Department of Advertising and Public Relations
Art Direction Track Application
Welcome
Art Directors use design, layout, color, typography and other creative tools to produce visuals for advertisements. To succeed as an Art Director, students must demonstrate artistic talent, creativity, determination and working knowledge in the Adobe Creative Suite. The prerequisites are designed to help students build those skills and competencies. After completing the 1000-level and during their 2000-level courses, specifically ADV 1001 Intro to Digital Design Tools and ADV 2151 Intro to Art Direction: Visual Communication, students will be able to complete the registration.
Only students who have enrolled or been admitted to Temple University qualify.
Art Direction Track registrations are reviewed on a rolling basis. Expect a response 2 weeks from your submission date.
Application Requirements
Portfolio
Four to 10 works created at any stage of your life and for any purpose are acceptable, including but not limited to works created in high school classes, college classes, workshops or as self-initiated projects. There is a strong preference for works of visual communication art (ads, logos, brochures, illustrations, websites, etc.).
IMPORTANT: Works involving copyrighted characters and clip art will NOT be considered. It is expected that all work is original to you. You may use logos for existing brands in advertisements you have created for these brands.
Statement of Intent
The Statement of Intent should be approximately 200-500 words and should include the following elements: your interest in the Art Direction program, your career goals and your academic and artistic achievements.
Colleges Attended (Transfers only)
A list of the college/s attended, majors, and degrees earned if applicable.
TRANSFER STUDENTS
Students who transfer from other departments, schools and universities are advised to apply as early as possible to maintain your timeline for graduation. The art direction track takes three semesters after registration to complete. Art Direction I and Art Direction II cannot be taken concurrently
FAQs
I only now discovered the art direction track in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations. Can I still register for the art direction track?
Absolutely! We understand that not everyone has had the opportunity to learn about this field before now, so even if you just found us, you are welcome. As long as you have completed the pre-requisites (ADV 1001 Introduction to Digital Design Tools and ADV 2151 Introduction to Art Direction:Visual Communication) you can apply.
I am interested in art direction but what kind of careers can I have after graduation?
Art Directors might work for advertising agencies, public relations firms, fashion or pharma, book or magazine publishing, web, even movie or television production.
How competitive is the selection process?
When applications are reviewed we are looking at each individual persons ability to be taught this craft. We are not comparing you to each other, we want to give each person the opportunity to succeed in both the program, and professionally after graduation. We do not have a finite number of slots to fill, we can accept as many into the track every semester who show their commitment to wanting to learn this craft.
How long does it take to complete the track?
The art direction track takes 3 semesters to complete, ADV 3052 Art Direction I: Concept and Layout , ADV 3053 Art Direction II: Narrative and Multimedia, and ADV 4064 Portfolio. You may not take Art Direction I and Art Direction II concurrently.
Are there relevant electives I can take in addition to the three required ones?
Yep! You can also take ADV 2052 Introduction to Typography, ADV 2001Intermediate Digital Design Tools and ADV 2103 Introduction to Web Design and Development.
Can I use work from ADV 1001 and ADV 2151?
Yes. You can use any projects that you created from those classes. However, don't submit basic homework assignments from ADV 1001 (like Linkedin Learning tutorials). Those are crucial for you to learn the skill sets, but they don't show us what you can do with those skills. The final projects for the programs in those classes would be more appropriate.
Can I show my work to anyone before I submit?
Any one of the art direction professors would be happy to give you feedback on your work before you submit.
Can I take all the required art direction classes in one semester?
Unfortunately, no. These classes build upon each other so you are expected to have the knowledge from the previous one in each subsequent course.
Ready to apply?
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