Meredith Davis
A discipline is a branch of learning that has a body of knowledge, modes of inquiry, and historical and critical perspectives on both as they relate to the subject. Chemistry and anthropology are disciplines. A profession, on the other hand, is an occupation that involves the application of knowledge and training in the discipline.
The role of colleges and universities now engaged in professional education is to develop students with respect to both the discipline and the profession of graphic design.
I would argue that what distinguishes a professional graphic design education from a pre-professional experience (and a profession from a trade) is not the one-to-one match between curriculum and the current skill set necessary for entry-level practice, but the essential competencies that enable design practitioners to be predictive and responsible for transforming the field across their professional careers.
What excellent professional programs in design demonstrate, regardless of their structure and the particular skills of the faculty, is that it takes time to produce a professional and even longer to produce a leader in the field.
We must move the relationships of general education of liberal arts courses to design courses from one of proximity to integration.
As long as we remain reactive to changes in the profession, instead of anticipating changes in the communication environment itself, we will be ill-prepared for addressing them from a position of strength.
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