It is the goal of the department of art, media and design is to develop and maintain an educational program in which the students learn the historical and creative possibilities of visual culture. Visual art is a basic and universal category of human expression and communication. The faculty in the department are visual specialists who analyze, organize, and give form to ideas and information. The curriculum emphasizes research and conceptual thinking, creative problem solving and the development of specific skills. Across the concentrations of the department, the common aim is to impart these diverse methods, skills and problems to the students in order to provide a foundation for their understanding of visual culture in contemporary times and historically.