The following list contains student info and brief descriptions of all completed Customized Minors. The Customized Minor provides opportunities for students to pursue a field of interest in the form of a minor that is not provided by the established curriculum.
Marlon Arboleda
BID Industrial Design, 2021
Customized Minor: Auto Design
In addition to traditional elements of styling, comfort, safety, and usability, the Auto Design minor will emphasize sustainable mobility and technology advancements. Various techniques will be used to achieve these goals, including 2D sketching, digital modeling, research and public presentation. By exploring the balance between form and function, the minor will develop my ability to create concept vehicles with distinct personality, improved function, and social impact.
Amy Bang
BFA Fine Arts (Painting), 2025
Customized Minor:Material-Making in Practice
This minor delves into the creation of various artistic materials with intention and an understanding of how they shape both the visual and emotional aspects of my work. The suite of courses overall allows me to explore how making my own materials–like pigments, binders, paint, ground and more–deepens my artistic practice. By combining scientific understanding, historical context, and studio experimentation, the Material-Making in Practice minor allows me to connect the topic to a way of working that’s rooted in process and meaning.
Dara Bruselovsky
BFA Film, 2023
Customized Minor: Scientific Concepts and Art Practices
The goal of this minor is to create artworks based on scientific concepts, supplemented by mathematics and philosophy. This convergence of topics will inspire multimedia artwork that is informed by formal and natural sciences and in turn, provides new ways for thinking about these scientific concepts. This minor gives me the tools to create meaningful art and conceptualize the world around them.
Madison Burger
BFA Photography, 2020
Customized Minor: Speculative Surfaces
Speculative Surfaces creates a platform for me to explore my haptic side through play and material exploration while becoming more aware of the ecological footprint I leave behind. As material waste poses an ongoing threat to the environment, it is vital that we as creatives strive for innovation and speculate on new ways of incorporating sustainable routines and materials into our art practices. Through the combination of a curriculum in art, design, technology and science, this minor aims to culminate in a final project that explores the future possibilities of biodegradable materials.
Zai Chakrane
BA Critical and Visual Studies, 2022
Customized Minor: Fashion and Cultural Criticism
Fashion and Cultural Criticism is a customized minor focused on developing skills needed to write fashion and cultural criticism. This minor blends fashion history, cultural journalism, cultural studies, and visual analysis to create an opportunity for me to study that which transcends journalism and creates criticism and deeply investigates and analyzes the topics at hand.
Anna Regina Gotuaco
BFA Writing, 2025
Customized Minor: Interactive Fiction
The Interactive Fiction minor challenges me to craft engaging and interactive stories. Incorporating classes from both the writing department and the digital arts department, the minor allows me to fine-tune my storytelling skills while learning how to develop narratives with player agency and experience in mind.
Julia Grippo
BFA Communications Design (Graphic Design), 2022
Customized Minor: UI/UX Design
The UI/UX Design minor provides a focused overview of User Interface and User Experience Design. Firstly, I developed a psychological and historical lens through which I learned to understand user personas and develop a UX-based research process. I then developed skills in creating interactive prototypes and designing for user interfaces. Ultimately, I learned to apply a user-centered design process to create interactive digital experiences that are tailored to the user’s experience.
Emily Guan
BAR Architecture, 2024
Customized Minor: Human-Computer Interaction
Human-Computer Interaction is a field of study that focuses on optimizing the interaction between the user and the computer. Everyday, we engage the digital environment in different ways, from mobile apps to Xbox games. These activities are optimized through the design and understanding of user experience and user interface. My minor draws on interdisciplinary work in digital arts, psychology, architecture, humanities and media studies. Possible career directions could include Interaction Designer, User Experience designer, User Interface designer, Mobile Designer, Web Designer, and so on.
Avishi Jain
BFA Communications Design (Graphic Design), 2022
Customized Minor: Motion Media and Storytelling
The Motion Media and Storytelling minor explores the fundamentals of narrative storytelling through motion-based media at the intersection of communication design and film. Through an in-depth study of historical and contemporary filmmaking tools, techniques and elements, I intend to learn how the application of graphic design principles such as typography and imagery in conjunction with the narrative and expressive nature of film and motion media can be used to communicate compelling ideas.
Sebin Kim
BFA Game Arts, 2025
Customized Minor: Digital Content Coordination
Digital Content Coordination is a customized minor that explores both the artistic and technical side of digital art creation in order to learn to coordinate this content and generate creative products. I will be able to develop proficiency in handling the importing and exporting of a variety of digital content to aid in fast and efficient idea iterations, especially within collaborative projects.
