Bachelor of Graphic Arts (BGA) Degree Program in Commercial Illustration

Illustration Program - Your Career

If you are looking for a top program to get your degree in illustration, then take a close look at Nossi College of Art, Accredited Member, ACCSC. Our Bachelor of Graphic Arts (BGA) degree in Commercial Illustration is one of the best illustration programs available and is designed to provide artists with the creative, conceptual and technical skills necessary to excel in the field of commercial illustration. As one of the nation's best illustration colleges, our students regularly win major competitions in local, regional and national awards such as the National Advertising Federation's Student ADDY Awards.

The Bachelor of Graphics Arts (BGA) program in Commercial Illustration is designed in two ways. It can be completed in five (5) semesters for students transferring with an associate degree in Graphic Design or another closely related major. The degree can also be completed traditionally in three and a half years.

Illustration students learn design skills, illustration fundamentals, computer graphics, electronic imaging and production. We provide up-to-date computers, scanners and a variety of the best illustration software packages in use today such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Maya and ZBrush.

Commercial Illustration Program Structure

In this top illustration program, students explore the different genres of illustration from advertising, book publishing, editorial and sequential art. Students also engage in a variety of mediums from acrylic and oil paints, watercolor and gouache, oil and chalk pastels, and computer-generated illustrations. Students complete their studies with a graduation portfolio that demonstrates their skill in a variety of illustration techniques.

Advertising agencies, design studios, book publishers, magazine publishers, corporations, greeting card companies and many other communication environments commission commercial illustrators to enhance and help sell their products with creative illustrations. Nossi demonstrates confidence in illustration by being one of the only illustration schools founded and led by artists.

All 33 semester hours must be successfully completed from the following upper-level illustration courses to qualify for graduation.

The following general education courses are offered at Nossi College of Art.

The following lower division courses are required for graduation from the BGA in Commercial Illustration degree program at Nossi College of Art.