Visual perception is the ability to interpret information from our surroundings through visible light that reaches the eye. This course will explore the various theories of visual perception with an emphasis on Gestalt theory and its relation to Graphic Design. It will create an understanding of our human visual perception and its limitations. Students will also be given projects in which they will apply Gestalt principles and the learned theories. In addition to visual perception theories, students will learn two key disciplines in design: Infographics and Wayfinding.
Prerequisite: GRDS 311.
This course prepares students to become leading agents of social change through community engagement. It aims to promote collaborative work between computer science and graphic design students to design effective solutions to existing community issues. The course is structured on a balance between classroom theory learning, extensive field research, and implementation of a real-world solution using both expertise.
Prerequisite: Junior Standing.
This course reviews the fundamentals of good academic writing in English, teaches essay writing essentials and research skills in two rhetorical modes (persuasion and argumentation), and provides practice in writing essays in these modes, research papers and oral presentations.
Prerequisite: ENGL 101 or TOEFL 550+ (paper) or 80+ (computer).
This course is designed to help students develop effective professional communication skills, both orally and in writing. In this course, students learn how to write emails, memos, letters, proposals, reports, and other forms of employment correspondence. In addition, this course helps students sharpen their presentation skills. Broadly, this course enables students to behave professionally and effectively in their prospective jobs.
Prerequisite: ENGL 210.
This course introduces freshman students to poets with intrinsic literary merit. In addition to broadening the student’s understanding and appreciation of literature, the chief aim of the course is to develop the student’s critical thinking and analysis and to encourage original responses to literary expression in well-developed oral and written criticism.
Co-requisite: ENGL 210.
This course introduces literature through works of fiction, poetry, and drama. It introduces students to the pleasures of reading literature and to interpretative approaches to literature. It aims to provide students with competence in critical thinking and practice in close reading and analysis, knowledge of the formal characteristics of each genre, and appreciation of literary excellence. Readings include a variety of short stories, poems, and plays selected from a wide range of British, American, and World literature.
Students study Shakespeare's representative comedies, histories, and tragedies in this course. The plays are read intensively and understood in the context of the period's theatrical conventions, the culture of play in early modern England, and the social, cultural, religious, and intellectual history of the period.
This broad survey course provides a narrative of British history from 1066, including political, social, and cultural developments.
This is an elective course whose major objectives are to familiarize students with contemporary issues to enhance their level from historical and cultural points of view.
This course examines the ties between Europe and the Middle East in the 19th and 20th centuries, focusing on the reaction of Middle Eastern societies to European intervention and influence.
This elective course aims to familiarize students with various events that shaped the evolution of social and economic developments in the Middle East to enhance their level from the historical and economic dimensions.
This is a study of some major topics in philosophy. The course emphasizes theory of knowledge, theory of mind, determinism and free will, and morality and ethical values. Along with some assigned readings, students will watch movies, the analysis of which will help them comprehend the content of the course better.
This course is a standard introduction to the formal techniques of argument analysis. Formal logic was invented to mirror and evaluate mathematical reasoning; however, this course will concentrate on the relationship between formal logic and everyday reasoning and language usage in general.
People often wonder about what makes good ways to live and the right ways to act. They also speculate about the best way of life, what action is right, and what authority moral claims have over us. The course introduces students to the major moral theories and thinkers addressing these questions.
This course introduces contemporary philosophical thinking on ethical issues in business. Students will be exposed to important ethical issues they might face, asked to give sound ethical judgment to problems they might face in their line of work, helped become armed with a set of codes that will prepare them to confront and resolve ethical dilemmas they might encounter at work, and enabled to apply the techniques for analyzing and resolving ethical problems when they arise.
This course introduces students to peace building and conflict prevention by examining the main theories on peace and security. It examines the ideas of Thucydides, Aristotle, Erasmus Grotius, Kant, Gandhi, and other thinkers who believed that the whole peace was of high value. It develops students’ critical skills and understanding necessary to translate their academic learning to specific practical situations, such as those posed by peace building either with the UN, governments, or NGOs. It helps understand the complex and interconnected challenges to peace and provides knowledge to meet them.
