FAQ

If you are a Design student, the answer is ‘yes’. If you are in one of our other degree plans, the answer is ‘maybe’, or 'if you prefer'. For Design students almost all of your coursework will be done on a computer. We no longer have computer labs in the department, but the Pfau Library has a laptop lending program: https://www.csusb.edu/library/services/computers-library/laptop-lending

You will find it much more convenient to have your own device as a lot of your coursework will be done on your own time, outside of class. Also, you will be able to work much more quickly with your own computer, as your settings and parameters in software, such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, will stay the same in your computer. Please note that if you are eligible for Financial Aid you can work with the Financial Aid Office on campus to extend your aid to the cost of a laptop. Also, the Financial Aid Office can help you organize loans, if you are eligible, to cover the cost of a laptop. If you have any further questions, please reach out to the full-time Design Professors, Kurt Collins, Andrew Oakes, Taylor Moon, or Rob Ray.

Art Education and Studio Art

• Alison Ragguette  alison.ragguette@csusb.edu       909-537-3372

Art History & Global Cultures

• Dr. Jane Chin Davidson   jchindavidson@csusb.edu            909-537-5813

Design

• Andrew Oakes (if your last name begins w/ A-E) aoakes@csusb.edu      909-537-5805
• Taylor Moon (if your last name is F-L)        taylor.moon@csusb.edu     909-537-7673
• Kurt Collins (if your last name is M-S)        kcollins@csusb.edu              909-537-5893
• Rob Ray (if your last name is T-Z)               rob.ray@csusb.edu             909-537-3812

Graduate Coordinator and Advisor

• Alison Ragguette  alison.ragguette@csusb.edu       909-537-3372

If you have a really tricky problem please contact the Chair of the Department of Art & Design, Professor Katherine Gray. 

The best place to look is the online schedule of courses:

• Go to > https://www.csusb.edu/ 
• Click on > ACADEMICS 
• Then CLICK on > CLASS SCHEDULE 
• Then > select the term, the campus, and the course prefix (AAED, AH, ART, or DES)
• Click > SUBMIT 

You will see a long list of every course with that prefix being offered by our department that semester. In this list, you can see when and where the class will take place, who the instructor is, and how many seats are available. This is helpful when you are enrolling. 

The CSUSB Bulletin of Courses is the best place to start.

Here you can search by department, by different majors, or by courses. You can find out which courses are required in a major or minor, which prerequisites a particular course has, if it can be repeated for credit, and a description of the course. 

Also, on this website we have a page of ‘Roadmaps’ that details which classes you should take and potentially when you should take them. 

You can also talk with your faculty advisor in the Department of Art & Design or with a professional advisor or a peer advisor in CAL Advising for this information. 

The Visual Resource Center (VRC) provides reference help and facilitates access to art, art education, art history, design, and visual studies resources for teaching, learning, and research in the Department of Art & Design. We support students and faculty through: 

• A digital image and multimedia collection representing student work, images used for teaching, videos from the Visiting Artist program, and other content reflecting the department’s research and curriculum.
• Develop and update research guides in support of visual arts and design research.
• Maintain a specialized collection of books, magazines, journals, and exhibition catalogs specially tailored to the curriculum of the department.
• The Center houses printers, a graphic arts scanner, iMacs, desktop computers with Adobe Creative Cloud software, and much more, such as projectors, iPads, and Occipital Structure 3D Sensor.

Please explore our resources on our website, and do not hesitate to contact us for further help with your art, art history, and design research. 

VRC, Visual Arts Building, room VA 201

Phone: (909) 537-5810

Email: vrc@csusb.edu

You can get academic credit for an internship, and some students want to do internships to fulfill a degree requirement (ART 5751,5752, 5753 or DES 5590), or just because it’s a useful thing to do to prepare for life after university. We have many partners across campus looking for interns, as well as partners off-campus around the locale and region. 

Plan ahead!!!

You will need to identify a host (a company, a gallery, a museum, an office or unit on campus, etc.), and begin arranging with them when it might happen and what duties you will likely perform. You can find internship opportunities sometimes by looking at flyers posted around the buildings, on our social media platforms, and on these websites:

https://www.pathwaysinternships.org/

https://www.csusb.edu/professional-career-readiness-center

Next, the host should contact both the Chair of the Department of Art & Design, Professor Katherine Gray, and a representative from the CSUSB Careers Center. This is important because the host needs to be registered with CSUSB’s Careers Center, especially if they are off campus – for legal reasons and for your safety. 

Then you should complete the online internship application form.

A 3-unit internship (DES 5590 or ART 5753) will entail 90 hours of your time, about 6 hours/ week for a 15 week semester.  A 2-unit internship will require 60 hours (4 hours/ week), and a 1-unit internship will require 30 hours (2 hours/ week).

At the end of your internship your host and you will need to fill an evaluation form. You must turn these in to your instructor of record at the end of the semester to receive your grade CR/NC (credit or no-credit). 

The Art & Design Department main office is in VA105 (Visual Arts Building, room 105) Enter the VA Building via the main lobby. We are in the corner with the bright yellow wall.

Course substitutions are now easier than ever: 

First, you should talk to your faculty advisor in the Department of Art & Design, or a professional advisor.

Then ask that member of our team to email the Chair of the Department of Art & Design, Professor Katherine Gray with all the details.

The details must include your name, coyote ID, your degree plan, the course(s) to be swapped out, the course(s) to be swapped in (plus units), and the semester in which you will be taking the swapped in course.

That’s it! Easy!

PLEASE NOTE: For many transfer students, courses from junior college can sometimes end up in your 'Unused Electives' area of the PAWS report. Please check your PAWS report for any courses that you took at junior college which you think may fulfill requirements in your major, and contact the Chair of the Department to request that they review these.

We exhibit art and design work by current students and alumni in our galleries in the Visual Arts Building and around campus. 

Currently, we have limited capacity for shows other than MA, MFA or BFA thesis shows. Please contact the department chair for exhibition availability.

The Art & Design Department also maintains an inventory of works made available to other offices on campus through the ‘Art on Campus’ program. Contact the department chair if you have work that you would like to be considered for this program

Yes, so long as you are registered in one or more Department of Art & Design courses, or if you are a registered major in the Department of Art & Design, you can use the studios, workshops, and the VRC (Visual Resources Center) any time you are not in class, so long as a class isn’t taking place at that time. For most courses, there is an expectation that you will be working outside of class time on your projects.

The VA building is open from 8am-10pm Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays, usually from 11am – 6 pm. You can call the Building Monitor to open up a classroom or studio for you (please see the posters in the VA Building for the number to call and to confirm hours).

Remember to have your Coyote One card and/or other ID that proves you are a student here, especially on weekends and in the evenings, as the Campus Police patrol the building for your safety and they sometimes ask to see identification.