The Art Institute of California – Orange County
Prepare yourself for a creative career at The Art Institute of California – Orange County, one of over 40 Art Institutes located in major cities across North America. We’ll help take you there with a real-world, hands-on education in design, media arts, fashion & the culinary arts. Just imagine: preparing for a career you’ll love. Becoming the professional you’ve always known you could be.
Programs Offered:
- Advertising
- Art of Cooking
- Baking & Pastry
- Culinary Arts**
- Culinary Management**
- Fashion Design
- Fashion Marketing & Management
- Game Art & Design
- Graphic Design*
- Industrial Design
- Interior Design*
- Media Arts & Animation
- Visual & Game Programming
- Web Design & Interactive Media
Financial Aid: Financial aid is available for those who qualify.
Career Services: Our career services are designed to encourage your success. From helping you obtain part-time work while you are attending school to actively supporting soon-to-be graduates' job search, faculty and staff are committed to ensuring that each and every student receive the support he or she needs.
* Evening and Weekend Option: Introducing the Evening and Weekend option at The Art Institute of California – Orange County. Now students can earn some degrees during evenings and weekends, with an online and on-ground format.
** Evening Option: Introducing the Evening option at The Art Institute of California – Orange County. Now students can earn some degrees during evenings, with an online and on-ground format.
Summary of Programs:
Advertising
Advertising is a creative profession within the commercial realm. In the Advertising program, you’ll study art direction, copywriting, and account supervision – and you’ll learn both the creative and business side of advertising. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as account manager, copywriter, or assistant art director.
Art of Cooking
In the Art of Cooking program, you’ll focus on cooking skills, baking, pastry, and American regional cuisine. You’ll learn plating and presentation as you build upon your cooking experience.
Baking & Pastry
In the Baking & Pastry program, you’ll gain hands-on baking skills. Emphasis is placed on fundamental pastry and bread-baking techniques, in addition to all-purpose baking, desserts, cake decoration, and pastry arts. To complement your culinary techniques, you’ll learn critical thinking and business essentials. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as line cook and pantry cook (garde manger).
Culinary Arts
In the Culinary Arts program, you’ll gain practical experience in the kitchen while studying the business of cost control, sanitation and safety, menu and beverage management, nutrition, and kitchen management. You’ll learn to produce food quickly and in quantity while working with others. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as line cook and pantry cook (garde manger).
Culinary Management
In the Culinary Management program, you’ll focus on communications, training, leadership, management, accounting, marketing, financial management, and employee relations. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as restaurant manager or catering manager in restaurants, hospitals, cruise ships, and banquet facilities.
Fashion Design
In the Fashion Design program, you’ll develop skills in design and patternmaking. You’ll learn both traditional and computer generated design as you develop your own sense of design and style. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as costume designer, assistant fashion buyer, fashion designer, or seamstress.
Fashion Marketing & Management
In the Fashion Marketing & Management program, you’ll fine-tune your fashion buying and marketing skills. The program familiarizes you with merchandise presentation, visual merchandising, retailing, store management, and buying. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as retail and wholesale sales, stylist, management trainee, or visual merchandiser in department stores, boutiques, and designer showrooms.
Game Art & Design
In the Game Art & Design program, you’ll learn the art and design skills needed to get into the gaming field. You’ll use your talents to create applications used within the business, education, training, and entertainment industries. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as modelers, storyboard artists, animation artists, 3-D illustrators, digital artists, FX artists, video post production artists, broadcast graphics designers, and game designers.
Graphic Design
In the Graphic Design program, you’ll study design, typography, and color theory. Industry-specific software is utilized to help you learn to create everything from logos and posters to packaging, Web sites, and corporate identity packages. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as advertising designer, computer artist, freelance artist, graphic designer, or layout artist.
Industrial Design
From the watches we wear to the cars we drive, industrial designers have a hand in nearly everything we use. In the Industrial Design program, you’ll learn to balance aesthetics and engineering as you develop product to practicality using specialized software programs. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as car designer, furniture designer, product designer, special effects artist, or theme park designer.
Interior Design
In the Interior Design program, you’ll study the design, safety, and usability issues of creating the spaces that we live, work, and play within. Coursework focuses on space planning, traffic patterns, and the colors, surfaces, and furnishings that make surroundings comfortable and livable. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as draftsperson, facilities planner, interior designer/decorator, or space planner.
Media Arts & Animation
In the Media Arts & Animation program, you’ll develop a strong foundation in drawing, design, and illustration in order to produce traditional 2-D formats. Then you’ll move into computer generated 3-D formats that make characters and objects come alive. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as animator, computer animator, digital media producer, special effects artist, background designer, computer artist, layout artist, or video game artist.
Visual & Game Programming
In Visual & Game Programming, you’ll take courses in art, general studies, mathematics, science, computer engineering, and computer graphics. As you gain experience, you’ll create modified prototype games in a group environment, learning how a whole team works together to create a product. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment such as digital artist, character animator, texture artist, and character modeler.
Web Design & Interactive Media
In the Web Design & Interactive Media (formerly Interactive Media Design) program, you’ll focus on interface design, interactivity, visual design, database design, dynamic Web content design, technology, and information design and employ creative solutions across all Web-related mediums. You’ll learn skills that will enable you to create accessible, engaging interactions via Web sites and other interactive mediums. Graduates are prepared to seek entry-level employment in positions such as interactive designer, animator, special effects artist, and computer artist.
Degree Key: C = Certificate AAS = Associate of Applied Science BA = Bachelor of Arts BS = Bachelor of Science