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Study Abroad at PCA Course Offerings

I was able to take courses in different departments which allowed me to interact with students working in a range of disciplines from different backgrounds with varied motivations and experiences. I was encouraged to explore a variety of media and I learned to experiment without the harness of standard approaches.

– Ebony Dallas, Sage College of Albany, NY, USA

Course Selection

Study Abroad at PCA students choose from our vast array of courses to create a rigorous and stimulating curriculum that matches their academic needs and interests. You can focus your studies in one departmental area or create a multidisciplinary selection. Of course, you need to get approval from your home campus advisor to be sure that your course credits will fulfill your degree requirements.

We encourage all students to develop their French skills while in Paris, and offer classes for every level. All other classes are taught in English and you can register for 12 to 19 credits per semester.

Below you will find example student schedules that show the freedom Study Abroad at PCA students have to create a program ideally suited to their own interests.

Please note: course offerings are subject to change depending on semester of study and enrollment numbers

Sample Schedules

Credits

Communication Design

Paris Inside/Out

Code
FLIB 0010
Description

Paris Inside/Out is a one-credit course consisting of visits to art & design exhibits, as well as meetings with artists, artisans and designers in Paris. The course will use a wide approach by including a variety of artistic fields, thus allowing students to draw inspiration from any discipline. The course will be held every week in a different location in Paris. Students are free to participate in as many visits as they wish, however a minimum of 5 visits are required to pass the course. For each visit, students will create a personal work within a given set of constraints. At the end of the semester, students will be asked to present to the class a personal work inspired by one of the visits during the semester.

Web Design

Code
FCMD 0330
Description

This junior laboratory/technology studio course focuses on the design process and technical background required for designing effective interactive experiences, with an emphasis on design methodology for evolving systems. HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Flash, and Web 2.0 CMS will be introduced along with specialized web design, imaging and animation tools. Students will design and mock up websites. The second semester delves further into notions of interface design, information architecture and web infrastructure.

Prerequisites: 2D Integrated Studio 1 + 2 or equivalent. Semester 1 or equivalent are prerequisite for semester 2.

Typography I

Code
FCMD 0211
Description

For decades, typography has been everywhere. As the art of visual language, typography is inherently communicative. Spoken language is ephemeral and intangible. When written, language is captured in a visual and spatial form, permanent and concrete. Students discover the domain of typography, gain familiarity with typographical language and terms, and learn to work with typefaces for printed matters and digital use. The course will recall the history of typography, from the tradition to contemporary uses and students are introduced to digital typesetting and page layout software.

Graphic Design I

Code
FCMD 0220
Description

This year-long course provides the fundamental skills of graphic design. Students will become familiar with the visual vocabulary that builds graphic design practice through practical projects. Exploring the basic elements (form, colour, type, image and their interconnections) and experimenting on different media and at different scales, the students will become familiar to the graphic design process and visual problem solving.

Junior Studio I

Code
FCMD 0300
Description

Junior Studio 1 introduces Design Thinking and reinforces the Human Centred Design focus introduced in the Interactive Media Design course. A five week introduction to Design Thinking theories and methodology is then applied to preparatory exercises. In the second part of the course (10 weeks) students apply the acquired methodology to different fields of the Communication Design practice (from the design of interfaces and web design, to publications and editorial productions) approaching more complex and global projects. The aim of the course is to stress the importance of creating connections between fields that are traditionally considered separate or in opposition (i.e. interfaces versus publications), and train the ability of adapting a narrative, remaining faithful to the message conveyed, in spite of the medium change.

Prerequisites: Sophomore Core studios. Semester 1 or equivalent are prerequisite for semester 2.

Editorial Design

Code
FCMD 0207
Description

This course will focus on different multi-page documents design, with a particular emphasis on magazines and books (in printed and digital form). Students will acquire the skills to create continuity and variety across a range of pages, present different kind of information in context or appropriate formats, and develop an identity through the pages.

Studio Elective

Description

You may select an elective from the many course offerings in your department or in other departments with the approval of your department chair.