Through reading, writing, and speech, students will become familiar with the persuasive strategy described in Aristotle’s Rhetoric and consider how that strategy can be employed in professional and personal situations in writing, public speaking, and negotiation.
This course teaches students rhetorical modes in short essays and journalism, including memoirs, reportage, and reflective essays. Students will practice a writing style focusing on conciseness and clarity, effective oral presentations, and reading articles, essays, and other increasingly complex materials.
This course addresses the ethical problems in journalism, public relations, and advertising, particularly in today’s digital media environment.
Prerequisite: CMNS 301.
This course integrates methods, perspectives, and concepts of Peace Studies, Culture Communication, and Peace Journalism to explain contemporary debates in the global public sphere. It considers how cultural stereotypes about ideology, religion, and culture frame Arabs and Americans in the mass media. RHU students will engage with students from collaborating universities in the United States in online, asynchronous conversation and participate in shared projects that explore the role of the media in influencing Arab and American relations.
This course is designed to provide a practical introduction to the fundamental principles of public speaking and a forum for practicing public speaking skills. Students will learn how effective speeches are conceived, prepared, and delivered through various instructional strategies (discussion, class workshops, readings, lectures, and presentations).
This course surveys some key figures, movements, and texts in cultural studies from the 19th century to the present. The concentration will be on the historical, political, religious, cultural, and institutional aspects during this period. Students will read, analyze, and interpret certain primary works to gain insight into the contexts in which they originated.
This course will examine motivational factors that influence children’s learning. Topics include attribution theory, teacher influences (expectancy effects), learning structures (competitive vs. cooperative learning), family influences (the socialization of achievement), cultural influences (how cultural background impacts college performance), and individual differences (intrinsic motivation and sex differences in learning).
The course surveys selected works in English or translation from non-Anglo-American cultural traditions. Texts can be drawn from African, Asian, European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern literature focusing on their historical and cultural contexts.
This course will survey language acquisition theories. It will deal with human language processing, learners’ motivational factors, and contextual factors influencing language learning. It will uncover the principles of first and second language acquisition.
This course introduces the psychology discipline's theories, concepts, and viewpoints. The course is directed toward understanding human behavior by dealing with topics such as the history of psychology, learning, personality, behavior, motivation, perception, social psychology, mental health, and other areas.
This course studies the dynamics and effects of social influences on individual human behavior. In this course, students will explore topics such as attitude changes, social beliefs, roles, conformity to group processes, and prejudices, with special attention given to the Middle Eastern perspective.
This course presents the theories of personality, including psychoanalytic, behaviorist, humanist, and others, while considering different factors that shape personality and behavior. The study includes methods of assessing personality.
This course examines the biological, sociological, and cultural influences on the psychology of women. It includes such topics as gender stereotypes, the development of gender roles, gender comparisons, women and work, love relations, women’s physical and mental health, violence against women, and women in later adulthood.
This course examines scientific research on happiness and its practical application in three main areas: positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions. This course also presents practical ways to promote and maintain a sense of well-being and happiness in all aspects of one’s life.
This course is intended to help students be aware of the consequences of war and conflicts on children's mental health and well-being. The course will examine a variety of effects, emphasizing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological conditions that result from war. The course will empower the students with the techniques of working with children affected by war.
This course explores practical theories for understanding congregational conflict and various perspectives on conflict transformation. Students will reflect on their styles of dealing with conflict and learn new ways of responding. They will explore practices of dialogue and mediation for addressing conflict in interpersonal, small group, and congregational settings to develop an approach to addressing inevitable situations of difference, change, and conflict in various situations.
An introduction to the theories of abnormal behaviors, including addiction and substance abuse, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, depression, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, phobias, schizophrenia, and sexual disorders. Students will consider the theoretical implications and treatments for various abnormal behaviors.
This course is designed for psychology, sociology, communications, and other social sciences students. It introduces them to advanced research design and methodology, including statistical analysis.
Prerequisite: MATH 220.
This course explores a variety of sociological theories and approaches to understanding society. The student will learn about human social life, groups, and societies and be helped to detect the social influences shaping our lives. The approach used in this course is a self-exploratory process that develops individual and social awareness. A secondary objective is discussing methods common to sociology, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and feminism.