Jade Law
BFA Communications Design (Illustration), 2025
Customized Minor: VisDev for Storytelling
The VisDev For Storytelling minor is tailored to complement my major in illustration, offering specialized skills and knowledge in the dynamic fields of animation and game design. I would be able to delve into the foundational principles and advanced techniques crucial for bringing characters, environments, and worlds to life in a compelling and immersive manner. From character design to environment and world-building, the minor provides a comprehensive exploration of the visual aspects that underpin storytelling.
Patrick Li
BAR Architecture, 2026
Customized Minor: Environmental Storytelling
The Environmental Storytelling minor addresses the profound impact of both physical and virtual environments, with an emphasis and specialization in how to effectively manipulate and create imaginary environments to shape the audience’s perception of the world. By delving into the intricacies of environmental storytelling, this minor will train me with a foundation to thoughtfully integrate narrative elements into my work and aims to provide me with both theoretical insights and practical skills. Moreover, this minor also emphasizes the ethical responsibilities of shaping environments, ensuring that narratives are inclusive, respectful, and considerate of diverse perspectives and cultural contexts.
Jonathan Lin
BFA Communications Design (Graphic Design), 2025
Customized Minor: Strategic Design Innovation
Strategic Design Innovation integrates the principles of graphic design, business strategy, and user experience. This minor is tailored for my background as an emerging designer and entrepreneur, seeking to blend creative design with strategic business practices, focusing on developing innovative, market-responsive design solutions.
Kylie McLaughlin
BFA Fine Arts (Painting), 2025
Customized Minor: Urban Ecology
The Urban Ecology minor focuses on the biology branch related to animals, plants, and the environment, and their relationships in the context of human urban development. The classes focus on the study of living organisms in the dynamic city ecosystems. They allow me to explore concepts of biological evolution, diversity of living organisms’ structures over time, the impact humans have had on these long lasting structures, the ecology of cities, and the ability to focus on how these natural science concepts push them to create. The course materials include scientific research and readings while pushing me to develop my consciousness of biodiversity through creative works in the backdrop of New York City. I will gain a deeper understanding of the interaction of human and ecological systems through an interdisciplinary practice of science and art.
Varini Nathany
BFA Communications Design (Graphic Design), 2022
Customized Minor: Storytelling and Motion
The Storytelling and Motion minor deals with the fundamentals of storytelling and motion media through the study of contemporary and classic films and animations, while applying communication design principles as well as the technical aspects of animation and dynamic movement. I will learn the technical and soft skills to storyboard, narrate, plan, as well as execute well-made motion graphics from start to finish in a professional setting.
Malena Ramsey
BFA History of Art and Design, 2023
Customized Minor: Comparative Mythology
The Comparative Mythology minor allows me to explore ancient mythologies through several cultural prisms, specifically ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. The minor creates a space for the study of comparative mythology and allows me to gain a deeper understanding of the connection of mythology to modern day storytelling and art.
Anneke Risch
BFA Communications Design (Illustration), 2026
Customized Minor: Integrative BioIllustration
This customized minor combines ecological and evolutionary principles with the history and artistic techniques of biological illustration. It explores the relationships between plants, animals, and humans, highlighting cultural, political, and scientific influences on our understanding of nature. The included courses will help me develop skills to accurately illustrate species, understand and make connections between botany, zoology, and illustration, and prepare for a career in scientific naturalist illustration.
Isabella Saunooke
BFA Fine Arts (Painting), 2024
Customized Minor: Spirit Unseen, Spirit Unknown
This minor is designed to learn about both the technical and professional aspects of the fine art world, and to delve into the spiritual core of practice–as close as I can get to the very essence or driving force. Spirit Unseen Spirit Unknown creates space to search for the core of my practice–a spiritual approach to an artistic practice–a space to hold for intuition, transformation, and ancient knowledge.
Tien Servidio
BID Industrial Design, 2023
Customized Minor:Visual Development
Visual Development uses skills in illustration, digital art, and storytelling to create work that tells a story, building fictional worlds, characters, and objects through visual design cues. It will help me to visualize aspects of fictional universes, and help bring them to life in video games, movies, animations, and other mediums for entertainment. By the completion of the minor, I will have a body of work showcasing worldbuilding and storytelling capabilities through character, prop, and environment design.