Fashion Design

Fashion Drawing I: Hand

Code
FFAS 0205
Description

Fashion Drawing and Illustration is one of the important cornerstones in becoming a Fashion Designer. More than ever within this digital age saturated with visuals it is important to have a unique voice with a hand-drawn line that stands out and does not blend in with the rest. This course will therefore focus on finding each student’s unique style and strength to develop it further throughout the year. During this semester we will focus on experimenting with various mixed media in order for each student to find their preferred medium or discover a new favorite technique for drawing. The emphasis will also be on the technical aspects of garments and how to represent them in fashion drawing. To build on the students creative expression we will also use collage, embroidery for another dimension as well as use life models in class. Each student will set a personal goal at the beginning of this Semester to advance his or her personal style throughout this course. The students will be encouraged to embrace new ways of drawing and to draw beyond their comfort zone.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of the course, a student should be able to:

  1. Students will incorporate the ability to conduct research for inspiration, historical fashion references and upcoming fashion trends using different types of sources and disciplines.
  2. Students will learn to compile story/concept boards, to draw flats, to develop a collection, and to present fashion sketches.
  3. Students will explore and develop ideas into a 3D format.
  4. Students will be able to present ideas in visual form from concept to 3D realization.
  5. Students will convert research, concept, and story boards into cohesive fashion collections.

Junior Design Studio I

Code
FFAS 0320
Description

Junior Design Studio integrates draping and pattern making as a means of achieving the student’s own designs and realizing them as finished garments. Focus is on the process of executing a design concept from its 2D form, including layout, cutting, construction, fitting, and finishes. Through technical projects, students continue to develop their skills. In the second semester students follow professional sample procedures to develop a garment from an original design under the direction of the instructor and a external designer critic. At the end of the semester they produce a 3 look collection that serves as preparation and practice for collection line-up and time management.

Prerequisites: Sophomore core studios – Semester 1 is prerequisite for semester 2.

Collection Concepts Development I

Code
FFAS 0332
Description

This course teaches students how to generate and develop various highly individual design concepts related to specific, identified market levels and product segments. Different principles of collection work and collection concepts are applied to set project briefs. Methods of presentation in relation to the fashion design portfolio enhance appropriate visuals for the fashion design process. Observational fashion, design, and trend research sketchbooks form part of this course, as well as external project briefs, which are reviewed and assessed by professionals from the French fashion and clothing industry (e.g. Designer Critic Project).

Prerequisites: Semester 1 is prerequisite for semester 2.

Textile Identification

Code
FFAS 0214
Description

This course increases students’ knowledge of natural and synthetic fibers, fabrics, and materials as well as the range and application of textiles to the special requirements of clothing production. Students are given an overview of the textile and fiber markets, including fiber identification, knowledge of yarns, and fabric constructions. Dyeing, printing, and finishing methods are introduced to learn characteristics of finished cloth for end use. The historical background of different textiles is examined as well as contemporary developments and the changing values assigned to different textiles.

Prerequisites: Sophomore core studios

Couture Craftsmanship

Code
FFAS 0422
Description

This course is designed as series of 2 – 3 workshop based intensives with a rotating roster of professional artisans working in Parisian high fashion. Students will learn techniques such as embroidery, pleating, and advanced tailoring techniques. This course is recommended for students in their junior and senior years.

Creative Machine Knitting

Code
FTEX 0102
Description

This course focuses on fundamental technical and manufacturing skills for the specialized field of knitwear. Students will learn to use different hand knitting techniques and knitting machines and explore these techniques in creative, experimental ways. While developing a sample file, students will build up a strong understanding of knitwear, its technology and its potential. Set project briefs will challenge students to fuse design research, creativity and technical know-how to develop outstanding knitwear designs.

Fine Arts

Studio Concepts II

Code
FFAR 0310
Description

The Studio Concepts course challenges and encourages the students to explore the different creative processes and contemporary artistic practices. Open to research all media ranging from painting, drawing to photography and video, from objects, sculpture to installations and any un-familiar propositions, the students may experience and develop their ideas that emerge spontaneously out of experimentation and process.
Through research and reference the students need to justify and document their ideas and proposals. The projects will include concepts and process; develop context and ideas.

The aim of the studio concept course is to encourage and enable students to create an individual and critical approach/response to ideas and tasks, spanning all disciplines and to assure an underlying connection to the student’s construction and deconstruction of their chosen areas and personal practice.

