Learn more about ArtCenter’s Cross-Enrollment Program with Occidental College.
The primary objective of the Cross-Enrollment Program is to enhance learning opportunities available to students from ArtCenter, as well as those from Occidental College. This enhancement is achieved through enrollment in uniquely designated undergraduate-level courses offered at another institution, along with exposure to a different institutional culture and learning environment. Students who express interest in the Cross-Enrollment Program should contact their host schools to determine eligibility and to complete associated forms.
Timeline
Monday, December 1 - Thursday, January 15: Receipt and consideration of applications
- Occidental students will submit the cross-enrollment document provided by their registrars to ArtCenter. This document must be signed by the home institution.
- ArtCenter will only approve a seat if a class is already running, independently of the added Occidental students. ArtCenter will not approve any more than two seats for cross-enrolled students.
- Enrollment Services will notify students of their acceptance to the program by Wednesday, January 7, 2026
General Guidelines
- Cross-Enrollment is only available for the spring and fall semesters.
- Students participating in the Cross-Enrollment Program pay the required tuition and fees at their home institution.
- Students must work with the Financial Aid offices in their home school to determine their eligibility for financial aid for courses taken at the cross-enrolled institution.
APPROVED COURSES FOR CROSS-ENROLLMENT FOR SPRING 2026
*Each courses is worth 3 units
Type 1: Foundation / INT-111 (Location: 1111 Building, South Campus)
Type 1 is a design studio introducing typography, its terms and history. Students study typographic structure with multiple exercises and projects: anatomy, typeface classifications, kerning, proportion/weight, letter spacing, nomenclature and understanding the differences between display type and text. Additional projects include explorations of body copy tone, legibility, meaning, and hierarchy. Type 1 serves as the primary typographic course fundamental to all future graphic design courses.
Section 01 -- Tu 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Section 02 -- Tu 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Section 03 -- F 2:00 pm to 6:50 pm
Section 04 -- Th 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Materials of Art and Design / INT-158 (Location: Ellwood Building, Hillside Campus)
This foundation level class is dedicated to enhancing the student's understanding of the inherent characteristics of a variety of materials in order to explore their best applications for art or design projects. For this reason, assignments are experimental in an effort to discover innovative solutions to the development of form, structure and texture. Materials may include wood, plastics, plaster, metal and paper. Students broaden their understanding of creative problem - solving, originality, and analysis of visual information. Material covered includes the safe operation of woodworking and some metal-working machines, as well as techniques of mold-making, and material safety.
Section 02 -- M 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Section 03 -- W 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Section 04 -- F 2:00 pm to 6:50 pm
Section 05 -- Tu 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Section 06 -- Th 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Rapid Prototyping / INT-201 (Location: Ellwood Building, Hillside Campus)
This class offers students insight into contemporary methods for design and manufacture. This gives the student a better understanding of how data drives form and, in turn, drives production. Course material is structured around hardware and software integration and how this applies to form. The syllabus covers rapid/advanced visualization, 3D modeling and prototyping.
Section 01 -- M 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Color Theory / INT-251-01 (Location: 1111 Building, South Campus)
Color Theory is a foundation level course covering all aspects of the use and application of color relating to, but not exclusive of visual arts practices. All areas of the subject will be covered, and assignments will be given based on the relevant topics presented and discussed in class. Various theories, ideas and rules relating to color will be discussed and, in many instances, applied to projects. Students will develop their own term project in an attempt to understand how they use color in their work and make any relevant adjustments or corrections.
Section 01 -- W 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Section 02 -- F 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Design 1 / INT-102A (Location: 1111 Building, South Campus)
This class establishes a solid foundation for the students’ expanding abilities as artists and designers. Problem solving processes, analytical thinking and craftsmanship are emphasized in compositional, grayscale, and color exercises. This course introduces key art and design principles and theories, in addition to contemporary and historical references. Design 1 also provides an introduction to common digital design tools alongside analog projects.
Section 01 -- Th 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Section 02 -- T 2:00 pm to 6:50 pm
Section 04 -- M 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Lighting for Non-Photo Majors / INT-118 (Location: Ellwood Building, Hillside Campus)
This is a photographic lighting course for non-photo majors. The class will cover various methods of lighting for photography to give students the ability to photograph their own work more effectively. Techniques for shooting products as well as copy work and photographing 2-dimensional pieces will be addressed. This course is open to degree students in all majors with the exception of photography.
Section 01 -- F 2:00 pm to 6:50 pm
Basics of Photo / INT-108 (Location: Ellwood Building, Hillside Campus)
This class provides an exceptional introduction to the world of photographic image making to art and design students not majoring in photography. Students first learn to use a manual camera, including aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Understanding a manual camera augments a student’s ability to use a digital single lens reflex camera, which are used for final projects. The class covers darkroom processes, such as contrast control, dodging / burning and interpretive printing enabling students to become more intuitive when working with Photoshop. Other skills address in-studio lighting and location shooting. Assignments are designed to encourage personal expression, conceptual thinking, and new ways of thinking about the meaning of images
Section 01 -- Th 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Section 02 -- Th 2:00 pm to 6:50 pm
Section 03 -- Tu 2:00 pm to 6:50 pm
Sound / ART-281 (Location: 870 Building, South Campus)
Sound is a Fine Art studio course focusing on the subject of sound and its relationship to Fine Art practices including the gallery and public arts. The course will expose students to a brief survey of the sonic history, technological advancements, related discourse, and current practices that artists have developed to incorporate sound as a Fine Art practice. Class time includes hands on practices in the sound lab, working with sound in all capacities, such as records, CD, mp3, cassettes, live performance, as well as an introduction to the ways in which sound can be recorded, edited, and manipulated digitally. Course presentations include demonstrating how the use of sound has been incorporated with other practices such as sculpture, performance, social practice, and installation.
Section 01 -- Th 8:00 am to 12:50 pm
Painting 1 / ART-111 (Location: 1111 Building, South Campus)
This introductory class provides a rigorous introduction to both technical and formal problems in painting. Emphasis is placed on understanding the fundamentals of the painter's craft through a range of available materials including pigments and paints, structures, surfaces and grounds, brushes and tools, varnishes and preservation strategies. The course will focus specifically on skills pertaining to oil painting. Subject matter is explored through traditional painting genres of still life, landscape, figure and portrait, symbol and allegory.
Section 01 -- M 2:00 pm to 6:50 pm
Sculpture 1 / ART-162 (Location: 908 Building, South Campus)
This course functions as an introduction to the foundational elements of sculpture. Lectures and reading about historical and contemporary practices and themes will act as starting points for active hands-on making and construction of sculptural objects. Students will engage with various materials and seek ways of bringing their conceptual and visual ideas to fruition within the limitations and capabilities of those materials, as well as consider the inherent, cultural, and social meaning that sculptural materials may carry.
Section 01 -- Th 2:00 pm to 6:50 pm
Updated December 2025