Visual Communications Media and Technology Certificate

NC State’s Visual Communications Media and Technology Certificate program allows students to complete a series of coordinated courses in a shorter period of time than an associate degree. Students in associate degree programs may benefit from adding a certificate to their areas of expertise. A minimum of a 2.00 grade-point average must be obtained for all required courses in order to receive a certificate.

Upon successful completion of a certificate program, a Certificate Request form must be completed in the Student Records Office in order to receive a certificate.

Required Courses

Courses

ARTS 1010 - Drawing I

This course presents drawing concepts that can serve as a foundation for drawing itself and benefit other visual arts disciplines. The basic fundamentals of drawing, line form, gesture, and spatial illusion, perspective, composition, and use of light & shadow to describe space and volume. Studio practice will emphasize observational drawing to provide concrete and measurable examples of pictorial space. (TAG# OAH001)

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 2

ARTS 1070 - Digital Photography

This hands-on course presents an introduction to the design issues, historical and contemporary approaches, of digital photography as they are applied to print, web, and video production. This course will provide theory and practical aspects of the parts of the camera as well as taking well-composed photographs that visually communicate a message. Other elements such as exposure, lighting, portraiture, print tonal qualities, and style will be introduced. Students must provide a digital camera with manual focus/aperture/shutter capability preferred. (TAG# OAH002)

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 2

BUSM 2110 - Promotion and Advertising

The purpose of this course is to examine advertising as both a science and an art. We will attempt to blend the basic skills as detailed in the textbook with a variety of practical experiences that will culminate in group ad presentations. Topics covered will include the structure of the advertising business, knowing the consumer, selecting appropriate media, the uses of research, the preparation of "ad" copy and design layouts, and the future of advertising. Special attention will be directed to the goals of local advertising. (TAG# OCM012)

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Required Prerequisite Course: ENGL 0040 (minimum grade of C-) or qualifying placement test score.

VCMT 1050 - Imaging I

This course will teach the students how to create, edit, manipulate, and manage digital imagery using Adobe Photoshop. Students will also use Adobe InDesign to focus on visual communication through various mediums including print, web, and multimedia. Students manipulate images by improving image quality, adding graphic design elements, and building compositions for the use in other interactive media projects or as their own documents. Raster graphics will be exported using the appropriate output method for their intended use. (CTAG #CTGRPH001) Raster Graphics.

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 2

VCMT 1085 - Visual Communications I

This course provides an overview of the Mac Computer platform, Vector Graphics, and Visual Communication practices. It will enable the student to employ digital drawing tools and the elements and principles of design to create vector graphics and illustrations. The student's projects will be based on conceptual sketches transferred to the computer utilizing digital illustration practices and techniques in Adobe Illustrator. The vector graphics and digital illustrations will be created for independent compositions or layouts and exported using the appropriate output method for their intended use as seen in the industry. (CTAG# CTGRPH002) Vector Graphics.

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 2

VCMT 1190 - Video Production I

Digital video focuses on the development of video from the pre-production process through the production and post-production phases. Students plan, shoot, edit, and distribute videos as part of a production team. Topics include preparing a script, developing a shot list, videography, editing footage, adding soundtracks, exporting, and rendering video for various uses in various formats. Single camera style, creative teamwork, and storytelling will also be applied. (TAG# OCM008) (CTAG #CTIM006)

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 2
Required Prerequisite Course: Take ARTS 1070 and VCMT 1050 with a minimum grade of C-

VCMT 1280 - Visual Communication II & Typography

Expanding on student's knowledge of graphic design elements and principles covered in VCMT 1085, students will further explore page design. Emphasis will be on typography. History of typography, graphic design, and printing processes will be studied. Projects may include advertisements, letter shapes, logos, brochures, tables, form documents, grid layouts and mass media communication. 

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 2
Required Prerequisite Course: Take VCMT 1085 with a minimum grade of C-

VCMT 1550 - Imaging II

This course will expand on the vocabulary and production processes learned in VCMT 1050 - Imaging I . Emphasis will be on raster based images produced from the leading graphic software applications. Digital photography, developing images for the Internet, and more complex compositing techniques will be covered. 

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 2
Required Prerequisite Course: Take ARTS 1010, VCMT 1050 with a minimum grade of C-

VCMT 2060 - Principles of Printing Technology

An overview of printing processes including individual hands-on experience with the major printing processes including offset lithography, large format inkjet, digital printing and silk screen printing. Printing materials and finishing techniques will be included. Hands-on experience printing in the lab will be required. 

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 2
Required Prerequisite Course: Take VCMT 1280, VCMT 1550 

VCMT 2550 - Imaging III

This course will cover advanced vector & raster imaging techniques. Vector imaging techniques will cover information graphics, cartography, package design, 3 D gradient mesh, and technical illustration. Students will produce samples for their portfolio that demonstrate their skills in image manipulation, including advanced color correction, advanced photo retouching techniques, and photo montage. 

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 1
Lab Hours: 4
Required Prerequisite Course: Take VCMT 1550 with a minimum grade of C-

ENRD 2260 - Solid Modeling

The student will use current parametric modeling software to create 3D models and produce various drawing views such as orthographic, isometric, sectional and auxiliary views from these models and generate a bill of materials as well as demonstrate the ability to bi-directionally associate between the model and the drawing. The student will also determine the basic physical properties of the model such as area, mass and volume. The student will also apply rigid body animation techniques to a solid model. 

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 3

VCMT 2070 - Web Design I

This class will cover current web design workflow, best practices for web design including designing for mobile phones, UX/UI user experience/interface design, HTML5, CSS and Javascript to build web sites, ftp access to web servers, SEO (search engine optimization) and web site analytics. Students will build at least one web site using an HTML text editor with Bootstrap or other CSS responsive framework  and another web site with CMS (Content Management Software) like Wordpress. Web sites will contain images, text, navigation and carousel or slide show. Students should have experience with image editing software as well as websites and mobile apps. CTAG: CTIM005 Graphical Website Design.

Credit Hours: 3
Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 3
Required Prerequisite Course: Take VCMT 1050 with a minimum grade of C.

Total Credit Hours: 30