Open Studies Course Registration

ASYNCHRONOUS. Essentials of Culinary Photography is the first course in a specialized series for photographers eager to dive into the world of food and beverage photography. Unlike other genres, this field demands precision in styling, mastery of lighting, and the ability to evoke flavor and texture through imagery. In this course, you’ll strengthen your technical skills while learning to craft visually compelling photographs for commercial, artistic, and digital platforms. You'll explore essential techniques and tackle the unique challenges that make food photography both demanding and rewarding. Designed as a strong foundation, this course prepares you for more advanced topics in future classes, equipping you to approach food photography with clarity, creativity, and confidence.

ASYNCHRONOUS. This course guides students through the full 3D production pipeline, from initial concept references to final rendered portfolio-ready assets. Students will create a complete character or prop asset using industry-standard tools such as Blender, ZBrush, Maya, and Substance Painter, with AI-assisted workflows integrated at key stages (concept generation, topology cleanup, texture enhancement). The final project emphasizes both technical competency and creative expression, equipping students to adapt modern AI workflows into established pipelines while maintaining professional-level craftsmanship. By the end of the course, students will deliver a fully textured, posed, and rendered 3D model, presented in a polished showcase format, suitable for inclusion in a professional portfolio.

This course moves from visualization principles to hands-on implementation. Students will learn how to turn data into interactive visual stories using D3.js, one of the industry’s leading frameworks for data-driven design. To prepare for D3, we’ll cover only the essentials of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This part ise just enough to understand how D3 connects data to the browser. The course is active and participation-driven: coding is learned 20% by listening and 80% by doing. Expect to build, experiment, and iterate your way into understanding.

ASYNCHRONOUS. In a saturated media communications environment where visuals drive perception, this course develops expertise in applying the power of art direction as a strategic tool for shaping narrative, identity, and influence. Students will develop the practice of art direction for total design—bringing together concepts, considerations of virtual and physical space, visual elements, and movement to create cohesive promotional ecosystems across multiple platforms. Through case studies and creative projects, students will deepen their understanding of audience psychology, integrative design, and cross-platform storytelling. Assignments address real-world applications—from cultural events to product launches—with critical reflection on aesthetics, ethics, and representation in visual promotion. Students will produce a ready-to-launch campaign plan and gain fluency in the language of influence through art direction.

ASYNCHRONOUS. "This course offers students an introduction to the diverse areas within the field of portrait photography. Through exploration and research, students will examine and gain a deeper understanding of the possibilities within the genre of portraiture, including various areas of concentration such as headshots, engagement sessions, senior portraits, group portraits, boudoir photography, and fine art portraiture. The course emphasizes helping students identify their unique area of interest and develop a path toward mastery. In addition to understanding technical and creative practice, students will research current trends in portrait photography and analyze how to position themselves within their local market. By the end of the course, students will have a clearer direction for their work and a foundation for building a distinctive portrait portfolio. "

In this live online course, students will get an end-to-end understanding of the Figma Suite, focusing on the principles and practical application of responsive design and advanced prototyping techniques. Students will learn the skills to create high-fidelity and interactive designs along with how to collaborate, create design systems, and incorporate AI into their workflows.

If you have ever wrestled with the environmental or social implications of the products we use, Sustainable and Ethical Practices in Art and Design offers a structured space to turn those concerns into actionable strategies. Too often, creative professionals are pushed to prioritize revenue over responsibility; in this course, we challenge that norm by asking what we owe the world when we create something new. By blending ethical theory with practical investigations into biomimicry, non-toxic materials, and life-cycle sensitivity, we will examine the profound cause-and-effect relationship between creative work and our ecological reality. This is an opportunity for students to move beyond simple awareness and toward a practice defined by civic engagement and intentional, high-impact design.

This course focuses on scalability, logic, and the future of design workflows. We'll build robust design systems and dynamic prototypes with data. A big focus will be placed on integrating AI tools (Figma Make, Cursor) to supercharge the design process. By the end of the course, students will be able to rapidly design and prototype their ideas.

ASYNCHRONOUS. Students are introduced to strategic frameworks, entrepreneurial tools, and decision-making methods essential for launching and sustaining ventures in the creative economy. Drawing on case studies across design, fashion, media, and other cultural industries, students analyze how creative ideas evolve into viable business models with cultural relevance and market fit. Topics include opportunity identification, value proposition design, customer segmentation, brand positioning, and strategic planning. Emphasis is placed on the unique dynamics of creative ventures, including intellectual property, market research, business financials and budgeting. Through applied exercises, students will articulate their own venture concepts, analyze competitive landscapes, and demonstrate a deeper understanding of how to move a business from concept to market by developing a preliminary business plan.