Prerequisites: Sophomore Core Studios/Studio Concepts 1

Painting: Interactions II

Code
FFAR 0318
Description

In order to evolve and discover new pictorial horizons painting today must remain open to the possibility of a dialogue with the wide range of multidisciplinary influences that are available. Where once the field of exploration was defined by the rigueur and strict dictates of a formal training,
the strength of painting today lies in its flexibility to use such a training and adapt to the influences of other 2D and 3D disciplines and the pictorial possibilities that they offer as art experience. The possibility to create an art experience through research, experimentation and interaction are the key
components in the junior year in painting. With this as a core component the dynamics of painting are explored through a variety of set projects designed to stimulate the individual imagination.

Prerequisites: Sophomore year painting/Painting Interactions 1

Creative & Experimental Drawing

Code
FFAR 0326
Description

This course will focus on the actual drawing process as concept and experimental research as resource. Drawing as the subject matter, drawing context and the actual drawing practice to develop new ways of expression and mixing media, new ways to appropriate the act of drawing. This course is not about drawing “things”, but to encourage students to explore the actual physicality of making a drawing or to question the physical involvement of drawing; to explore existing and reinventing new methods, ideas or processes simultaneously. Through different exercises, in class workshops or given assignments the students can invent and develop a personal language and propose new ideas, make links between media and technologies.

Prerequisites: Sophomore year drawing, advanced drawing skills

Paris Inside/Out

Code
FLIB 0010
Description

Paris Inside/Out is a one-credit course consisting of visits to art & design exhibits, as well as meetings with artists, artisans and designers in Paris. The course will use a wide approach by including a variety of artistic fields, thus allowing students to draw inspiration from any discipline. The course will be held every week in a different location in Paris. Students are free to participate in as many visits as they wish, however a minimum of 5 visits are required to pass the course. For each visit, students will create a personal work within a given set of constraints. At the end of the semester, students will be asked to present to the class a personal work inspired by one of the visits during the semester.

Art History Elective

Description

Go to the Liberal Studies department page for more information.

French for Paris

Code
FLIB 1150
Description

“French for Paris” is a course open to beginners who would like to expand their knowledge of French culture and develop their listening & speaking skills. The course will cover specific themes relating to everyday life in Paris, its history, its culture, and the arts. Emphasis will be placed on phonetics (rhythm, intonation, liaisons, silent letters & some specific French sounds) as well as everyday vocabulary and exchanges. Different subjects will be developed over the semester: cultural life in Paris, French cinema, French and Francophone cuisine, as well as music. Students will be able to engage in short conversations and will practice describing themselves and their environment along with their studies and artistic practice. Visits in French will be organized. Conscientious completion of homework and class participation is emphasized; a website has been specially designed to accompany students throughout the semester (readings, targeted grammatical exercises, podcasts, phonetics, etc.) The class will be conducted in French.

Interior Design

Project Fundamentals 1

Code
FINT 0202
Description

These first project courses (P.F. 1&2) aim to establish the inherent principles that structure space from a sensorial and a practical point of view. The course will provide students with the cultural and technical tools needed to understand inhabited spaces. Exemplary projects drawn from housing, workplace, leisure and retail environments are investigated, while addressing building codes and conventions. Students will learn how to elaborate and develop clear ideas and conceptual principles, while considering urban context, space organization, negative and positive spaces, lighting and furniture functions. The ability to generate design solutions, select materials, color and finishes are emphasized.

Materiality

Code
FINT 0204
Description

The course aims at introducing students to the world of materials’ sensorial qualities, requirements, and performances. Students explore the relationships between colors, light and four specific materials (glass, wood, metal and plastics) from a sensorial point of view. Through a theoretical and practical approach of materials and tool technologies, students discover possibilities and ways to apply, combine and assemble materials within interior environments. The course will also encourage critical thinking with regard to an understanding and application of the life cycle analysis, as well as introducing organizations dedicated to sustainability and the rating systems they use. Visits to materials workshops and suppliers showrooms will complement this course.

