Integrated Art + Design (B.F.A.)

Gain real-world experiences as you learn new digital tools, design thinking, hands-on activities and more in preparation for the most creative careers.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Integrated Art + Design is a professional program designed to prepare you for fields such as graphic design, animation, fine arts, 3D printing, digital/traditional illustration, advertising, virtual reality, industrial design, arts administration, and more.

The B.F.A. Integrated Art + Design option is designed to include courses in disciplines such as communications, science, theater, computer science, psychology or business management to further develop you industry standard technical and professional skills. Project based assignments and required internships make sure you will be ready to meet the challenge of the 21st century marketplace.

Consultation with advisers in all areas of interest will allow you to create a program tailored just for you in one of three concentrations: Graphic Design, Fine and New Media Art, and Product Design.

View Courses and Requirements

Why ESU?

One-on-one mentoring by our highly qualified professionally competitive faculty
State-of-the-art creative digital technology and media
Real world projects that build your portfolio

Opportunities that build the resume
Prepares students for graduate programs
Excellent industry standard facilities

Concentrations

The Graphic Design concentration will provide students the necessary industry standard digital, design and creative instruction. Graphic Design majors will automatically be a part of New Mind Design, the only Student Design Agency within the Pennsylvania State School System. You will have an opportunity to become a member of the Art + Design Department's American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Student Chapter which further connects students to opportunities and resources in the areas of Graphic Design.

New Mind Design Student Design Agency gives Art + Design majors the opportunity to work in a design agency under the guidance of faculty mentors. Statistics show that most designers and artists will freelance at some point in their careers, so this experiential learning experience will develop entrepreneurship and professionalism.

The Product Design concentration at East Stroudsburg University is a unique program for Art + Design in the Pennsylvania State School System. Students are prepared for employment as product and Industrial designers. You will gain skills in design thinking, prototyping, 3D printing, digital rendering and be trained in using computer aided software such as SolidWorks and Rhino 3D. You will develop professional relationships with clients to develop 3D prototypes and other product designs. Emphasis will be placed on the design process, critical thinking, concept development, research methodologies, and technology. You will have the opportunity to become a professional member of Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).

The Fine and New Media Art concentration embraces all media whether traditional or digital. You will have an opportunity to package together with your area of interest that will provide you the best pathway towards a successful creative career.

Artists have historically been pioneers for innovations in the fields of design, entertainment, even STEM areas. You will have an opportunity to develop skills in traditional fine art techniques like drawing, painting, clay, and other sculptural media. Your own unique vision may incorporate digital/electronic media, 3D printing, or performance art and your faculty will provide strong advising and mentorship. A required thesis project, individual website, and portfolio will prepare you for the next step, whether it’s graduate school, exhibiting artist, animation, virtual reality, medical 3D printing, additive manufacturing, 3D modeling, and more.

New Media Art refers to artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, sound art, video games, computer robotics, 3D printing, cyborg art, and art as biotechnology. East Stroudsburg University is the only Art + Design Department in the Pennsylvania State School System with a 3D Printing Lab that has been designated as a Stratasys 3D Printing SuperLab.

The 3D Printing Lab includes top printers in the world such as the Stratasys J750 Full-color multi-material 3D printing and the Desktop Metal 3D Printer. Students will also acquire skills in laser cutting, and CNC Operations.

The Art + Design program at ESU provided me not only the resources but also the confidence to exceed and be recognized as a graphic designer / artist.

Laura Sarria '20
B.F.A. in Integrated Art + Design, Graphic Design concentration

Career Opportunities

ESU Integrated Art + Design majors have earned positions such as:

3D Printing and Marketing at Mantis 3D Printing
Senior Graphic Designer at Careiginal Designs
Creative Director at Game Face Wipes
Marketing Coordinator at Celerity Integrated Services, Inc

Assistant Graphic Designer at Laural Home
Specialist at SHI International Corp
Creative Graphic Designer at FOCO
Advertising Operations Associate at The Walt Disney Company

Hands-on Learning

Studio courses provide students an opportunity for hands-on learning and mentorship by knowable faculty scholars in the Arts. From digitally designing and hand crafting prototypes in product design and illustration, students will gain skills, discipline and an eye for refinement.

Internship Program

New Mind Design, our student design agency is our in-house internship. We also offer other university-related internships at Marketing and Communications and the Graphics Center. The Innovation Center has many businesses that have offered many internships for design students.

Over 50 (and growing) internship sites outside of the university are local businesses and design agencies. Students are frequently hired upon completion of their internship.

Many Art + Design internship affiliations are available for both B.A. and B.F.A. Art + Design Degrees. B.F.A. students may find more specific internships in the area of Graphic Design and Product Design.

Service Learning

students created 3D printed butterfly pins for a "Wings of Freedom event", as a Service Learning project.

Every 200+ level course in the Graphic Design program contains at least one service-learning element. To name a few, students have worked with the Lehigh Valley Health Network, Downtown East Stroudsburg, Tick Research Lab of PA, Future Defense Software Enterprises, Drone Surgeon, and Street2Feet.

Another course example would be ART 405, an Illustration class. The class’s project was a collaborative effort between Illustration students, several student organizations (SAA), Marketing and Communications, and local community businesses in East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg. The collaboration was meant to inspire local interest in ESU Homecoming 2015. Students were matched with a local business and an ESU student organization.

Using the latest illustration technology, including Adobe software/Procreate/Paint Tool Sai and Cintiq tablets, each student digitally designed a window mural for their local business. With the assistance of their student group, the Illustration students installed the paintings on the window(s) of their local business. A contest was held with first, second, and third place prizes, yielding media fanfare.

Benefits to our students:

Combine digital design technology with traditional materials to realize a 21st Century window mural
An experience that they can utilize during job interviews, on their resumes, and in their portfolios
The opportunity to understand the client-designer relationship
Act as project leaders on a large-scale design project

Specialized Facilities

Large, well equipped painting, drawing, printmaking and ceramic studios.
Graphic Design Studio with Mac computers loaded with industry standard design software. Cintiqs drawing tablets, wide format printer, vinyl cutter and more.
State-of-the-art 3D printing/additive manufacturing lab with 3D printers for metal 3D printing, PolyJet, PLA, ABS, TPU and more. a range of 3D scanners, and a high-end computer lab with the latest digital design and fabrication software.
The Product/Industrial Design Studio is equipped with a CNC, 3x4 foot 80W laser cutter, a brainstorming wall for design-thinking, workshop tools, laptops (64 RAM with High-quality graphics card) with professional industry standard software for rendering, animation, CAD and generative design.
The Madelon Powers Art Gallery, located within the Fine & Performing Arts Center, features an ongoing series of exhibitions by professional artists and students in a 1,000 square foot exhibition space with two-story high ceilings.
New Mind Design Student Design Agency where you will work on design solutions for real world clients.

Career Development at ESU

We'll help you launch your career. Support services are available through the ESU Career Development Center. The center offers a variety of internship opportunities, career planning, and employment services to all ESU students and alumni.