This course advances professional photographers’ digital imaging expertise by integrating high-end editing, color-managed production, technology-enabled processes, and emerging AI technologies. Students develop adaptable, industry-driven methodologies, refine visual problem-solving and critical decision-making, and prepare for advanced professional practice across commercial, editorial, and cross-disciplinary photographic arenas. This graduate-level course provides professional photographers with an in-depth exploration of contemporary digital imaging practices, emphasizing the integration of high-end editing techniques, color-managed production environments, and advanced technology-enabled processes. Through hands-on assignments and critical analysis, students engage with industry-driven methodologies designed to support consistent, efficient, and conceptually informed image creation across a wide range of photographic genres. The course also examines the expanding role of artificial intelligence in digital imaging, introducing emerging tools that enhance precision, accelerate production, and open new creative possibilities. Students learn to evaluate and responsibly incorporate these technologies, developing critical decision-making skills that balance technical sophistication with artistic intent. By building adaptable workflows and strengthening visual problem-solving strategies, students prepare for the evolving demands of commercial, editorial, and cross-disciplinary photographic practice. The course culminates in projects that demonstrate professional-level proficiency, workflow fluency, and a refined understanding of digital imaging as both a technical system and a creative language. This course strengthens professional photographers’ digital imaging capabilities through precision editing, color-managed production, technology-driven workflows, and emerging AI tools. Students build adaptable, industry-validated pipelines, enhance visual problem-solving, and prepare to meet the technical, creative, and production demands of contemporary commercial and editorial imaging environments.

A course for artists and designers getting started with Illustrator. Create incredible vector graphics with drawing & shape tools, fills, strokes, color, gradients, patterns, brushes, typography, and editable effects. Students will learn how Illustrator files are exported and used in other applications such as Photoshop, InDesign and more. New features and best practices will also be covered. This course will be taught online using Zoom & Canvas and Adobe Creative Suite access is included for the duration of the course.

ASYNCHRONOUS. This course introduces the educational theories and practices behind game-based learning in K–12 classrooms. Teachers explore the relationship between play, motivation, and learning, examining how game mechanics can drive engagement and support differentiated instruction. Case studies of educational and commercial games provide a foundation for analyzing their pedagogical impact. Students design lesson activities that incorporate game elements to reinforce curricular goals.

Prototyping for AI is a hands-on studio for people who want to turn vague AI ideas into testable product betas. Students start with a messy, real-world problem and use generative AI to practice structured prompting, explore options, sketch workflows, and build fast, disposable prototypes. Along the way they learn to ask sharper questions, decide what is “good enough to move forward,” and connect their experiments to product strategy. The course also focuses on collaboration: students learn to treat engineers as partners rather than vending machines and to frame better questions for them instead of handing over half-baked solutions. By the end, they will have a usable prototype and a stakeholder-ready pitch they can take back to their team.

ASYNCHRONOUS. Has the world of creative industries ever felt confusing, hard to navigate, or simply too big to fully understand? How might your work change if you could clearly see the systems, networks, and possibilities that shape your creative world? In this course you will explore networks, funding sources, audience engagement, and emerging tools to understand how creative opportunities form and how you can play an active role in shaping them. Through case studies and hands-on activities, you will develop an innovative, adaptable, and sustainable Creative Ecosystem Roadmap for your career. Discover new ways to navigate and grow within dynamic creative landscapes.

Elevate your Photoshop skills! This course is for artists, designers and photographers looking to enhance their digital image editing expertise. Explore topics such as color correction, retouching, image manipulation, layers & masks, Smart Objects & Smart Filters and generative AI capabilities. We'll cover digital file formats and industry best practices. Join us for an interactive learning experience. This course will be taught online using Zoom & Canvas and Adobe Creative Suite access is included for the duration of the course.

Looking to master the core languages of the web? Join our professional studio course and gain a comprehensive understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This hands-on, project-based program is designed to transform you from a beginner into a proficient web developer. We'll start with HTML to structure content, move on to CSS for creating visually compelling designs, and then introduce JavaScript to add dynamic interactivity. By the end of the course, you'll have the foundational skills and a portfolio of work ready for the professional world. No prior experience is required.