Graphic design deals with the creation of effective solutions to visual communication problems. It explores how to use visual language in an innovative way to convey specific messages to a target audience. The products of graphic design include advertisements, flyers, posters, book and magazine covers, editorials, packaging, logos, typefaces, websites, illustrations, animated characters, film credits, and more. The Department of Graphic Design at Bilkent University provides students with a well-equipped and thorough education which will make them proficient in the use of visual language, able to think critically and creatively, and capable of contributing innovative and individual proposals to the field.

The Minor Program in Graphic Design aims to introduce the dynamics of visual design to Bilkent students from different backgrounds. The program aims to lay the foundations in all stages of visual design from research to concept formation, image making to execution, and to endow students with the necessary skills of visual communication. The principle idea behind the program is that, like a second language, competence in visual language will add an extra dimension to students' own field of practice and make them better equipped in a world where interdisciplinarity is a growing demand. The minor will also be of interest to those students intending to pursue a graduate degree in a design related field.

Students enrolled in any of the Bilkent faculties are eligible to apply, provided that they fulfill the application criteria set by the university. The minor program consists of six courses in total, of which five are mandatory. The mandatory courses are Drawing I, Graphic Design for Non-Majors, Typography I, Introduction to Visual Techniques I, and History of Graphic Art. Additionally, according to their fields of interest, students choose one additional course from the Graphic Design Minor Program electives list as shown below.

Prerequisite Courses: None

Open to Students from All Departments

The Master of Fine Arts program in Media and Design is a joint program offered by the Department of Graphic Design and the Department of Communication and Design . The M.F.A. program aims to prepare students primarily for careers in the media and graphic design sectors and secondarily in the academia. Integrating practical, theoretical, interdisciplinary, and comparative approaches, the program provides students with a sophisticated theoretical and practical framework to enable them to make original contributions to both Turkish and international media and design production. The program encourages free and creative thinking, emphasizing research, analysis, interpretation, practice and constructive criticism.

Admission: Applicants are required to have a four-year undergraduate degree. In addition to the general requirements set forth by the university, admittance to the program is determined by the results of an interview and the evaluation of the portfolios consisting of media and design works that have been done before (fiction writing, drawings, illustrations, graphic designs, scripts, storyboards, slides, photographs, web designs, animation projects, and/or videos). The date and place of the interview are announced each year by the University.

Degree Requirements: After the completion of at least 24 units of course work in two successive terms, the candidates must take two research seminars in their area of interest and prepare and submit a thesis project of media and design that also contains a written component. The duration of the program is four semesters.

Aims and Objectives: The Ph.D. program in Visual and Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary research program that aims at inquiring into various issues of visual culture drawing ideas from humanities and social sciences. By investigating the connections between cultural production, critical and cultural theory, and society, various aspects of visual culture in the world and in Turkey are examined by students to achieve competence in research, interpretation and assessment. The research done is expected to be either a novel contribution to the field or an innovative application of a widely known theory and method to an unexplored topic.

Admission: Applicants are required to have a Master's degree in a relevant field. In addition to the general requirements set forth by the university, admittance is through an interview given before the beginning of each academic year. The date and place of the interview is announced each year by the university.

Degree Requirements: The minimum course load for the Ph.D. program is 24 credit units. After completion of the courses, the student must take a qualifying examination composed of a written and oral component. Upon successful completion of the qualifying exam, the student is designated a Ph.D. candidate and assigned a dissertation committee. The next step is to prepare and defend a dissertation proposal. Upon a favorable evaluation of the proposal by the dissertation committee, the candidate will qualify for work towards a Ph.D. dissertation. At the completion of the dissertation, a jury composed of five scholars expert in the relevant field will examine the dissertation for a final decision on the degree. All Ph.D. candidates are required to have at least one article accepted for publication in an AHCI or SSCI indexed journal before the final dissertation defense.