Important Program Information
The Environmental Design major will not be available to entering first-year students starting in Fall 2023, as the program is scheduled to graduate its final class in Spring 2026. Request Information about other programs at Otis College that may match your creative interests and career goals.
All programs’ curricula are developed in response to Program Learning Outcomes, which
signify what students learn within a degree program or emphasis area. All program
learning outcomes respond to overarching Institutional Learning Outcomes. View the
Environmental Design Program Learning Outcomes here.
Course Sequence
Life Drawing I (FNDT180) - 3 credits
Sequenced instruction provides rigorous training in the use of gesture, anatomy, and structural figure drafting. Drawing the human figure from the inside out fosters an understanding of complex visual relationships. Upon completion of the course, students are able to analyze the human form and to view it as a complex perceptual model for the larger realm of visual experience.
Recommended for students planning to select Animation, Game and Entertainment Design, Toy Design and Fashion Design as their major; open to students interested in any major.
—OR—
A first semester Foundation course focused on studying, researching and exploring practices of creativity that bridge art/design disciplines. Through a variety of methodologies, lecture, research and discussion, Creative Practices I provides students opportunities to develop perceptual abilities in ways that incite curiosity and engagement with inquiry. Learning to ‘see’, students question their assumptions of what and how they observe complex visual relationships, locate bias, and develop awareness of context and intentionality of their own work and that of peers and exemplars. Projects are self-directed and non-discipline specific.
Recommended for students planning to select Product Design, Fine Arts, or Graphic Design as their major; open to students interested in any major.
Principles of Design (FNDT115) - 2 credits
This course is a sequenced investigation of various organizing principles using traditional and contemporary media. Students learn fundamentals of value manipulation as determinants of visual order. Elements of visual literacy provide a basis for the study of compositional fundamentals, including focal point(s), directional elements, and visual weight.
Drawing and Building Form (FNDT160) - 3 credits
Students study form in both two-dimensional rendering and three-dimensional building through drawing and building objects. Skills of relational measurement, compositional organization, and the placement of form in space inform both drawing and form-building activities. Drawing techniques such as perspective and isometric projection facilitate successful form generation.
Writing in the Digital Age (ENGL107) - 3 credits
Students will explore the ongoing cultural, technological and social changes that impact our ways of reading and writing, and what it means to be literate in the digital world. The class focuses on refining students’ critical thinking and information literacy skills, encouraging them to consider audience, context, and purpose when revising their writing. A minimum grade of “C-” is required to pass this course. Prerequisite: Successful completion of ENGL090 or placement through the Writing Placement Assessment.
Introduction to Visual Culture (AHCS120) - 3 credits
Introduces issues and theories that are critical to an examination of art, design, and the larger visual landscape. Students explore the importance of context in shaping how art and design are understood, and through a consideration of global concerns, learn to challenge the predominant canon of western art history.
Creative Practices I (FNDT172) - 3 credits
A first semester Foundation course focused on studying, researching and exploring practices of creativity that bridge art/design disciplines. Through a variety of methodologies, lecture, research and discussion, Creative Practices I provides students opportunities to develop perceptual abilities in ways that incite curiosity and engagement with inquiry. Learning to ‘see’, students question their assumptions of what and how they observe complex visual relationships, locate bias, and develop awareness of context and intentionality of their own work and that of peers and exemplars. Projects are self-directed and non-discipline specific.
Recommended for students planning to select Product Design, Fine Arts, or Graphic Design as their major; open to students interested in any major.
A second-semester Foundation course focused on exploring practices of creativity that bridge art/design disciplines. Students are exposed to a diverse range of concepts, materials, and methods for working creatively. In-class activities promote the documentation of individual creative processes and the synthesis of intuitive, culturally constructed, and personal impulses into inventive visual responses.
Recommended for students planning to select Product Design, Fine Arts, or Graphic Design as their major; open to students interested in any major.