Lighting Design

Code
FINT 0303
Description

The course aims at helping students to become aware that light is, first of all, a material, a tool to shape spaces, and thus handled and processed as such. Space lighting will be approached from the creative point of view – without it being limited to technological aspects. Students will understand the physiological and psychological aspects of lighting in interior design and will learn to define lighting project intentions in different types of spaces such as an apparel store, an art exhibition space or a restaurant.

Paris Inside/Out

Code
FLIB 0010
Description

Paris Inside/Out is a one-credit course consisting of visits to art & design exhibits, as well as meetings with artists, artisans and designers in Paris. The course will use a wide approach by including a variety of artistic fields, thus allowing students to draw inspiration from any discipline. The course will be held every week in a different location in Paris. Students are free to participate in as many visits as they wish, however a minimum of 5 visits are required to pass the course. For each visit, students will create a personal work within a given set of constraints. At the end of the semester, students will be asked to present to the class a personal work inspired by one of the visits during the semester.

French Conversation 1

Code
FLIB 1001
Description

This course is a beginner-level French conversation course open to students with no previous exposure to instruction in French. Emphasis will be placed on phonetics (Rhythm, intonation, liaisons, silent letters & some specific French sounds), as well as everyday life vocabulary and exchanges. Different themes will be covered over the semester: Life in Paris, French cinema, French and Francophone cuisine, as well as music. Students will be able to engage in short conversations and will practice describing themselves and their environment, their friends and family members, as well as their studies, hobbies, and artistic practice. Visits and meetings with French students will be organized. Students will be evaluated during 5 oral presentations. Conscientious completion of homework and class participation is emphasized; a website has been specially designed to accompany students throughout the semester (Targeted grammatical exercises, podcasts, phonetics etc.) A guided tour in French will beo organized (Musée Pompidou, Musée d’Orsay.) Class will be conducted in French.

Alternatives in Project Communication

Code
FINT 0304
Description

In this class, students perfect resources for the visualization and the communication of interior design projects, both orally and visually. Students develop and explore new concepts, alternative methods and ideas to visually illustrate and present the various phases of the design process: from concept boards, fast scale models and graphics to rendering techniques and digital fabrication tools.

Photography

Black & White Photography

Code
FHOT 0218
Description

The medium of photography is largely defined by its history of black and white pictures. The course will cover camera operation, principles of exposure and photographic composition concepts. The goal of this class is to provide a solid foundation of photographic black and white photography skills and techniques. It provides an overview of classic black and white photography while discussing camera techniques that apply to both traditional film and digital cameras. Students will learn how to effectively use their cameras in manual mode and make good quality negatives. The class includes camera and exposure meter instruction, technical lectures, effective scanning methods and instruction on film/digital crossover techniques.

Lighting Techniques I

Code
FHOT 0232
Description

This is the first part of a yearlong course of learning and mastering the fundamental techniques of studio lighting. The students become familiar with how to create traditional, practical lighting scenarios in a studio environment. Electronic flashes and tungsten lights will be used to achieve control of color, contrast, and reflection. Lighting techniques are demonstrated and applied in class to various assignments of tabletop still lifes and portraiture. Emphasis is placed on understanding light and of mastering the technical aspects of the lighting equipment. Assignments will be theme based: headshots, full portraits, and several still lifes.

Prerequisite: Black & White Photography or Introduction to Digital Photography or equivalent.

Sophomore Seminar I

Code
FHOT 0230
Description

This is a year-long course building on the Freshman year, the course addresses the creative process as well as technique and critique. Through select readings, field trips to galleries and museum exhibitions, screenings of film clips and viewing of historical and contemporary artists’ work, students will have the opportunity to develop their artistic reference points as they delve into the production of their own personal projects. Students will be expected to engage in class discussions and group critiques, keep a journal and will be encouraged to experiment outside their comfort zones as they begin to think along conceptual as well aesthetic and formal frameworks, examining problems and trying different approaches to find a solution. Throughout the semester students will work in the studio and/or field in order to create a personal project (12-16 final images in total) that is both formally and conceptually coherent. Possible subjects may fall under themes of environmental portraiture, photographic appropriation or collage, and Fine Art photography inspired by history or geography. The student can also create her/his own personal theme that is not listed here as long as it is agreed upon in class. Finally, students will begin developing their artist statements as they clarify their vision.

