School of Visual Communication
Seigfred Hall
Larry Nighswander, Director
The College of Communication offers an interdisciplinary visual communication degree with five specialized sequences. The school has been twice recognized as a Program of Excellence in photography and visual communication by the Ohio Board of Regents. Students can earn a Bachelor of Science in Visual Communication.
The program is designed to provide students with realistic and thorough broad-based professionally oriented training in visual communication while providing the necessary liberal arts and cultural background for a strong educational foundation.
Intensive training is offered in informational graphics/publication designs, interactive multimedia, photo communication for newspapers and magazines, and photo illustration.
Goals of the School
The goals of the School of Visual Communication are:- To equip students with the necessary skills to be successful in the media, and the background and motivation to enable them to compete for leadership roles in the field.
- To provide assistance and professional guidance in visual communication to working photographers, editors, and other personnel,newspapers, press services, magazines, industrial photographic departments, trade associations, multimedia and educational media production units, and cultural and scientific visual communicators.
- To set high standards for visual integrity and communication ethics;
- To foster and promote scholarly research.
Internships
In an effort to provide practical training, the school requires you to work at least one paid internship for 10 weeks during your college career. Any qualified student may compete for an internship. Many students have several internships before graduation.In recent years, Ohio University visual communication students have worked on paid internships at newspapers and magazines and in advertising, photo illustration, and audiovisual production. Internships have been available in almost all states and several international locations, including Brazil, France, Japan, and Norway.
Many Ohio University visual communication students are active members of the Ohio News Photographers Association and other state press photographer groups and are student members of the National Press Photographers Association,the Society for Newspaper Design,and the American Society of Magazine Photographers. Ohio University students have been successful in state and national photography competitions,and have done particularly well in the annual William Randolph Hearst foundation photojournalism competition,which is open to any student taking photojournalism courses in any of the more than 90 participating colleges and universities.
Bachelor of Science
Admission Requirements - B.S.V.C.
The School of Visual Communication admits only the best academically and professionally qualified students who normally rank in the top quarter of their high school class or have a strong portfolio. If you have a lower class ranking, you are considered if you have outstanding SAT or ACT scores. In addition, if you demonstrate notable talent or experience or are a member of a historically under-represented group in the school, you will be given special consideration for admission. If you do not meet the minimum requirements for admission (low SAT/ACT and/or class standing), you may apply for admission based on talent. To supplement your application, you may submit a portfolio of at least 15 slides (copies of examples of original work) by January 15 to the School of Visual Communication, Ohio University, Seigfred Hall 301, Athens OH 45701. For this career-oriented professional program you will need professional equipment to complete assignments and eventually compete in the job market. Ensuring every opportunity for students to excel in a very competitive field, we require use of certain basic levels of equipment.
All students are required to own a 35mm SLR camera with a 35mm f/2 lens or a 50mm f/2 lens. The camera should permit full manual control over aperture, shutter speeds, film speed settings, and focus. An automatic "point and shoot" camera will not meet the requirements of any VICO photographic class. Please contact the school for current equipment recommendations.
It is highly recommended that all students in the school have their own computer for use in completing class assignments. Students majoring in Interactive Multimedia and Informational Graphics/Publication Design are required to own a computer with appropriate software by the time they enter VICO 314. Please contact the school for current hardware and software recommendations.
Photojournalism students entering VICO 390 should own at least one professional-level 35mm SLR camera, two lenses, and necessary accessories. One lens should have a 35mm or wider focal length with an f/2.8 or faster aperture. The second lens should be in the135 to 200mm f/2.8 range. Zoom lenses are also acceptable if they meet the fixed aperture requirement of f/2.8.
Photo illustration students entering VICO 321 should own a professional-level medium-format camera with interchangeable film backs, a Polaroid back, one wide-angle lens, one telephoto lens, and an electronic flash meter. You should expect to spend approximately $300-$500 per photography course for materials.
Transfer Students
The school sets high academic and professional standards, and enrollment is limited. If you wish to transfer into the school, you must have earned at least 48 quarter hours (32 semester hours) with a g.p.a. of 3.0 or higher. You may receive additional consideration if you have demonstrated professional talent or experience or are a member of a historically underrepresented group.These requirements apply to students transferring from other universities, from other programs within Ohio University, or from one program to another within the College of Communication. If you transfer from elsewhere in the university, you must satisfy the School of Journalism's English Proficiency Requirement before admission to the School of Visual Communication.
You must be enrolled for one academic year (three consecutive quarters) or the final 48 hours in the school to earn a degree.
General Requirements - B.S.V.C.
To meet the accrediting standards of the American Council of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication,the program requires that students earn at least 94 quarter hours of credit in courses in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students earning the Bachelor of Science in Visual Communication degree meet this standard by fulfilling general and specialization area requirements.School of Visual Communication majors are required to meet all General Education Requirements of Ohio University, including Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III. A thoughtful selection from the Tier II list will enable you to meet the school requirements below while fulfilling many of Ohio University's Tier II requirements.
The general education requirements provide a liberal arts and sciences core for all students with the following courses:
Anthropology 101 (1 qtr)
History (2 qtrs)
Philosophy 120 and 130 (2 qtrs)
Political Science (2 qtrs)
Psychology 101 (1 qtr)
Sociology 101 (1 qtr)
Specialization Area Requirements
To the liberal arts base,which generally is the focus of the freshman year, visual communication students add courses in desired areas of specialization, meeting the requirement by completing the following:- A minimum of 16 hours in advanced courses (200 level or above) in a single department within the College of Arts and Sciences.
- A choice of three quarters of a foreign language or three quarters of natural sciences or Art History 211, 212, 213.
No course may be counted for more than one type of requirement. For example,a course used to meet a general requirement may not also be applied to a specialization area or sequence requirement.
Total Arts and Sciences Requirement
You must have a minimum of 94 hours of arts and sciences courses to graduate.Visual Communication Core Requirements
All visual communication majors complete a basic core of eight courses totaling 32 hours:
ART 113 Three-Dimensional Design 4 ART 116 Drawing I 4 ART 117 Drawing II 4 Studio art elective 4 AH 307 History of Photography 4 JOUR 133 Precision Language for Journalists 4 VICO 120 Intro to Visual Communication 4 VICO 221 Intro to Visual Communication Skills 4Total core requirements 32
Standards
- You must have a g.p.a. of 3.0 in VICO 120,221,and 222.
- You must earn a C or better in JOUR 133 and in all professional courses (VICO, JOUR, PHOTO, and TCOM), including professional electives, to graduate. A grade of C- does not meet this requirement.
- To qualify for admission to JOUR 231, you must achieve at least 25 words per minute on a typing examination administered on the first day of class.
- No professional course may be taken more than twice.