The creative professions require innovative individuals with clear vision. Freshmen at The Art Institute of Philadelphia will work together to develop the vision of what makes a successful student and professional. The course begins by welcoming students into The Art Institute of Philadelphia community and helping them integrate into this student environment. Students will become acquainted with college and community resources, explore their goals for success, and work on establishing a visionary course for the development of their professional portfolio. The course concludes with attending the portfolio show of the graduating class. (0 quarter credits, 2 hours per week)
Prerequisites: None
The student will be introduced to a range of skills needed to produce a successful fashion show. During this course, the student will gain insight into the role of creative and technical experts involved with the runway, backdrop, special effects and lighting, music, models and choreography, hair and make-up and video teams. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: FM10432
This course is a workshop in which students design and prepare visual presentations / window displays and explore the various facets of Visual Merchandising. Students will work with a variety of media and tools through hands-on exercises. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: FS10310
Students study the development of clothing from the earliest time to the Renaissance and the silhouette reflected through the eyes of the designer. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
An in-depth continuation of FS10111 Fashion History I from the Renaissance to Modern. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: FS10111
A comprehensive study of textiles with an emphasis on fiber classification, yarns, fabric construction, finishes and color applications. The use and care of textiles is studied for understanding the fiber-to-product cycle. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Students learn the importance of eye appeal and consumer buying habits. Students create their own displays using the latest principles and techniques in the visual organization of merchandise. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Introduces students to the world of modern management; the knowledge and skills needed, the requirements for effectively selecting and managing people and the constant “adjusting to change” techniques necessary in 21st century business. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: FS10112
This course is a workshop in which students design and prepare a sales and promotion package. The instructor acts as a facilitator and guide to ensure that upon completion of this course students will have thoroughly explored the process of crafting a marketing and sales promotion that is carefully targeted and positioned to reach the goal of generating sales. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
A study of the social and economic forces of the marketplace and the research and analysis techniques used to make marketing decisions. The course stresses the key role creative marketing specialists are expected to play in all decisions affecting planning and promotion of products, services, and ideas. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: FM20522
Students explore and learn the elements that combine to make a successful store layout: traffic patterns, furnishings, fixtures and security. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: FM10412 OR Academic Director Approval
This course is a workshop in which students study the use of the computer as the tool of the designer. An overview of a vector based program and image manipulation gives the students a greater understanding of the immense power and control of computer hardware and software to create graphic / marketing materials and solutions. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: FM20512 OR Academic Director Approval
This is a composition course that stresses the writing process. Students will write multi-paragraph essays using the following expository modes: description, narration, example, comparison/contrast, classification/division, process analysis, and causal analysis. Nonfiction readings will be covered to help illustrate writing structures and the organization of ideas. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: ASSET placement OR successful completion (grade "C") of GE0011EN and/or GE0012RD
This course surveys Western art forms relative to political, social, religious, and economic movements from antiquity to the Mannerist period. Topics include painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and architecture. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This is a composition course that focuses primarily on analytical and persuasive writing, as well as the research paper. Emphasis is also placed on critical reading and thinking. Cultural issues such as diversity, multiculturalism, tolerance, and effective communication will be discussed in connection with some writing assignments. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10110
This course covers algebraic techniques and problem-solving, such as algebraic and complex fractions, operations with real numbers, linear functions and systems, quadratic equations, radicals and radical expressions, factoring, polynomials, conic equations and applications, exponents and radicals. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: ASSET placement OR successful completion (grade "C") of GE0013MA, GE0013MA
This course surveys Western art forms relative to political, social, religious, and economic movements from the Baroque to present day. Topics include painting, sculpture, decorative arts, architecture, photography, and conceptual art. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
In this course, students will learn professional methods of speaking and of communicating their ideas and experience to others. Students will prepare and deliver demonstration and persuasive speeches designed to be effective with a variety of audiences. Students will also participate in small group presentations. Topics include subject selection, audience analysis, research, organization, and the use of voice and body in speech delivery. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course focuses on a working knowledge of human sensory processes and their subsequent perceptual and behavioral manifestations. Topics include learning, memory, consciousness, and cognition. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10110, GE10210