Sequenced instruction provides rigorous training in the use of gesture, anatomy, and structural figure drafting. Drawing the human figure from the inside out fosters an understanding of complex visual relationships. Upon completion of the course, students are able to analyze the human form and to view it as a complex perceptual model for the larger realm of visual experience.
Recommended for students planning to select Animation, Game and Entertainment Design, Toy Design and Fashion Design as their major; open to students interested in any major.
Structural drawing and perceptual skills are expanded through study of the figure's relation to environment, life-scale, movement, and draping. Students discover individual sensibilities of mark making and aspects of personal vision, through a variety of traditional and experimental drawing media and techniques. Prerequisite: FNDT180 Life Drawing I.
Recommended for students planning to select Animation, Game and Entertainment Design, Fashion Design or Toy Design as their major.
Connections through Color and Design (CAIL101) - 3 credits
A second-semester Creative Action studio course introducing students to contextually-based problem solving using fundamentals of color and design. Students learn Munsell color theory and practical aspects of color mixing such as value, hue, and chroma. Students apply these skills in solving problems that engage the larger community, trans-disciplinary practice, research, and collaboration. Prerequisite: FNDT115 Principles of Design
Form and Space (FNDT161) - 2 credits
Students employ acquired skills transferred from Drawing and Building Form to explore and exploit materials as well as to discover unique processes in creating novel form. The study of three-dimensional design expands to encompass meaning construction, composition and research as students engage the more complex issues of form and space.Prerequisite: FNDT160 Drawing and Building Form.
Recommended for students planning to select Fashion Design, Toy Design or Product Design as their major.
Students transfer and expand on observational drawing skills acquired from Drawing and Building Form with the application of color and addition of problem finding and complexity of idea. Acquisition of research skills, and the introduction of more varied drawing media, methods and materials fosters students’ realization of aspects of personal vision. Prerequisite: FNDT 160 Drawing & Building Form.
Recommended for students planning to select Animation or Game and Entertainment Design as their major
Elective (FNDT145) - 1 credit
Foundation year students can pick any Foundation Elective to fulfil this requirement. Please see the Academic Advising Nest site for more information. Please note that elective offerings are subject to change each year.
Birth of the Modern (AHCS121) - 3 credits
This course explores how art and other forms of cultural production were impacted by the social and cultural changes that occurred in the modern world.
Ways of Knowing (LIBS114) - 3 credits
Ways of Knowing is an interdisciplinary, participation-based course designed to explore the role narrative plays in shaping our understanding of our diverse personal and collective identities. The stories we tell ourselves and those we pass on to others, as well as the stories we inherit, actively contribute to our openness to cultural differences in local and global settings. Through the lens of the story and the culture from which it emerges, students will connect the emotion, language, and intellectual thought central to compelling storytelling to their exploration of the five LAS themes of identity, diversity, creativity, social responsibility and sustainability.
Studio I: Scale, Structure, and Space (ARLI250) - 4 credits
Formal design strategies, three-dimensional modeling in varied physical media, and the graphic tools and language of spatial design are introduced and practiced. Field conditions, movement, and events are emphasized through projects progressing from abstract compositions to a minimal program of inhabitation.
Technologies + Ecologies I: Landscape Technology and Ecology (ARLI260) - 3 credits
The materiality, shaping, and construction of landscape is studied through natural processes, grading, site engineering and construction, planting, and water management.
Digital Media I: Communicating Information (ARLI270) - 2 credits
Software programs incorporating type, color, line, and image manipulation are introduced and practiced through digitally generated two- dimensional compositions. Methods of technique, composition, perception, and critical evaluation are introduced and practiced.
Digital Media II-A: Digital Translations (ARLI271) - 2 credits
Computer-aided drafting (CAD) is introduced and practiced through the production of presentation quality drawings of Studio I projects. Co-requisite: ARLI250 Studio I.
