Program Goals and Learning Outcomes
The faculty of Elmhurst University’s Department of Art believe that every artist and designer is an entrepreneur to some extent.
A student may decide to focus on Art Business as their major with future plans of creating an arts organization, center their studies on the self-expressive studio side with the BFA in Studio Art to eventually become an artist showing in galleries, or choose to pursue Graphic Design to bring successful brand identities to existing companies. In each of these example scenarios, our creative professional graduates will need to learn and apply a core set of skills regardless of their chosen niche within Art & Design.
Below, you can read about how we view and structure the program to instill the same caliber skill sets in all of our graduates to prepare them for practical applications of using their acquired Art & Design knowledge in the future, beyond the University setting.
Program Goals
1. Cultivate Creativity and Innovation: Develop students’ ability to engage their creativity by synthesizing existing ideas in original ways, embracing innovation and risk-taking.
2. Enhance Problem-Solving Skills: Equip students with the skills to effectively solve visual problems using knowledge of formal elements and design principles.
3. Develop Technical Proficiency: Ensure mastery over the practical application of techniques, technologies, and methodologies for professional-level craftsmanship.
4. Promote Critical Thinking: Encourage critical assessment of the societal impact of art and design, informed by historical and cultural contexts.
5. Improve Articulation and Presentation: Strengthen students’ ability to clearly present and
articulate their creative visions, leading to a cohesive body of work.
6. Cultivate Global and Cultural Understanding: Foster an understanding of how cultural concepts, values, and contexts shape art’s historic and ongoing role in a diverse, global society.
7. Prepare for Professional Practice: Help students succeed in the professional world by engaging in ethical practice, continuous learning, and standard expectations in their chosen field of Art or Design.
8. Encourage Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Promote the integration of concepts and
techniques from various disciplines into creative practice.
Program Learning Objectives
1. Creative Thinking is both the capacity to combine or synthesize existing ideas, images, or expertise in original ways and the experience of thinking, reacting, and working in an
imaginative way characterized by a high degree of innovation, divergent thinking, and risk taking (American Colleges and Universities – AAC&U, 2009).
Students will analyze, synthesize, experiment, and iterate to create original and innovative works of visual art and design.
2. Problem Solving is the process of designing, evaluating, and implementing a strategy to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal (AAC&U, 2009).
Students will produce works of art and design that demonstrate using formal elements and principles of design to solve visual problems, particularly those of form aligning with
content.
3. Technical proficiency is both knowledge and application of appropriate techniques,
technologies and/or methodologies to produce targeted results.
Students will apply the use of appropriate tools, techniques, and/or technology to create works of art and design with a professional level of craftsmanship.
4. Critical Thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of
issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion (AAC&U, 2009).
Students will assess the cultural impact of art and design within a diverse, global context informed by an interdisciplinary knowledge of historical, cultural, formal, and stylistic
influences indicative of a liberal arts education.
5. Articulation is the act of clearly and effectively articulating and presenting one’s ideas, thoughts, or feelings.
Students will demonstrate a cohesive articulation of their creative efforts through both
visual and verbal presentations of a culminating body of work, wherein their articulated intent and goals match their results.
Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). (2009). Creative Thinking VALUE rubric. Retrieved from
https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/creative-thinking
Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). (2009). Problem Solving VALUE rubric. Retrieved from
https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/problem-solving
Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). (2009). Critical Thinking VALUE rubric. Retrieved from
https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/critical-thinking