California State University Long Beach - Art, Graphic Design, Illustration, & Animation Program Profiles

Degrees Offered: B. A. and B. F. A. in Art with Graphic Design or Illustration Option; M. F. A. Art with Concentration in Studio Art: - Graphic Design or Illustration/Animation Track

Tuition Information:  Undergraduate in-state $5,020, non-residents $13,948 (12 units per semester); graduate in-state $6,052, non-residents $14,980 (12 units per semester) for the 2010 – 2011 school year

Contact Information:

1250 Bellflower Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90841
562.985.5471 (Admissions)

www.csulb.edu

Scope of Program:

All B. F. A. candidates in Studio Art take a common core of classes, including drawing, art history, color or painting and lower division electives.  Illustration/Animation students also study rendering, typography and anatomy, as well as track-specific electives in either illustration or animation.  All Illustration/Animation students complete a senior project.  Graphic Design students focus on typography, advertising, packaging design, concept development and advanced topics in graphic design.

Master’s degree candidates must submit a portfolio with their university applications.  Illustration/Animation students take courses in illustration theory and criticism, studio arts, directed studio and art history.  Graphic Design students concentrate on graphic design, visual communication design, art history and image as text.

All Bachelor of Fine Arts majors at California State University Long Beach are “impacted majors,” which means that more students apply for admission to them than can be accommodated.  Accordingly, admission to the B. F. A. programs at California State University Long Beach is extremely competitive.  Students must submit a portfolio to the Department of Art after studying at CSU Long Beach for one or two semesters.

California State University Long Beach is an “impacted campus,” which means many more prospective students apply than can be accepted.  This means that California State University Long Beach must restrict the number of incoming freshmen and transfer students it accepts, particularly from outside its state-designated “local area.”  This is typically accomplished by imposing additional eligibility standards (e.g. higher standardized test score/grade point average combination, called the “eligibility index”). 

Freshmen must live on campus or at home during their first year of enrollment.  Non-residents pay a tuition rate of $372 per semester hour in addition to in-state registration fees.  Merit-based and need-based scholarships are available.