History + Theory I: Prehistory to Industrial Era (CRIT205) - 3 credits
The manifestation of cultural, political, religious, and economic forces affecting architecture, landscapes, and interiors from prehistory to the advent of the industrial era is surveyed
Required for Architecture/Landscape/Interiors majors.
Creative Action Lecture (CAIL200) - 3 credits
Creative Action Liberal Arts electives enable students to work in transdisciplinary teams with a community partner. Emphasizing collaborative methodology, synthesizing diverse perspectives, creativity, critical thinking, clear communication, and information literacy, students engage in issues that extend beyond the traditional classroom. See department for course offerings.
Studio II: Landscape (ARLI252) - 4 credits
Design theory, process, and landscape technologies are applied to the problem of public parks and/or gardens. Prerequisites: ARLI250 Studio I, ARLI260 Technologies + Ecologies I, ARLI271 Digital Media II-A.
Technologies + Ecologies II-A: Interior Technology (ARLI261) - 3 credits
Sources, materials, methods, detailing, fabrication, and documentation of “nonstructural” building components—building finishes, architectural woodwork and cabinetry, interior finishes, and FF&E—are studied through lectures, readings, field trips, and projects. Prerequisite: ARLI250 Studio I.
Digital Media II-B: Digital Modeling, Rendering, and Fabrication (ARLI273) - 3 credits
Digital modeling, rendering, and fabrication techniques are introduced and practiced. Prerequisite: ARLI271 Digital Media II-A. Co-requisite: ARLI252 Studio II.
History + Theory II: Industrial Era to the Present (CRIT206) - 3 credits
The manifestation of cultural, political, religious, and economic forces affecting architecture, landscapes, and interiors from the industrial era to the present is surveyed.
Required for Architecture/Landscape/Interiors majors.
LAS Sophomore Elective (LIBS214) - 3 credits
More than one course may be available, see the Course Catalog and consult the department and/or your advisor for more information.
Studio III: Interiors (ARLI352) - 4 credits
Design theory, process, and interior technologies are applied to projects that address nonresidential interiors, such as restaurants, stores, spas, exhibits, entertainment and meeting venues, etc. Prerequisites: ARLI250 Studio I, ARLI261 Technologies + Ecologies II, ARLI271 Digital Media II-A.
Technologies + Ecologies III: Architecture Technology (ARLI360) - 3 credits
The materials and methods of building construction are studied. Basic structural principles are presented through an introduction to forces and resultants in beams and columns. Prerequisite: ARLI250 Studio I.
Planning to Plan (ARLI363) - 2 credits
Space planning conventions, with an emphasis on access and circulation, are introduced, practiced, and modified. Resultant effects on use and lifestyle are discussed through precedents as well as the students’ projects. Prerequisite: ARLI 250 Studio I.
Social Science (SSCI210) - 3 credits
More than one course may be available, see the Course Catalog and consult the department and/or your advisor for more information.
Applied Trigonometry (MATH246) - 3 units
Covers topics in analytical geometry and trigonometry. There is an emphasis on algebraic manipulation and on applications of the topics covered to the design field.
Required for Architecture/Landscape/Interiors majors.
Studio IV: Interior Architecture (ARLI353) - 5 credits
Design theory, process, building, and interior technologies are applied to the problem of a residential program sited within an existing building. Prerequisites: ARLI352 Studio III, ARLI360 Technologies + Ecologies III.
Creative Action Studio (CAIL300) - 2 credits
An upper-division interdisciplinary studio course offering unique core content that shifts from term to term. This studio affords students the opportunity to engage with professionals from various fields and expand their notion of problem solving beyond their major in public site real world challenges.
A limited choice of CAIL300 courses will count for the Sustainability Minor. Please see the Interdisciplinary Studies Director.
History + Theory III: Architecture Theory and Practice (CRIT304) - 2 credits
A diversity of critical and generative approaches to twentieth and twenty - first century design is situated historically, while introducing current themes and debates in contemporary architectural practice a nd related disciplines. Prerequisite: CRIT205 History + Theory I or CRIT206 History + Theory II.
