Why study Graphic Arts and Design at Benedictine University Mesa?

When you earn a degree from Benedictine in Graphic Arts and Design, you will not only leave with training and knowledge in the latest graphic software, but you will also be trained to problem solve in visual communication. Our faculty, who are experts in their fields, train their students’ eyes, not just their minds. When a student looks at a new project, they will be able to envision all of the possibilities. That is the first step to becoming a great designer! Our students have gone on to become successful graphic designers, marketing managers, creative directors, web designers and art directors. 

Providing Real Life Opportunities

Benedictine Mesa is the only Graphic Arts and Design program in the Valley that requires an  internship. What does that mean? That our students will be career-ready the minute they graduate. Our students have interned at places like Market Builder, Inc., the Mesa ArtSpace, Brick Cave, Mesa United Way and the City of Mesa. 

Our Alumni Are Successful

Students who graduate from BenU Mesa are fully prepared to enter the work force. With the 
combination of their required internship and their Senior Portfolio, BenU Mesa grads are one step ahead of their peers. Throughout the year, our Career Services Center also offers several job and career fairs where our students and alumni can connect with professionals in their field. 

Sample Courses

•  FNAR 1101: Fundamentals of Design
•  FNAR 2111: Drawing I
•  GAD 2260: Graphic Design I
•  GAD 4300: New Media and Design
•  GAD 4297: Internship
•  COMM 3381: Multimedia Production for Web

Benedictine is in CO+HOOTS

The CO+HOOTS Institute for Entrepreneurship at Benedictine will begin in the Fall of 2020 and offer BenU Mesa students a safe environment to learn and launch a potential business under the guidance of practicing, experienced, and successful entrepreneurs. The four-year intensive immersion program will develop and support the growth of our students’ innovative and creative ideas.  Learn more and apply at www.ben.edu/mesa/cohoots

"I tried upwards of seven different majors and transferred schools five times.  I ended up at BenU because of the size and its thorough integration of the Catholic faith. The small classes allowed me to get to know my professors and learn from them, in a way that bigger universities often miss entirely. 

Conversations with the faculty and staff became an essential part of my university education, wholly apart from textbooks and the classroom. My professors really helped me gain the confidence I needed to dedicate myself to design. They challenged me to try as many different aspects of design as I could, which became valuable skills in the professional world.
 
The career coordinator at BenU introduced me to my current supervisor at a marketing company and encouraged me to reach out, even though there was no posted opening.  She is the reason I’ve been working for a year in my field—first as an intern and now as a full-time designer.”
- EMILY MILLER, '19