Major requirements

The major requires at least 41 credit hours (53 with the Addenda requirements), including the requirements listed below.

1. Pathways. One (1) course from the Pathways list.
   • SOAD-A 100 Pathways: Introduction to Art, Design and Merchandising Explores the fields of art, design, and merchandising within the contemporary landscape of creating and making. Identifies where these disciplines have mutually reinforcing values and opportunities for interdisciplinary study. Provides a common experience for art, design and merchandising students. (3 credit hours.)
2. Forums of Exchange.
   1. Intermediate Forum. One (1) course from the Intermediate Forum list.
      • SOAD-A 201 Forum of Exchange I Interdisciplinary experiences serve as the foundation for discussion and written/verbal responses. Students select from a range of activities including lectures, cross-critiques, site visits, interviews, class visits, museum exhibitions, and performances to observe, question and compare art, design and merchandising disciplines. May be repeated for a maximum of 4 credit hours. S/F grading. (1 credit hour.)
   2. Advanced Forum. One (1) course from the Advanced Forum list.
      • SOAD-A 401 Forum of Exchange II Interdisciplinary experiences in art, design and merchandising serve as the foundation for discussion and written/verbal responses. Students select from a range of activities including lectures, cross-critiques, site visits, interviews, class visits and selected exhibitions. May be repeated for a maximum of 4 credit hours. S/F grading. (1 credit hour.)
3. Comprehensive Design Sequence.
   1. Creative Core: 3D Design. One (1) course from the Creative Core: 3D Design list.
      • SOAD-A 103 Creative Core: 3D Design Volume, space, material, and physical force studies provide the basis for exploration of three-dimensional form; includes carving, construction, modeling, and casting using wood, plaster, Styrofoam, clay, etc. Credit given for only one of FINA-F 101 or SOAD-A 103. (3 credit hours.)
   2. Introduction to Comprehensive Design. One (1) course from the Introduction to Comprehensive Design list.
      • SOAD-C 280 Introduction to Comprehensive Design Introduction to design across subject-specific boundaries through examination of its models, methods, and sensibilities. Focus on ability to explore, synthesize, and integrate ideas through comprehensive design. Features IU Center for Art + Design, Columbus, Indiana as a living laboratory to demonstrate mutually reinforcing design approaches and solutions. Credit given for only one of AMID-C 280 or SOAD-C 280. (3 credit hours.)
   3. Issues in Comprehensive Design. One (1) course from the Issues in Comprehensive Design list.
      • SOAD-C 380 Topical Issues in Comprehensive Design P: Consent of department. Analysis of current design trends across subject-specific boundaries. Features IU Center for Art + Design, Columbus, Indiana as a living laboratory to demonstrate mutually reinforcing design approaches and solutions. Topics will vary. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 8 credit hours in AMID-C 380 and SOAD-C 380. (3 credit hours.)
   4. Issues in Collaborative Design. One (1) course from the Issues in Collaborative Design list.
      • SOAD-C 381 Topical Issues in Collaborative Design P: Consent of department. Analysis of collaborative design trends across subject-specific boundaries. Features integration of applied design disciplines such as urban design, architectural design, and landscape architecture to demonstrate mutually reinforcing design approaches and solutions. Topics will vary. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 8 credit hours in AMID-C 381 and SOAD-C 381. (3 credit hours.)
   5. Special Problems in Comprehensive Design. One (1) course from the Special Problems in Comprehensive Design list.
      • SOAD-C 480 Special Problems in Comprehensive Design P: Consent of department. Analysis of selected design topics across subject-specific boundaries. Features IU Center for Art + Design, Columbus, Indiana as a living laboratory to demonstrate mutually reinforcing design approaches and solutions. Topics will vary. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 6 credit hours in AMID-C 480 and SOAD-C 480. (3 credit hours.)
   6. Intensive Seminar in Comprehensive Design. One (1) course from the Intensive Seminar in Comprehensive Design list.
      • SOAD-C 481 Intensive Seminar in Comprehensive Design Intensive seminar in analysis of selected design topics across subject-specific boundaries. Features IU Center for Art + Design, Columbus, Indiana as a living laboratory to demonstrate mutually reinforcing design approaches and solutions. Topics will vary. May be repeated with different topics for a maximum of 6 credit hours in AMID-C 481 and SOAD-C 481. (1–3 credit hours.)
   7. Design Practice. One (1) course from the Design Practice list.
      • SOAD-W 200 Design Practice P: SOAD-A 103; or consent of instructor. Gain a working understanding of methods for thinking about problems and solutions through a human-centered approach. Explore the entire design process, including problem scoping, defining, researching, modeling, prototyping, producing, and testing, resulting in viable human-centered, transparent, and imaginative solutions. (3 credit hours.)
