BSDES Communication Design at University of Cincinnati

Programme overview

Communication Designers give visual form to information, ideas, and feelings. They inform, persuade, educate, and entertain using typography, photography, drawing, video/animation, audio, storytelling, interaction, and space. Communication designers increasingly collaborate with other fields to help meet human needs. At the University of Cincinnati, Communication Design students receive a foundation in visual problem-solving. The core of the curriculum is a series of sequential design studios.

Faculty: College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning | Duration: 5 years | Study mode: full-time | Location: Cincinnati, OH, United States

What you will study

Students must also complete five semesters of mandatory professional practice (co-op) and receive a satisfactory (S) for all required work semesters. Students must obtain a minimum overall grade point average of 2.0. In order to be eligible for graduation with honors, a student must have completed 60 semester hours in the college and have earned at least a 3.6 grade point average.

Career pathways

Communication Design career opportunities include the design of advertisements, exhibitions, publications, visual identity systems, packaging, posters, websites, branding systems, books, signs, magazines, environmental designs, and video messages. They may be identified as communications designers, visual designers or graphic designers;

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Admission to this major follows the university/college admission requirements: The College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning at the University of Cincinnati seeks to attract, enroll, and graduate academically talented students from a wide range of backgrounds. Success in our programs is largely dependent upon sound academic preparation. In multidisciplinary programs like those in DAAP, students’ insight and perspective are greatly enhanced by exposure to students from different backgrounds, geographies, and co-curricular interests. DAAP has an admissions review process to support these goals. Effective for Fall 2025, first-year students (i.e. those applying from high school) are no longer able to submit an optional portfolio as part of the undergraduate admissions process. Only the required application materials will be necessary. Please note that it’s impossible to predict – or guarantee – what credentials a student will need to gain admission into DAAP, because the size and quality of the applicant pool varies each year. Please visit the Admissions Office's website for more information, including application materials, requirements, deadlines, and timelines.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Entry terms: Fall, Spring and Summer semesters for first-year and transfer students; the College-Conservatory of Music generally accepts transfer applications for fall only, except BA Music and Electronic Media.

First-year: Early Action deadline November 1 (fall only); fall application deadline March 1 (rolling admission), spring November 1, summer March 1. Confirmation deadlines: May 1 (fall), December 1 (spring), April 1 (summer). The BSN has a priority deadline of November 1 and CCM applicants are encouraged to submit pre-screening materials by November 15.

Transfer: fall application deadline July 1, spring November 1, summer March 1. CCM programmes: December 1 application deadline for fall; DAAP programmes: March 1 application deadline for fall.

First-year applicants apply through the Common Application; ACT/SAT scores are optional for fall 2025 and fall 2026 entry.

Graduate applications: programmes set their own deadlines and decision schedules. Most programmes use the UC Graduate Admissions Application; Nursing uses NursingCAS, Occupational Therapy OTCAS, Physical Therapy PTCAS, Athletic Training ATCAS, Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology CSDCAS, and Public Health SOPHAS.

Apply through the official page: https://admissions.uc.edu/apply.html

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