Careers in Art and Design

There are many careers and opportunities for creative and industrious individuals in the fields of art and design, and a variety of paths to travel in order to get to one type of employment or another. The northern New Jersey/New York City metropolitan area in which the school is located is home to many design firms, manufacturing facilities, art studios, galleries, museums, and discipline-related retail establishments – as well as being an established and fertile ground for entrepreneurial start-up businesses. Furthermore, the undergraduate programs in the School of Art + Design provide excellent preparation for a number of different career-defining professional programs at the graduate level including art (M.F.A.), law (J.D.), business (M.B.A.), and architecture (M. Arch.). The following lists are not meant to be exclusionary or limiting, they merely provide an idea of some of the areas of specialization and employment that are possible with degrees from the various programs within the School of Art + Design.

Digital Design:

Game Design
Web Design
Graphic Design
Video or Film Production
Animation and/or Special Effects
Virtual Set Design
Digital Special Effects
Education
Communication Design
Technical Illustration and Scientific Visualization
Advertising/Marketing/Business
Sales/Electronic Commerce
Educational Software Design
Interactive Art Installation

Sub-fields within Motion Picture Industry

Technical Directors
Environment (Virtual Set) Design
Character Design
Character Modelers
Character/Model Rigging
Colorists
Compositors
Special Effects/Particle Effects/Explosions
Special Effects/Fluid Dynamics/Water
Digital Props/Assets Design & Modeling
Hair and Fur Specialists
Trailer Production
Pre-Visualization
Film Editing

Fine Arts

Graphic Design
Gallery Management
Video Production
Multimedia Art
Interactive Art Installations
Set Design
Art Criticism
Public Advocacy
Advertising/Marketing
Retail Sales
Curatorial Work

Industrial Design

Toy Design/Playground Design
Furniture Design
Equipment Design
Electronic/Product Design
Exhibit Design
Retail
Point-of-Sales and Package Design
Transportation Design
Sporting Equipment Design
Apparel Design
Manufacturing Process Design and Management
Information Communications Design

Interior Design

Commercial Interior Design
Residential Interior Design
Hospitality Design (Hotels, Casinos, Restaurants,…)
Theater and Set Design
Space Planning
Retail (Furniture, Home Improvement)
Sales/Manufacturer’s Representative to Building Industry
Interior Architecture
Furniture Design
Lighting Design
Advertising/Marketing
Architecture – with 2+ years for Professional Degree, Master in Architecture (M. Arch.)

Completion of the B.A. in Interior Design, coupled with fulfillment of internship requirements, qualifies candidates to take the national NCIDQ examination for certification as an interior designer.

In addition to fulfilling the educational needs of a prospective interior designer, the B.A. in Interior Design is organized to facilitate the pursuit of a professional degree in architecture at the graduate level (M. Arch.). An overlap between required courses for Interior Design at NJIT and the architectural programs (e.g. structures, environmental control systems) allows for completion of the professional program in 2 years. Admission to the graduate program at NJIT requires the maintenance of a 3.0 (“B”) grade point average, one year each of Calculus and Physics (with lab), taking the Graduate Record Exams (GRE), and submission of a portfolio. Design electives may be used to take courses that can be used towards placement in graduate programs (e.g. architectural history, building performance).