This course introduces the study of sociological concepts as they apply to the institution of education. Students will examine race, class, status, poverty, and bureaucracy issues in the educational setting. They will also examine current perspectives and research about the social aspects of the learning process.
This course deals with cultural issues like cultural awareness, enculturation, acculturation, and cultural shocks. It involves hands-on activities to promote cultural awareness and equip students with skills for dealing with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. It includes team-oriented research and presentation that reflects all the cultural aspects and some minute details of the culture they choose to work on.
Students in this course examine communication theory and case studies to gain insight into the factors that affect human communications. It aims to improve students’ communication skills and equip them with techniques to enhance the quality of their relationships. The course also offers strategies for managing interpersonal conflicts.
This course examines contemporary Arab society, considering its social structures and groups, cultural patterns, and other aspects of the society. Students consider current issues related to Arab culture and society.
Co-requisite ENGL 210.
This course analyzes the role of culture in an individual’s sense of identity, emphasizing how it manifests in the Middle East.
The course addresses class, status, and gender inequalities, examining how they affect individuals and society.
This course tackles the social issues of various political ideologies' historical and contemporary evolution. It aims to develop students’ understanding of the social bases of politics and political ideologies, along with the recent changes in the socio-political world. Different economic and political philosophies are considered, and their effects on the fate of nations and their citizens are detected.
In this course, students will develop an understanding of the “process flow” in contemporary methods of print production. The course covers the entire production timeline: Prepress-Press-Post Press. In addition to printing technologies, students will learn about various types of ink and paper, binding, varnishes, finishing techniques, and the effect of the printing process on the product. Students will also learn how to handle projects and deal with clients as freelance designers or as designers working for companies.
Prerequisite: GRDS 222.
This course introduces the basic principles, theories, and practices of marketing in our modern ever-changing business environment. The course covers the marketing process activities on how to create value for customers to capture value from customers in return. It also discusses the marketing mix and how to build long-term customer relationship with customers. Students will analyze case studies about a “real-life” product or service. Videos and in-class discussions on current marketing topics will assist in the learning experience.
Co-requisite.: ENGL 210
Type, characters, and letterforms are the essential building blocks of visual communication. In this course, students learn how to express ideas not only through the meaning of words but also through manipulating the shape of a typographic character, which improves the quality of information and communication. This introductory course teaches students the anatomy of type, essential type terminology, the history of type categorization and standardization, and the difference between calligraphy and typography.
Prerequisite: GRDS 220.
The first section of the course teaches students advanced tools and techniques in Adobe Illustrator (mesh 3D) and Adobe Photoshop (masks). The second part emphasizes learning technical skills in Adobe InDesign, a computer-based page layout software. Students will learn to use master pages, style sheets, typographic controls, flow and format text, place and manipulate images, combine images and text, create tables, gradients, and PDFs, and correctly prepare digital files for offset printing.
This class is designed to introduce students to the art of illustration and visual storytelling. It teaches students various technical skills to enhance their ideas and creativity. This class allows students to discover their style through line quality, colors, and shapes. Students will be aided to develop their own ‘style’ through visual analysis and personal visions. Hands-on projects will help enhance ideas and techniques such as ink and brush, scraperboard, mono prints, watercolor, relief printing, and collage.
Prerequisites: GRDS 220; FADR 202.
This intermediate-level course studies the marriage of Latin and Arabic typography. This course develops students' ability to create typographic designs by visually and aesthetically merging Arabic and Latin Fonts. This multi-script combination targets the needs of our direct Arab and Lebanese markets. Students will learn to dissect fonts, create modules, experiment with type, generate Arabic adaptations, and construct typographical patterns that evolve into 3D objects. The student further learns the rules of the typographic grid system to experiment with breaking the Grid while designing layouts, spreads, and posters.
Prerequisite: GRDS 205.
This course focuses on Arabic typography, its history, and the modern approaches to enhance our Arabic fonts. Students will learn the anatomy of the Arabic type to manipulate its parts creatively. Projects will include creating an experimental display of Arabic font, arabesques, Arabic graffiti, and Arabic adaptations. The skills acquired in previous type classes will give the students the necessary techniques to explore further how typography, mainly Arabic, can function as a communicative tool.
