Academic Minors
Learn more about our visual and performing arts minors.
Minors are an important part of any college experience and can complement and enhance your major in unique ways.
Merrimack’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) has seven minors to choose from:
Our minors are designed for you to gain valuable skills, understand history and critically engage with form and content. By choosing a minor, you can increase your competitive edge upon graduation.
Both the film studies and visual storytelling minors are interdisciplinary within the School of Liberal Arts. Film studies is intended for students who would like to better understand film history, analysis video production and editing. It can lead to opportunities in filmmaking, directing, editing, film criticism and provide students with the background necessary to pursue graduate studies.The Departments of Communication and Media, English Studies, Women and Gender Studies, World Languages and VPA all work together on the curriculum and coursework.
The interdisciplinary visual storytelling minor is offered by the Departments of English Studies and VPA. The minor integrates art, storytelling and technology, introducing students to the field of creative visual storytelling. The minor offers students the opportunity to concentrate in this focused area to satisfy an interest in the printed book or film, or digital adaptations, and to prepare for further academic or professional study in visual storytelling and visual culture.
Minor in Art History
The Art and Art History minor requires the completion of a minimum of 24 credits, and a minimum of 6 courses, as specified below.
Minor in Film Studies
The requirements for the Interdisciplinary Film Studies minor can be found here.
Minor in Graphic Design
The graphic design minor requires the completion of a minimum of 7 courses, as specified below:
Choose one:
| FAA 1610 | Art and Material Culture I: Prehistory to the Renaissance |
| FAA 1620 | Art and Material Culture II: The Renaissance to the Present |
| FAA 2690 | Postmodern Art and Beyond |
Complete all of the following:
| FAA 1230 | 2-D Design |
| FAA 2830 | Introduction to Typography and Graphic Design |
| FAA 2840 | Image Making and Meaning |
| FAA 2860 | Graphic Design I |
|
FAA 3850 |
History of Graphic Design |
| FAA XXXX | Elective course or further study |
Graphic design electives for further study:
| FAA 2220 | Illustration |
| FAA 2850 | Videography |
| FAA 3450 | Basic Digital Photography |
| FAA 3830 | Visual Web Design |
| FAA 3840 | 2-D Animation |
| FAA 3870 | Graphic Design II |
| FAA 3890 | UX Design |
| FAA 4820 | Motion Graphics |
Minor in Music
The music minor requires the completion of minimum of 5 courses, as specified below:
Complete all three:
| FAA 1310 | The Nature of Music: The Art of Listening |
| FAA 2301 | Music History I: Antiquity to the Baroque |
| FAA 2302 | Music History II: Classical to the 21st Century |
Choose one:
| FAA 2360 | Elementary Music Theory: Understanding Musical Notation |
| FAA 2380 | The Architecture of Music: From Phrase to Opera |
Other requirements:
- Students minoring in music must demonstrate competence to the senior music faculty member in performance and/or composition. Assistance in obtaining private instruction on the student’s chosen instrument will be given. The student will be expected to give a public performance and/or presentation, preferably in the last year of the degree.
- Students must participate for at least two semesters in at least one on-campus musical ensemble.
- Alternatives such as participating in the spring musical pit orchestra may be approved by the senior music faculty member.
Minor in Studio Art
The minor in studio art requires the completion of a minimum of 7 courses, as specified below:
Minor in Theatre Arts
The minor in theatre arts requires the completion of a minimum of 5 courses, as specified below:
Required Courses (complete both)
| FAA 2520 | Theatre History, Part I: Origins in the Renaissance |
| FAA 2530 | Theatre History, Part II: Restoration to the Present |
Technical Theatre Requirement (choose one)
| FAA 2570 | Technical Production for the Theatre |
| FAA 2580 | Design for the Theatre |
Studio Requirement (choose one)
| FAA 1510 | Acting 1 |
| FAA 2510 | Acting II |
| FAA 3510 | Directing I |
Electives (choose one)
Minor in Visual Storytelling
The minor in visual storytelling requires the completion of a minimum of five courses chosen from the list below and distributed so that at least two are English courses and at least two are FAA courses.
| ENG 2100 | History of Film |
| ENG 2770 | Literature and Film |
| ENG 3880 | Michael Jackson: Reading the King of Pop as Cultural Text |
| ENG 3900 | Creative Writing: Fiction |
| FAA 2220 | Illustration |
| FAA 2830 | Introduction to Typography and Graphic Design |
| FAA 2840 | Image Making and Meaning |
| FAA 2850 | Videography |
| FAA 3840 | 2-D Animation |
More Information
See the online course catalog for more information on all majors and minors.