Required for Architecture/Landscape/Interiors majors.
Natural Science (NSCI307) - 3 credits
More than one course may be available, see the Course Catalog and consult the department and/or your advisor for more information.
LAS Upper Division Elective (LIBS314) - 3 credits
This course can be an upper division Art History or upper division Liberal Studies elective. See the Course Catalog (pdf) for examples of upper division elective offerings or see the Department and/or your Adviser for more information.
Studio V: Architecture (ARLI454) - 5 credits
Design theory, process, and building technologies are applied to the problem of a building within an urban context. Prerequisite: ARLI353 Studio IV.
Lighting Fundamentals (ARLI362) - 2 credits
The basic design and technical requirements of lighting systems are introduced with an emphasis on commercial and entertainment applications. Prerequisite: ARLI250 Studio I, or equivalent.
Fabrications S (ARLI475) - 2 credits
Orthographic representation, the basic and safe operations of wood shop tools, and methods of wood joinery and detailing are introduced and practiced through projects addressing the housing and display of small objects. Prerequisite: ARLI 250 Studio I, or equivalent.
—OR—
A Studio Elective is any art and/or design course with visual production (not a Liberal Arts and Sciences course) that may be offered within or outside a student’s studio major. Students must meet the course’s prerequisite or co-requisite requirements, class level, or other criteria specified in the Course Description. See the Course Catalog (pdf) for a complete list of courses.
History + Theory IV: Interior Theory and Practice (CRIT405) - 2 credits
Interior organizations are examined through spaces of work and consumption, ergonomics, office landscaping, corporate parks, brandscapes, junk space, malls, themed environments, surveillance, and spectacle. Prerequisite: CRIT304 History + Theory III.
Required for Architecture/Landsc ape/Interiors majors.
Capstone (LIBS440) - 3 credits
A required senior- level course where students identify and critically reflect on a theme that intersects with their own studio practice, discipline, and/or identity and their work in Liberal Studies. The Capstone is the signature course and culminating expression of the Liberal Arts program. A minimum grade of “C-" or better is required to pass this course.
Note: Creative Writing, Art History, Cultural Studies, Sustainability minors, and Fine Arts majors take specific Capstones. Please see department for courses.
Studio VI: Architecture and Landscape (ARLI455) - 5 credits
Design theory, process, architecture, and landscape technologies are applied to the problem of a building, or buildings, integrated with landscape. Prerequisite: ARLI454 Studio V, ARLI 260 Technologies + Ecologies I.
Design Development (ARLI464) - 2 credits
Interior, landscape, or architectural components of a prior or current studio project are designed, developed, and represented in orthographic drawings and rendered views. Prerequisite: ARLI352 Studio III.
Constructions (ARLI461) - 3 credits
An interior or exterior environment is designed, documented, and constructed. Prerequisite: ARLI454 Studio V.
Presentation Techniques (ARLI465) - 2 credits
Comprehensive presentations of selected studio projects are designed and produced for display and/or public presentation. Co-requisite: ARLI461Constructions.
History + Theory V: Landscape Theory and Practice (CRIT406) - 2 credits
Landscape as a system of representation and performance is studied through the tradition of formal and picturesque gardens, the discourses of the beautiful and sublime, urban parks, the integration of modernism and landscape, earth art, everyday and extreme landscapes, industrial and natural ecologies, and landscape urbanism. Prerequisite: CRIT304 History + Theory III.
Required for Architecture/Landscape/Interiors majors.
*These courses may be taken in either the fall or spring semester.
The curriculum displayed is meant to provide an overview of the current semester’s offerings in this department; it does not represent all degree requirements for the Major or Area of Emphasis. These can be found in each student’s Course Catalog (identified by the year in which one would have entered the college as a Foundation student), which can be found here. If you have questions regarding your specific curricular requirements and/or Course Catalog, please contact your department.