Prerequisites: GRDS 222; GRDS 305.
This course investigates the creative process the designer goes through while designing the main elements of visual communication: symbols, pictograms, icons, and logos. Students will be asked to create a visual vocabulary (corporate identity) with enough credibility to convince the target audience to purchase a certain service or product. It is an intensive insight into planning and developing a corporate image: logos and other business communication applications. In addition, students learn to design a complete restaurant branding image from the initial concept to the final execution.
Prerequisites: GRDS 203; GRDS 220.
This course provides a general overview of design principles for packaging design's structure and visual aspects, packaging history, and consumer decision-making psychology. The imposition of graphic images and innovative die-cuts of various packages and package materials will be examined. Key course concepts will include researching and designing 3D packages, understanding eco-friendly and sustainable packages, experimenting with playful and conceptual design packaging, and defining the target audience to design the best solution for a package.
Prerequisite: GRDS 310.
This course covers the evolution of graphic communication from prehistory through postmodern design and the digital revolution. This course provides graphic design students with the knowledge and understanding of the places, people, and events, as well as historical and cultural factors and technological innovations that have influenced the development of graphic design into the practice known today. Historical awareness provides a meaningful context for young designers to evolve and contribute positively to the cultures in which they live and work.
Prerequisite: FADR 215.
This course prepares students for the design challenges in designing and producing professional-looking layouts in editorials (newsletters, reports, books, & magazines) and on-screen (websites and web applications). Students learn to create multi-page publications and on-screen interfaces with effective typography, images, illustrations, and layouts. The core focus of this course is working with user interactivity, composition, layout, format, negative space, grids, type, and graphical elements.
Prerequisite: GRDS 311, GRDS 306.
This course focuses on creating a final-year project that forges a bridge between the theory and practice of visual communication through the extensive exploration of the design process. Students will research, develop, and design their senior projects to demonstrate their visual communication ability. This class provides students with a forum to showcase their talent and skills. Emphasis is placed on creativity and quality of work.
Prerequisite: GRDS 411, GRDS 409.
A rapidly expanding and thriving field, motion graphics gives designers new opportunities to work in television, film, and web design. This course focuses on motion graphics and its diverse methodologies to lay down the necessary specialized essentials. Adobe After Effects and Flash teach the foundations of compositing, video editing, and special effects. Assignments center on upholding a certain amount of experimentation and are process‐oriented. Students will learn to animate graphics and type to communicate ideas better visually.
As the World Wide Web became a fundamental fixture of life, it became essential for design to play a vital role in ensuring that any interface is accessible, exciting, and effective. This course examines the constantly developing medium of User Interface and User Experience Design. It combines web and application design as a communication medium with a distinctive user experience. Instruction focuses on attaining a crucial equilibrium between form and function, visual design and effectiveness, and accessible navigation and communication.
Prerequisite: GRDS 423.
This course explains both branding & advertising and their relationship to each other. It explores the history of advertising and discusses the most influential and altering periods that advertising went through (from billboards to radio, TV, and social media). It also emphasizes the importance of advertising in defining and differentiating a product within our contemporary mass market. This course includes hands-on experience applying advertising and branding concepts and techniques in a complete campaign: creating a product, finding its competitors, defining the target audience, writing the marketing research, designing the package, and the ad campaign from press ads to billboards…).
Prerequisite: GRDS 411.
Digital illustration uses digital tools, software, and applications to create complex graphical illustrations and images. This course teaches students various techniques and directions to produce fresh, creative, aesthetical illustrations. Students will receive hands-on training with basic drawing/painting and manipulating and creating vector-based graphics, illustrations, and digital paintings. Projects include various areas, from comic strips to 3-D rendering.
Prerequisites: GRDS 222; GRDS 300.
Each student must complete 8 weeks of practical training in an area related to their field of interest. This Co-op work experience is usually fulfilled during the summer semester of the third year in the program. Students must submit a formal report and poster and make a formal presentation about their Co-op experience.
Prerequisites: ENGL 217; Senior Standing.
