Student internships are an important part of our curriculum. They are an opportunity for students to work in a professional setting under the guidance of professional designers and art directors. Graphic Design students are required to complete a three-credit internship as part of the graphic design curriculum. Students may also elect to take an additional three-credit internship.
The Graphic Design department carefully evaluates each internship site to assure that students will have a beneficial experience. Students are eligible to apply for an internship after they have earned 60 credits. Students must also have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher. Faculty holds a meeting for students in the fall of each academic year to review the internship process.
Our students have interned, and continue to be invited to intern, at many top firms throughout the Pittsburgh area. Students have also interned in other cities over the summer. Recently students have interned at American Eagle, Brunner Advertising, MAYA, FSC Marketing Communications and Mullen Advertising.
Graphic Design Internship, more information (requires student username/ password)
Graphic Design students are encouraged to join our student chapter of AIGA, the national professional organization for Graphic Design. This is a student-run organization that facilitates many opportunities for our Graphic Design students including: Leadership, mentoring (both with professionals and by class), interacting with graphic design students from other colleges and universities and interacting with
area professionals through AIGA/Pittsburgh events. The AIGA student group also provides opportunities to give back to the community through their sponsorship of service-related projects.
Visit the AIGA Student Group Facebook Page
Visit the AIGA Student Group Website
A minor in Visual Communication will provide experiences directed toward the development of visual literacy: creative problem solving and the design process, graphic techniques, visual language systems and the organization of visual elements. Especially useful to those students majoring in Marketing or Professional Writing, the Visual Communication minor will provide a practical mix of experiences complementing both verbal and visual communication. The Visual Communication minor is available to all students except those pursuing the Graphic Design degree.
Each design student completes a three-credit internship as part of the required interior design curriculum. The semester-long internship experience, normally completed in the junior or senior year, is an opportunity for a student to work in a professional design firm, under the guidance of a site supervisor who is a qualified interior designer or architect. Each internship site has been carefully evaluated by the Interior Design department chair to assure that the intern will be given work experiences that teach valuable lessons about actual professional work. Students also submit an internship site evaluation after the completion of their internship, which provides current information about the intern’s responsibilities.
Membership in student organizations is a great way to expand a student’s knowledge of the profession. Students are encouraged to start networking with design professionals in their freshmen year. By joining the La Roche ASID student chapter, students become involved in planning and implementing many service-related projects throughout the academic year. The chapter also provides leadership opportunities for students who want to serve as officers of the student chapter or serve as the student representatives to the ASID Pittsburgh- West chapter, which invites the students to attend their professional ASID events.
The La Roche ASID student chapter hosts a design industry Trade Show each year, which brings representatives from major design manufacturers to the university. Students learn about the latest products for both residential and commercial design, acquire samples of the latest products and become acquainted with the manufacturer’s representatives who service the Pittsburgh design firms.
Visit the ASID Student Group Facebook Page
Designed by faculty in multiple disciplines, the 18-credit SIS Minor at La Roche provides students the opportunity to study the principles and engage in the practices of environmental justice. This minor crosses boundaries to show that sustainability and environmental justice are part of every discipline – from literature to sociology to interior design and beyond.
Through coursework and learning experiences, students will have the opportunity to examine real-world problems, integrating information from their major field and a variety of disciplines to address the most important environmental issues of the present and the future. For instance, students may become involved in calculating a company’s greenhouse gas emissions and exploring how to lower them. No matter their major, students will see how sustainability relates to their area of study.
