Love Comics? Get a Degree in Graphic Novels
Sequential Art Bachelor's or Master’s Degrees Offered at Colleges
Oct 31, 2008
Colleges are catching on to the public’s interest in the graphic novel industry and have begun offering more courses related to comic books. Some classes study major themes found in comic books while others focus on the design and story elements that go in to creating a successful series. The classes are so popular that several colleges now offer degrees in comic books.
Sequential Art: College-speak for a Degree in Comic Books
Comic books, long considered to be “low art” by literary scholars, have gained some recognition over the decades. While comic books have a long history of including morals and broader themes, it wasn’t until the morbid, paranoia-fueled darker graphic novels of 1980s that the comic book medium picked up real recognition among literary elites.
Alan Moore’s Watchmen, a 12-issue series first released in 1986, remains as the only graphic novel to win a Hugo Award—a distinction normally reserved for science fiction novels. Other critically acclaimed series led academia to take a closer look at the once-shunned medium.
Georgia College Offers B.A. and M.A. in Sequential Art
The Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) in Georgia is one of the most well-known for offering degrees in sequential art. The college offers a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications with a concentration in Sequential Art for its students. The program is also available via distance-learning. SCAD also offers a Master of Arts in Sequential Art—a gem to add to any prospective comic book illustrator or writer’s résumé.
Another college that offers a comic book-related program is Ontario College, which offers a Graduate Certificate in Comic Design and Scripting.
Talent: Best Bet for a Writer/Illustrator Comic Book Career
Unfortunately no college program guarantees job placement in the comic book industry. While these programs and other Art College classes may help to hone skills, the best way to break in to the graphic novel publishing world is still through talent and networking.
Send samples to publishers, build up a portfolio of work, and immersion into the industry is the best way to get work noticed.
Non-Drawing/Writing Comic Book Careers
A Degree may help with others job in the comic book industry, however. Comic books need marketing, distributing, merchandizing and discussing, too. In many of these non-drawing or illustrating careers it pays to be a fan. Also, comic book shops, while not traditionally a wise business choice, have certainly been more apt to hold their own in today’s comic book-soaked entertainment world.
Even if a comic book career isn’t the goal, a sequential art degree or graphic novel classes can at least be a fun indulgence for a fan, and offer proof that there’s more to this medium than meets the eye.