This drawing course teaches students the basics of drawing the human figure by studying its anatomy and proportions. It emphasizes using the human figure in space as a compositional element. Students will explore the potential and limits of media and materials. Students will begin to form a personal approach to drawing and even develop a personal drawing/illustrating style.
Prerequisite: FADR 200.
This course extends two-dimensional design concepts into volumetric relationships, emphasizing design concepts through structural and sculptural forms. Students will work in various media, including paper, cardboard, wood, wires, metal, and plaster, to explore concepts of modularity, sequence and series, relief, contour, structure, symmetry, and asymmetry as they relate to studying forms in nature. Students will also examine the function of space, volume, mass, plane, and line. The main emphasis of this course is the development of critical thinking skills, technical skills, and visual aesthetic skills.
Prerequisite: FADR 220.
This course emphasizes the development of a critical eye and using photography as a form of self-expression and an artistic medium for social media and posts. Students are expected to have a working knowledge of the photographic process. Students will produce photographic posts for real-life brand products.
Prerequisite: GRDS 230.
Digital photography is now a standard set, ranging from compacts to medium format sensor size camera ranges. Through Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, this course will give students a wider understanding of digital processing and important attributes. An image taken from the camera certainly needs modifications to get the best out of it. By that, pictures will look how we intend them to be, following precise adjustments and understanding why and what the result will be.
In this course, students will learn the basics of Arabic calligraphy as defined by Ibn Muqla. The variations of the main Arabic scripts are explained through a set of visual examples. The course touches upon Islamic calligraphy as a communicative and embellishing technique in the visual arts. The practical aspect of the course explores the techniques and rules of drawing letters of the main standardized Arabic Script. Calligraphy will also be used to create modern visual expressions.
Prerequisite: GRDS 305.
In the first section of this course, students will learn AutoDesk Maya. They will explore 3D form and space, emphasizing digital modeling of real-life objects. They will develop and construct 3D objects intended graphically for any design or animation use. The course covers basic to intermediate 3D modeling skills, emphasizing texturing and lighting. Maxwell Realflow, which has become one of the industry standards for fluid simulation, will be covered in the second part of this course. Water simulation and dynamics will be taught and integrated into Maya for rendering.
Silkscreen is one of the most flexible and widely used types of printmaking. The class focuses on various silkscreen techniques taught through demonstrations and specific projects. Images and graphic visuals will be made using hand-drawn separations, photographic film, digital separations, and photocopied images. Water-based silkscreen inks are used, allowing for soap-and-water cleanup. Students will be encouraged to experiment with multiple techniques and combinations of traditional and contemporary methods.
Prerequisite: GRDS 300.
This course focuses on the fundamental process used in 3D design and model making. It will follow the process industrial designers go through to create 3D printed products. The course will cover the design thinking process to bring initial sketch ideas to life while taking into consideration the limitations at hand. Multiple software applications in the process will be used in designing the 3D models including Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk Maya and Pixalogic Zbrush.
This course introduces various painting materials, skills, and techniques. It helps students develop an artistic potential to create various moods. Students will learn to use the brush to create different strokes and manipulate colors to suit their concepts. Color theory will be discussed in class. The course includes detailed studies of still life, landscape, and the human figure.
Prerequisite: FADR 202.
This course is an introduction to graphic design theory. It explores design practice's aesthetic and social purposes through written selections across a century of design evolution. Students will read about design to stimulate growth and change in their work. Students will also learn how to analyze and critically write design essays. This course also puts theory into practice, and students can experiment using past and present theories manually.
Prerequisites: GRDS 305; GRDS 310.
This course surveys some of the key figures, movements, and texts in cultural studies from the birth of civilization through the Middle Ages. The concentration will be on the historical, political, religious, cultural, and institutional aspects during this period. Students will read, analyze, and interpret certain primary works to gain insight into the contexts in which they originated.
This course surveys some key figures, movements, and texts in cultural studies from the 14th through the 18th centuries. The concentration will be on the historical, political, religious, cultural, and institutional aspects during this period. Students will read, analyze, and interpret certain primary works to gain insight into the contexts in which they originated.
If you have a query about a specific major or application, please contact the relevant Administrative Assistant.
Administrative Assistant Tel: +961 5 60 30 90 Ext. 701
E-mail: da_cas@rhu.edu.lb