This is course an introduction to the concepts, theory and practice of ethical decision-making in the personal and social realms. Concepts such as justice, mercy, responsibility, and morality are considered. Students will learn about a broad range of ethical theories and theorists, ancient to modern. These theories will be compared, contrasted, and applied to a variety of ethical problems, dilemmas, and controversies. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Visual awareness is expanded through the observation of the principles of light and the translation of three-dimensional form into two-dimensional drawings. Advancing from simple to complex forms, skill levels in construction and an understanding of line and perspective will be developed. Students study the effects of light and movement on the human body. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course will introduce the basic principles of design. Using a variety of materials and techniques, the creative process will be introduced and developed. An exploration of design elements and relationships will establish a basic aesthetic sensitivity. An introduction to basic typography will be explored, in order to integrate simple type with imagery. A demonstration of basic tools for learning craftsmanship and presentation skills will be emphasized. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This fundamental course provides an introduction to the principles of color and an exploration of color theory as it relates to graphic design. The psychological and cultural aspects of color will be examined in making appropriate design decisions. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Beginning with an introduction to the history of letterforms and the function of typography, this course will also examine the construction and aesthetic application of typographic text and headline display applicable for various media. Typographical principals will be introduced as an essential element of design for creating effective communication. Emphasis will be placed on the appropriate and effective use, treatment and application of type in a variety of formats. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GR10120
This course identifies the components of the design process. Problem identification and research methods will be explored. Design solutions appropriate to a targeted market will be emphasized. The course will include idea-generating exercises and a concentration on design purpose and function. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GR10210
Students will be given the opportunity to practice the skills and knowledge they have learned in a real world situation by working at an approved industry site. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: Minimum 60 credit hours
Students learn how to cut, glue, and finish three-dimensional objects in a variety of materials. Students also learn to safely use all shop equipment, and are tested and certified on all equipment. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course addresses composition in space for the designer/artist. The student will be given some of the basic principles, rules, and concepts in organizing visual experience, solving practical design problems, and creating coherent formal relationships. The elements of design (conceptual, visual, relational, and technical) will be explored through various projects that are based on a principal to master and a problem to solve. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course is the first of two levels of drawing and rendering. Students will explore various dry and wet media. Introductory techniques in rendering textures and surfaces will be explored. Students will study form and various light conditions. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GR10220 OR Academic Director Approval
This course is an introduction to the computer drafting interface, including automated perspective and extrusion. Students will design a product, toy or futuristic space hardware and render the design in plan elevation, perspective, isometric and axonometric views. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: LS10110, IT10321 OR Academic Director Approval
This course introduces the theories and applications of both the IBM and Macintosh computers. Topics include word processing, spreadsheets, databases, PowerPoint, computer graphics, file preparation for high-end output, file management, basic data storage and retrieval and the Internet. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course develops skills to conduct an effective job search and enhance professionalism. Topics include resume writing, letter writing, interviewing, company/field research, time management, networking, salary negotiations/benefits, freelancing, business ethics, professional image, and social perception. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
In this course, the student will generate a finished portfolio, business card, resume package, and self-promotional piece to participate in final portfolio review. Project/course must be complete in order to graduate. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: Must have completed 84 credits
In this course students will examine group interaction within human society. Through texts, lectures, videos, and discussions, students will learn about the variety of ways sociologists view human culture and society, as well as the sociological phenomena that affect the lives of individuals within the world-wide human family. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course covers the period of U.S. history from early colonization to the Spanish/American War. Primary emphasis is on the English colonies and the period of nationhood. This course will examine U.S. history in terms of social, economic and political perspectives, and students will also trace the histories of various American populations, such as women, African-Americans, Native Americans, etc., throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course covers the period of U.S. history from the turn of the century to the present. This course will examine U.S. history in terms of social, economic and political perspectives. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course is designed for students who wish to study abroad. Students will travel between the spring and summer quarters and will return to campus to complete a final exhibition project during the summer quarter. The course will consist of lectures, activities, research, and discussions designed to examine the culture, history, and aesthetics of the city or cities chosen for the study abroad experience. Students will also be encouraged to explore issues of identity and place, ideology (values, norms, customs), society (conformity/autonomy, gender, class), and structure (religious, political, economic) as they share, analyze, and reflect upon their experiences throughout the course. (3 quarter credits, 44 hours over two week break)
Theatre Appreciation introduces students to the art, in theory and in practice, of live theatre and the many types of artists who collaborate to create a theatrical production. This course will enhance students’ appreciation of the nature and place of theatre in contemporary culture. Students will experience theatre in depth through reading scripts, analyzing productions, and completing a creative theatre project. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
This course focuses on aesthetics, which is alternately defined as philosophy of art, philosophy of beauty, and philosophy of taste. All three definitions point to the ways in which we create, experience, think about, and write about the fine arts. Through texts, lectures, videos, and discussions, students will learn about the variety of ways in which individuals generate their own critical voice and aesthetic theories. (3 quarter credits, 4 hours per week)
Prerequisites: GE10110, GE10210 AND GE10120 OR GE10230