   8. Design Research, Methods, and Process. One (1) course from the Design Research, Methods, and Process list.
      • SOAD-W 250 Design Research, Methods, and Process P: SOAD-W 200; or consent of instructor. Introduction to fundamental approaches to design research, methods for exploring design situations, and the generation and application of design insights processes. Create a series of visual/textual artifacts that will help analyze and generate design for key moments in human-information interaction. (3 credit hours.)
   9. Design in Context and Culture. One (1) course from the Design in Context and Culture list.
      • SOAD-W 300 Design in Context and Culture P: SOAD-W 250; or consent of instructor. Explore the relationships between design, context, and culture. Based on user research, create a series of cultural and context-based artifacts that will help analyze and design strategies and specific experiences within a design. (3 credit hours.)
   10. Design of Systems. One (1) course from the Design of Systems list.
       • SOAD-W 350 Design of Systems P: SOAD-W 300; or consent of instructor. Explores "systems thinking" for designers. People are the center of the systems we create when we develop new designs. The digital and physical spaces that we design and inhabit are rapidly accelerating in complexity. This course introduces systems-level approaches to design. (3 credit hours.)
4. Capstone.
   1. Design Capstone: Research & Development. One (1) course from the Design Capstone: Research & Development list.
      • SOAD-W 400 Design Capstone I: Research and Development P: SOAD-W 350; or consent of instructor. Students, working individually or in teams, will complete complex projects that resolve issues of design on multiple scale levels and across systems. By the end of the course, students will be able to clearly articulate their research argument in a well-written and orally presented project proposal. (3–6 credit hours.)
   2. Design Capstone: Studio Project. One (1) course from the Design Capstone: Studio Project list.
      • SOAD-W 450 Design Capstone II: Studio Project P: SOAD-W 400; or consent of instructor. Students, working individually or in teams, will complete complex projects that resolve issues of design on multiple scale levels and across systems. By the end of the course, students will demonstrate a understanding of project production, the development of an integrated design solution, and the creation of an expressive and innovative solution that mediates existing conditions. (3–6 credit hours.)
5. Addenda Requirements*.
   1. Studio Art Courses. Six (6) credit hours from the Studio Art Courses list.
      • SOAD-A 101 Creative Core: Color Explores color's fundamental principles and formal elements; its contextual meanings and sociological connotations; and its significance within the fields of art, design and merchandising. Cultivates visual sensitivity, develops aesthetic knowledge and the production of creative work through studio practices. (3 credit hours.)
      • SOAD-A 211 Cross-Disciplinary Workshops in Art, Design, and Merchandising A variable topic studio course that focuses on skill development and technical manipulation of materials within the specific traditions of a particular discipline. Emphasizes fundamental principles of art and design within a discipline. Designed around a variable topic such as image, time, narrative, space, materials, and markets. May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum total of 12 credit hours in SOAD-A 111 and SOAD-A 211. (3 credit hours.)
   2. Art History Courses. Six (6) credit hours from the Art History Courses list.
      • ARTH-A 101 Ancient and Medieval Art A survey of major styles and monuments in art and architecture from prehistoric times to the end of the Middle Ages. Credit given for only one of ARTH-A 101 or FINA-A 101. (3 credit hours.)
      • ARTH-A 102 Renaissance through Modern Art A survey of major artists, styles, and movements in European and American art and architecture from the fifteenth century to the present. Credit given for only one of ARTH-A 102 or FINA-A 102. (3 credit hours.)
      • ARTH-A 155 Introduction to African Art African art in its cultural setting. Major style areas: prehistoric Nok culture, kingdoms of Ife and Benin, Western Sudan, Guinea Coast, equatorial forests, Congo, eastern and southern Africa. Credit given for only one of ARTH-A 155 or FINA-A 155. (3 credit hours.)
      • ARTH-A 160 Introduction to East Asian Art A survey of major monuments, artists, and movements in Chinese and Japanese art. Credit given for only one of ARTH-A 160 or FINA-A 160. (3 credit hours.)
      • ARTH-A 207 Introduction to Contemporary Art and Its Discontents, 1960 to the Present Provides a chronological overview of contemporary art (from 1960) with a focus on the social and political engagements that have informed artistic developments in recent decades. Examines the qualities that have made particular genres and artistic practices significant to art history; how globalization, tourism, technology, current world conflicts, and social media have shaped artistic production, art criticism, and the art market today. (3 credit hours.)
6. GPA, Minimum Grade, and Other Requirements. Each of the following:
   1. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed in courses taken through the Indiana University Bloomington campus or an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program.
   2. At least 18 credit hours in the major must be completed at the 300–499 level.
   3. Except for the GPA requirement, a grade of C- or higher is required for a course to count toward a requirement in the major.
   4. A GPA of at least 2.000 for all courses taken in the major—including those where a grade lower than C- is earned—is required.
   5. Exceptions to major requirements may be made with the approval of the department's Director of Undergraduate Studies, subject to final approval by the College of Arts and Sciences.