University of Kansas

Johnson County Community College Transfer Program to the University of Kansas Anna Abernathy, Director of Recruitment and Enrollment
School of Architecture & Design 785-864-5974
Visual Communication Design (B.F.A) agabernathy@ku.edu
Academic Year 2025-2026 https://arcd.ku.edu/department-design

Program Description

**To transfer to KU as a 2nd year student, students must complete 24 credits at JCCC including the courses listed on page 2, as well as two art electives from JCCC to cover the remaining studio credits from the 1st year.** 

The Associate of Arts, AA at JCCC is a general transfer degree and partners well with the first two years of most bachelor degree programs. Students pursuing the AA may select courses that satisfy both the AA degree requirements and lower division requirements for a bachelor’s degree at four-year institutions. The elective hours within the AA allow students to complete additional general education and lower division courses required for specific majors. The AA degree requires completion of 60 credit hours. Meeting with a JCCC counselor is strongly recommended for selection of appropriate courses.  

Admission Requirements

  • Visual Communication Designers shape the information that everybody sees, uses and experiences. The Visual Communication Design program at KU prepares students for current professional demands and provides students with the fundamental design thinking, making and process skills required to build a rewarding career and facilitate life-long learning. Career options for visual communication designers include a wide range of areas such as traditional print media, magazine and book design, corporate marketing communications, branding, packaging design, exhibition and environmental design, motion graphic design, website design, interface design and more.
  • Admission for Transfer Students - Admission to the Department of Design is selective and competitive. Complete the online application, select the School of Architecture and Design, then select your major. This application will serve as your application to KU, the Department of Design and University scholarships. In addition, students must have a 3.0+ cumulative GPA from previous institutions, submit official transcripts to the KU Office of Admissions, and submit a portfolio.
  • Student should familiarize themselves with policies and resources prior to transferring to the Department of Design.
  • Application Deadlines - Spring: Oct. 1 and Fall: Feb. 1
  • Transferring credits to KU - Utilize KU's credit transfer tool to learn more about how your courses may transfer to KU. Please note transfer studio courses with a grade of “C+” or lower will not be accepted by the Department of Design for credit. Transfer general education courses with a grade of “D+” or lower will not be accepted by the Department of Design for credit.
  • Admission for International Students - International students should apply through the Office of International Recruitment and Undergraduate Admissions.
  • Requirements - English proficiency requirements for KU. Portfolio Requirement - All applicants must submit a portfolio to be considered for admission to the Department of Design. Portfolios are submitted online through SlideRoom. Please select "Undergraduate Student - Portfolio Submission" from the directory. For technical support questions while submitting your online application, please contact Slideroom. For more information about the portfolio requirement.
  • The online portfolio submission includes the following requirements:   
    • Media: Please upload 10-15 images of your strongest creative works. Please title each piece. In the description, include the medium or software used, the size, date of completion, and a brief one to two sentence description. In the case of documented professional or group projects, applicants should indicate personal responsibilities. Your portfolio must include at least two mediums. Examples: sketches, drawings, paintings, ceramics, jewelry, 3-D pieces, logos, branding, publications/yearbook, posters or any art or design-related works. Displaying a variety of work is essential; use your strongest pieces and good judgment. 
    • Essay: Why are you interested in studying design, what have you done to prepare, and how do you hope to use your degree? To complete your application, you must provide a response to the prompt.  Please limit your response to 200-250 words. 
  • Students must complete a total of at least 120 credit hours. At least 45 of those credit hours must be in "junior/senior-level courses," which are numbered 300 and above. Credit for classes taken at JCCC cannot count toward Jr/Sr hours.  At least 30 credit hours must be in residence to receive a degree from the department and KU. 
  • Students transferring to KU, that complete the General Education requirements required for the Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Fine Arts (AFA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree from JCCC will be considered to have satisfied KU’s Core 34 general education curriculum.   
  • Students who transfer to KU, without completing the General Education requirements required for the Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Fine Arts (AFA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree will have courses evaluated on a course-by-course basis toward meeting KU requirements. To learn more about courses that satisfy KU Core 34 Requirements and KU CredTran.  
  • Visit the KU Core 34 General Education guide for JCCC equivalents.

Visual Communication Design Requirements  

KU Core 34

Department of Design recommends students complete 5 of the required core classes before transferring to KU to remain on track to graduate. 

JCCC
KU
Course CodeCourse TitleCourse HoursTransfer CodeTransfer TitleTransfer Hours
Visit the KU Core 34 English for JCCC equivalents. (two courses)
Visit the KU Core 34 Communications for JCCC equivalents.
Visit the KU Core 34 Math and Statistics for JCCC equivalents.
Visit the KU Core 34 Natural and Physical Sciences (lab required) for JCCC equivalents.
Visit the KU Core 34 Core 34 Social and Behavioral Sciences for JCCC equivalents. (Select two courses in two different disciplines)
Visit the KU Core 34 Arts and Humanities for JCCC equivalents. (Select two courses in two different disciplines)
Select one of the following:
Art History: Ancient to Medieval OR )3 HA 150 History of Western Art: Ancient Through Medieval (Program Requirement
Art History: Renaissance to Modern +3HA 151Hist Western Art: Ren-Contemp3
Visit the KU Core 34 US Culture for JCCC equivalents.
Visit the KU Core 34 Global Culture for JCCC equivalents.

Program Requirements -

In order to transfer to KU as a 2nd year student, students must complete 24 credits at JCCC including the following courses as well as two (2) art electives from JCCC to cover the remaining studio credits from the 1st year. 

JCCC
KU
Course CodeCourse TitleCourse HoursTransfer CodeTransfer TitleTransfer Hours
ART 124Design 2D 3BDS 101Design Thinking and Making3
ART 130Drawing I 3BDS 103Drawing for Design3
ART 199Fine Arts Symposium (must be successfully taken 7 times)1ADS 320KU Design Professional Series1
GDES 131Drawing and Media Methods II* 3IXD 101Introduction to Digital Design4
GDES 134Layout Design* 3VISC 101Intro Visual Communic Design4

Two (2) Electives (ADS, IXD, VISC) 

See KU CredTran for JCCC equivalent. Any two (2) elective courses from ART, ANI, or GDES  


*

JCCC course has a prerequisite or corequisite.

+

This course is a Recommended Core 34: Systemwide General Education course. This specific course is not required but is recommended by the program’s faculty. 

^

WEB 231/IXD 302 is not a requirement in the first year of the program but will transfer to fulfill a program requirement. 

Last Approved Tue Oct 28 21:03:19 2025