Digital Photography Lab

Code
FHOT 0257
Description

This course introduces students to the creative and technical possibilities of digital photography. Through demonstrations and hands-on sessions, students learn the fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop to produce effective digital photographs. Students are taken through all the basic processes encountered in digital workflow, from basic scanning and retouching, image enhancement, and printing fundamentals, to RAW file processing and photographic post-production methods.

Prerequisite(s): Black & White Photography, Introduction to Digital Photography, Digital Skills & Composition or equivalent.

Paris Inside/Out

Code
FLIB 0010
Description

Paris Inside/Out is a one-credit course consisting of visits to art & design exhibits, as well as meetings with artists, artisans and designers in Paris. The course will use a wide approach by including a variety of artistic fields, thus allowing students to draw inspiration from any discipline. The course will be held every week in a different location in Paris. Students are free to participate in as many visits as they wish, however a minimum of 5 visits are required to pass the course. For each visit, students will create a personal work within a given set of constraints. At the end of the semester, students will be asked to present to the class a personal work inspired by one of the visits during the semester.

French III

Code
FLIB 3411
Description

Le cours de « français 3 » a pour objectif d’approfondir les connaissances linguistiques des étudiants. Ceux-ci apprendront ce semestre à exprimer leurs sentiments et à justifier leurs choix, à raconter une expérience, à mener un entretien en s’adaptant à l’interlocuteur et à parler de manièere preécise de leurs études et de leur pratique artistique. Il s’agit également de familiariser les étudiants avec des romans ed des auteurs francophones du XXème et du XXIème siècle. Nous travaillersons pour cela, tout au long du semestre, sur un projet de création de vidéos <<Booktube>>. Les étudiants vont apprendre à analyser, à commenter et à situer les romans qu’ils auront choisis dans leur contexte socio-historique. Une partie du cours sera consacrée à des révisions de grammaire et des exercices de composition. Ces objectifs seront mis en œuvre de manière vivante, grâce à l’utilisation de documents authentiques (Reportages vidéo, articles, musique, films) et à l’organisation de rencontres et de sorties (Musée du Louvre, sortie au théâtre.) Le cours est dispensé en français.

Social Documentary

Code
FHOT 0240
Description

Social documentary photography is a narrative genre of photography emphasizing information over impression. This course, which uses both traditional 35mm and digital photo materials, introduces students to the history and practice of social documentary photography, its tools and techniques. The first part of the course will provide a brief historical overview and then focus on issues of content, editorial processes, sequencing, production and presentation. The second part of the course will engage students in critical discussions surrounding photography and objectivity but also address political, social and ethical implications such as voyeurism, victimization, exploitation, etc. Students are expected to create photographic narratives, that reflect a critical awareness and an understanding of contemporary approaches and strategies.

Liberal Studies

Artists On Art

Code
FHCA 0305
Description

This course will examine how artists from the mid-19th to the early 21st Centuries conceive of and talk about their own artistic practice. While artists’ works are frequently viewed through the lens of art history or criticism, students will consider how artists present, engage with and develop further levels of inquiry into their work. Topics covered will include artists’ published writings, their notebooks, the artist’s statement versus the manifesto, and their teachings. The course will also offer the opportunity to explore the relationships between artistic identity and art work, ranging from analysis of self-portraits to their performance on screen. Students will discover the extent to which artists’ practice depends upon a critical awareness of the cultural, theoretical, and historical matrix in which they operate. Assignments will include research projects on artists and the preparation of a statement that defines the students’ own self-conception of their studio practice or area of study.

Introduction To Visual Culture

Code
FHCA 0340
Description

This interdisciplinary course explores the rise of visual media, communication and information, within the context of a broad cultural shift away from the verbal and textual toward the visual, which has taken place since the advent of photography and cinema in the late 19th century, through the birth of television, to the present proliferation of digital media worldwide. We will consider the critical practices of looking, historicizing and interpreting that have accompanied this ‘visual turn’. Our readings will primarily address the theoretical foundations of the study of visual culture, which is understood to incorporate a variety of visual media and visual technologies: painting and sculpture, scientific imagery, material culture, the internet. If everything can be visual culture, what remains of traditional notions of medium specificity? What critical tools must be invented to analyze visual events from a visual cultural perspective? The relationship between the visual arts and visual media, especially with respect to the ‘global’ contemporary visual landscape, will be a focus of this course.

