Valparaiso University Announces Reimagined Communication and Visual Arts Department
Feb. 22, 2021 – Valparaiso, Indiana – Valparaiso University’s communication department and art department will merge into the Department of Communication and Visual Arts. Courses will be added to support the interdisciplinary focus of the department, covering topics such as podcasting; race, class and gender in media; and media storytelling.
Valpo will modify the curriculum and align resources to create an integrated degree path in digital media arts, rather than the previously separate programs in digital media and digital arts. The department will house three majors that emphasize interdisciplinary learning.
Majors include:
- Art
- Communication (with tracks in journalism and public relations)
- Digital Media Arts
“The newly aligned Department of Communication and Visual Arts will better support students within these programs, focusing on the breadth and depth of knowledge they’ll need to succeed in future careers as artists and communicators,” said Eric W. Johnson ’87, Ph.D., interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “The flexible curriculum will increase the relevance of courses to students in these majors, while creating further opportunities for students outside the department to engage with these disciplines.”
In addition to the three degree programs, the communication and visual arts department will offer minors to encourage collaboration across campus.
Minors include:
- Art
- Communication
- Digital Media Art
- Journalism
- Public Relations
By emphasizing both individual expression and creative collaboration, the Department of Communication and Visual Arts will uphold the tenets outlined in Valpo’s strategic plan to provide high-quality, holistic education to students across campus.
Students will put course theories into practice through applied projects and hands-on internships within the University, the community and employers across the country. Cultural resources on campus — including an expansive collection of American art in Valparaiso University’s Brauer Museum of Art — and in the region will be integrated into the curriculum.
