graphic design) minor,” Fausone said. “There has been a lot of interest already.”

Two students currently enrolled in the second web design course, Ashley Nicholson and Monica Cotton, have great expectations for the benefits of a graphic design minor.

Both Cotton and Nicholson originally heard about the minor from Fausone and other department professors. While they both have high dreams, a degree in graphic design holds extra opportunities for the future.

Nicholson, carrying an associate degree in liberal and fine arts from Oakland Community College, decided to pick up graphic design as a minor to accompany a studio art major after deciding to switch out from a degree in new media education.

“I have always wanted to work in the art field,” Nicholson said. “Since the art world can be difficult to make money in, I began looking into artistic careers that could provide me with more stability and found graphic design to be one of those options.”

Like Nicholson, Cotton added the minor to accompany her major. Her interest was piqued by the intro course and has continued through her classes.

“I think having a graphic design minor will give me an opportunity to work in other fields or just do side jobs,” she said. I hope to be an art teacher when I graduate, but maybe (I) could do graphic design on the side or even teach it in high school.”

The art department hopes to expand outside of the Wilson Hall basement as art degrees continue to grow. New 27-inch iMac computers, lockers and art essentials have been added to the department recently.

Art students have semester-long access to these, as well as a dark room for photographers.

The role of a graphic designer — even a student with a minor in graphic design — goes far beyond just designing an advertisement in a magazine. Designers may also have jobs such as still and animated graphics for television news broadcasts, brochures for top companies, photography based design, and web design.

The average salary for graphic designer is $46,095 in the United States as of April 2009, according to www.salary.com.

Students interested in graphic design can take the Intro to Graphic Design course without declaring a minor.

Junior Aimee Young is a studio art major who is currently taking Foundations of Media Art as a required course.

While her interest is particularly in Asian art and canvas-based works, when informed about the new minor, she admits, “If I hadn’t already chosen my minor, I would probably consider it.”

Young had planned on incorporating a minor in Japanese to be prepared for where her career in studio art may take her and expresses similar feelings about a minor in graphic design.

While she comments that graphic design goes hand in hand with an art-based major, she believes that a major in journalism, advertising or a related degree might also benefit from the additional background of digital art.

“I personally think (graphic design) should be a major too,” Young said. “Everything is so computer-based now.”

Young believes offering the graphic design minor is another step for the University to encompass a wider range of student interest.

Interested students should contact Professor Fausone at 248-370-3381.