Courtney Shin
BFA History of Art and Design, 2025
Customized Minor: Music in Animation Narratives
Animation and Music within Narratives allows me to study beyond the visuals of animations and delve into how sound and music contribute to the creation and development of the narrative. By looking into the music, I will understand the background of the genre, who it was made by, and how it contributes to the meaning of the animation. The minor will lead me to look into how the music and animation come together–from instruments to lyrics–and how they interact to solidify the overall piece and amplify the message of the visual art.
Emily Stearn
BFA Fashion Design, 2020
Customized Minor: Textile Techniques
The Textile Techniques minor explores the different techniques of producing textiles with a focus on sustainable/ethical design. While learning how to produce textiles through several different methods (weaving, knitting, chemical reactions, wool felting), I will also dive into the history of textiles and culture as well as engage with the future of textiles.
Orion Stroud
BAR Architecture, 2025
Customized Minor: Comic Structures
The Comic Structures minor analyzes the architecture of graphic art/novels. Specifically, my minor focuses on studies of how space is represented and used in graphic media, both in terms of represented environment and organizational layout.
Dayne Traynor
BFA History of Art and Design, 2025
Customized Minor: Cultural Heritage Science
My customized minor in Cultural Heritage Science combines art history, chemistry, cultural studies, and fine art to explore and preserve cultural artifacts. I will engage in scientific analysis, preservation and handling techniques, as well as study the historical and cultural contexts of materials used by artists. This interdisciplinary approach will prepare me for career avenues in conservation, archaeology, museum studies, and related fields, emphasizing the importance of both scientific inquiry and cultural understanding in the preservation of heritage.
Audrey Vandermeulen
BFA Communications Design (Illustration), 2019
Customized Minor: Visual Development
Visual Development (also called Concept Art) is the art of design for the entertainment industry, with the goal of bringing stories to life using drawings, paintings, and 3-dimensional models. The Visual Development minor will allow me to delve into the arena of developing the visual identity of a story through appealing and functional characters, props and environments, as well as creating the look of a project based on a pitch or storyline.
Christian Vera
BFA Communications Design (Illustration), 2025
Customized Minor: Surface Design
My Customized Minor, Surface Design, is a decorative field that manipulates materials or surfaces to apply unique and appealing visuals to everyday objects.
Katie Vogel
BFA Writing, 2022
Customized Minor: Institutional Critique and Ethical Transformation
Combining theory and practice classes, my minor facilitates autobiographically informed, theory engaged writing, discussion, and fieldwork with the goal of learning from existing models of formal and
alternative education. It engages questions centered on the stated and observable social, cultural, and political purpose of institutions that align themselves with educational missions and looks at how those purposes both manifest in the institution’s structure and shape what experiences are possible for the people inside them.
Haier Yang
BFA Interior Design, 2022
Customized Minor: Transitional Material Metal
In the Transitional Material Metal minor, I will specifically center on learning the many nuances and dimensions of working with metal. This will include incorporating the qualities of the metal material into design making; changing its pliability through temperatures and chemicals; and learning the chemical structures of metal and the corrosiveness to different environments. Ultimately, the minor allows experimentation with ways to involve multiple qualities of metal in design–from form and color, to texture and function.
Jesse Yeonhoo Park
BFA Communications Design (Graphic Design), 2025
Customized Minor: Art Directing and Branding
With the Art Directing and Branding minor, I hope to refine my skills in understanding a client, my audiences, and a brand in order to communicate the brand image effectively. Through the spectrum of courses, I will be able to familiarize myself with the different processes involved in overseeing and managing a project with the goal of strengthening the brand message.
Equinox Ying
BID Industrial Design, 2025
Customized Minor: Concept Art for Production Design
Concept Art for Production Design is a minor geared toward creating impactful narrative media, combining skills in illustration, storytelling, digital art, and worldbuilding to develop a cohesive visual language that can serve as the foundation for video games, films, animation, and many other forms of visual media. Through designing fictional worlds, characters, and objects, artists establish the overall visual direction and tone of a production, bringing its universe to life. With the completion of this minor, I will have a body of work demonstrating my worldbuilding and visual storytelling skills through character, prop, and environment design.
Shani Zana
BAR Architecture, 2025
Customized Minor: Sustainable Urban Development
The Sustainable Urban Development minor is inspired by the realization that architects, while shaping the world, face challenges in persuading development firms to prioritize sustainability. I aspire to study the development profession, decision-making processes, financial considerations, sustainable building strategies, and the advocacy skills needed. This minor empowers me to promote sustainable urban development, emphasizing the long-term benefits to communities and the environment over immediate financial gains of the development firms.