Abstract
As faculty teaching graphic design, keeping up with the ever-evolving shifts in technology and forecasting occupational trends in professional practice can be overwhelming. Compounding the goal of staying current to best serve students, is the awareness of the over-saturation of entry-level designers in the pool of recent graduates. To answer the modern student’s demand for return on their educational investment, faculty must make a deliberate effort to groom their students to be competitive job candidates with applicable competencies and relevant skills. As a discipline where strategy, creativity and technology must be planned and implemented into all phases of the curriculum, integration of the pragmatics of real work must not be neglected. Beyond teaching the industry-standard tools and foundational skills for professional practice, we must also elevate the student experience by responding to deficiencies in curriculum, simulating real world experiences and work-flows, facilitating meaningful internship opportunities, establishing professional connections and documenting job placement outcomes. In this lightening presentation, I outline efforts for better alignment of students with careers such as structured applied experience requirements, advisory committees, guest lectures, community/client projects and suggestions on identifying university and community resources to support those efforts. Faculty from all disciplines can expect to takeaway ideas on advancing professional perspective in their approach and promoting opportunity to better prepare students.
Presenters
Nancy MillerProgram Coordinator and Associate Professor, Department of Art and Design, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Texas, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Design Practice, Graphic Design, Professional Development, Higher Education