Street Culture And Art

Code
FLIB 2018
Description

The diversity of the urban environment has historically fostered a fertile ground for the birth of subcultures. Claude Fischer, an American sociologist, suggested nearly twenty years ago, that the size, population, and heterogeneity of cities strengthen social groups thereby encouraging the establishment of subcultures. This course intends to explore the emergence and evolution of modern and contemporary urban subcultures, including beatniks, punk, hip-hop, rap, grunge, and even the more recent hipster. We will study each phenomenon, from not only a socio-historical perspective, but through their impact on the broader visual landscape. The history and progress of these initially marginal movements provide a singular opportunity to examine the endless cross-fertilization occurring between artistic disciplines and the ever-changing contours of mainstream culture.

Anthropology

Code
FLIB 2343
Description

Our innumerable conceptions of technology change as quickly as the technologies themselves. How then do we define technology? How does technology define us? Our aims in this class are to develop our vocabulary and theoretical framework for discussing the interactions of music with technological developments in instruments, musical creation/performance, recording, media, and industry. Notably, we will focus on the cultural, social, and aesthetic lives and meanings of technologies, thinking about how musical technologies—and the various ideas about these technologies—impact our experiences of the (musical) world around us. Topics will range from: the Futurists, the phonograph, Musique Concrète, sounds of urban life, turntablism, artificial intelligence, music apps, and so forth, and will open up discussions into the “aura”/“liveness”/mediation, the politics of capturing sound and how that taps into issues of representation, authenticity, gender, and race, the recognition and/or creation of sound ecologies, the constantly evolving relationship between what is music, sound, and noise, the implications of digitization and digital culture, among many other critical inquiries. We will be drawing from a variety of different source materials in this class, for example: video clips, theoretical writings, music lyrics, written accounts, musical examples, images, and many hands-on demonstrations of instruments and other tools. Course evaluation is based on class discussion, write-ups, a mid-term, and a final project.

French Conversation 1

Code
FLIB 1001
Description

This course is a beginner-level French conversation course open to students with no previous exposure to instruction in French. Emphasis will be placed on phonetics (Rhythm, intonation, liaisons, silent letters & some specific French sounds), as well as everyday life vocabulary and exchanges. Different themes will be covered over the semester: Life in Paris, French cinema, French and Francophone cuisine, as well as music. Students will be able to engage in short conversations and will practice describing themselves and their environment, their friends and family members, as well as their studies, hobbies, and artistic practice. Visits and meetings with French students will be organized. Students will be evaluated during 5 oral presentations. Conscientious completion of homework and class participation is emphasized; a website has been specially designed to accompany students throughout the semester (Targeted grammatical exercises, podcasts, phonetics etc.) A guided tour in French will beo organized (Musée Pompidou, Musée d’Orsay.) Class will be conducted in French.

Explore the full range of courses
offered in each of our departments.

Photo by Sofia Gonzalez Noriega

Photo by Sofia Gonzalez Noriega

Study Abroad at PCA student from Ibero Americano Design by Michelle Row
Photo by Margaret Fisher

Photo by Margaret Fisher

Study Abroad at PCA student from Hampshire College
Photo by Margaret Fisher

Photo by Margaret Fisher

Study Abroad at PCA student from Hampshire College
Design by Anna Rising

Design by Anna Rising

Study Abroad at PCA student in Communication Design
Lace for a Man's World by Solange Ting

Lace for a Man's World by Solange Ting

Study Abroad at PCA student from RMIT Image ©Pascal Montary
Photos by Sara Woo

Photos by Sara Woo

Study Abroad at PCA Student from SVA
Gabriella McGoldrick

Gabriella McGoldrick

Study Abroad at PCA Student from RMIT
Gabriella McGoldrick

Gabriella McGoldrick

Gabriella McGoldrick from RMIT receiving the Sophie Halette Prize for Best Lace Jacket
Johanna Ljungberg

Johanna Ljungberg

Study Abroad at PCA Student from Konstfack University
 

Apply now!