Skip to Content

Minor in Art & Design

Make creative problem solving, hands-on making, and visual communication a part of your education.

Apply Now
IP Guest Critiques 1080

For stu­dents inter­ested in design think­ing, visual com­po­si­tion, work­ing col­lab­o­ra­tively, crit­i­cal think­ing and analy­sis, and gain­ing skills with tools and tech­niques rel­e­vant to a wide range of mate­r­ial processes, the Stamps School offers an eigh­teen-credit minor in stu­dio art and design to stu­dents in the fol­low­ing programs:

  • Lit­er­a­ture, Sci­ence and the Arts (LSA)
  • School of Music The­atre and Dance
  • School of Information
  • Col­lege of Engineering
  • Taub­man Col­lege of Archi­tec­ture and Urban Planning
  • Ross School of Business
  • School of Kinesiology
  • School of Pub­lic Health

See full infor­ma­tion below, and con­tact Kristy Watkins with any questions.

How to Earn a Minor in Art & Design

  • Step 1: Get Started
  • Step 2: Make it Official

    Complete two 3-credit courses, one from each category below (6 credits total):

    1. Choose either Drawing: Observation (ARTDES 100) or Drawing: Visualization (ARTDES 105)
    2. Choose one of our foundation "dimensional" courses: Studio 2D (ARTDES 115), Studio 3D (ARTDES 120) or Studio 4D (ARTDES 125).

    Once you have finished one of these courses, you're ready to declare your minor by completing the Minor Declaration Form. This form indicates that you've taken the prerequisite course, discussed the Stamps Minor with a Stamps advisor, and established a plan of study.

  • Step 3: Choose Courses

    With the help of your advisor, choose four courses (12 credits) as follows:

    1. Two 200-level studio courses (6 credits).
      Options include ARTDES 200 - 299, a wide variety of introductory courses focused on developing skills in specific studio areas. 200-level classes are often prerequisites for more advanced studios.
      200-level studio courses offered outside the Stamps School can also count toward this requirement. These options include:
      ARCH 211, Digital Drawing
      ARCH 218, Visual Studies
      MECHENG 250, Design & Manufacturing I
      PAT 201, Intro to Computer Music
      PAT 202, Computer Music
      PAT 280, Sound Reinforcement
      RCARTS 260 Photography I
      RCARTS 270 Sculpture I
      RCARTS 250 Printmaking I
      RCARTS 290 Ceramics I
      FTVM 290, Intro to Media Production
      THTREMUS 240, Intro to Design
      THTREMUS 256, Lighting Design I
      THTREMUS 260, Scene Design I
      THTREMUS 263, Design Rendering
      THTREMUS 270, Costume Design I
      UARTS 250, Creative Process
    2. One 300-level studio course (3 credits).
      Options include ARTDES 300 - 397, a variety of more advanced, project-based courses where you can apply and refine the skills acquired in introductory classes. 300-level studio courses offered outside the Stamps School can also count toward this requirement. These options include:
      ADABRD 300-399
      ARCH 312, Architectural Design
      PAT 331, Sound Recording I
      PAT 380, Sound for Theatre
      RCARTS 369 Photography III
      RCARTS 399 Ceramics III
      FTVM 300, Movie/Serial Production I
      FTVM 305, Experimental Screen I
      FTVM 306, Animation & Digital Media Practices I
      THTREMUS 356, Lighting Design II
      THTREMUS 360, Scene Design II
      THTREMUS 370, Costume Design II
      Higher-level (400) studio courses can also count toward this requirement, with approval.
    3. One academic course (3 credits), selected from the following:
      ARTDES 150: Art and Design in Context
      ARTDES 151: Art and Design History
      ARTDES 130: Methods of Inquiry
      ARTDES 160: Penny W. Stamps Lecture Series (1 credit/semester)
      HISTART 271: Origins of Modernism: Art and Culture in Nineteenth Century France
      HISTART 272: Modern Art: Avant-Garde to Contemporary

    Art/design-related courses offered by other University of Michigan units can also apply to the minor. Only courses offered by the University of Michigan can count toward the minor. No exceptions.

  • Step 4: Complete

    Complete the Minor Release Form. The purpose of this release form is to inform the student and the student’s home unit which courses for the Stamps Minor in Art & Design have been completed, and which courses are still required to complete this minor successfully. You must return this completed form to your home unit to have your Stamps minor listed on your transcript.

Minor Poli­cies

  • The minor is open to all under­grad­u­ates who are not Stamps Majors and who have already declared a major
  • A port­fo­lio is not required
  • All course­work must be selected from the list of approved courses
  • Test or trans­fer cred­its may not be used to meet the require­ments of the minor
  • Stu­dents may not elect the pass/​fail grad­ing option for courses included in the minor
  • A max­i­mum of one course may be shared between the require­ments of a minor and a major
  • A stu­dent must earn an over­all GPA of at least 2.0 in the minor, includ­ing any pre­req­ui­sites nec­es­sary for com­ple­tion of the minor
  • Stu­dents may not add, com­plete, or declare a minor after graduation