The September application process is only for transfer students matriculating to JMU in the current fall semester or the immediately preceding spring or summer semesters that have declared the SMAD major.  These students must be officially admitted to JMU as transfer students and must have earned at least 30 hours of JMU approved post-high school college credit.  They must be degree-seeking students and must be enrolled in at least 12 hours at JMU during the fall semester.  The application is due at 4 p.m. on the second Friday of the fall semester.

Currently enrolled JMU students (including transfer students matriculating in January or in previous semesters) may apply during the annual application period that occurs early in the spring semester.  Students applying to the major at JMU must be degree-seeking and have completed at least 12 hours or be enrolled in at least 12 hours at JMU.  The application is due at 4 p.m. on the third Friday of the spring semester.

Students interested in this major must “declare” SMAD as a major and apply to become a “fully admitted” major. Declaring a SMAD major does not guarantee the student will be fully admitted into the SMAD major. Students must declare SMAD as a major prior to being eligible to enroll in SMAD 101. A declared SMAD student may take SMAD 101, but the student cannot enroll in SMAD courses beyond SMAD 101 until being fully admitted into the major.

Once enrolled in SMAD 101, a student will be invited to a separate "SMAD Admissions" Canvas course, which students will use to take the SMAD admissions exam and submit their application components. 

Students accepted into the major are assigned to a concentration. Students who wish to change concentrations after being accepted into the major may ask to do so only during the annual application period, which ends at 4 p.m. on the third Friday of the spring semester. 

To request a different concentration, the student must submit on the "SMAD Admissions" Canvas course the following: 

1. A letter explaining why the student is seeking that change. This letter should be addressed to the Admissions Committee and be no more than two pages in length.
2. A completed Concentration Change Application form, which the student can download from the "SMAD Admissions" Canvas course and fill out after consulting with his/her adviser and obtaining the adviser’s signature. The student must scan in and submit the finished form to upload on the Canvas site.
3. The student's unofficial transcripts.

To request access to the Canvas site, contact Prof. Ryan Alessi at alessirt@jmu.edu

If the Admissions Committee approves the student's request, the application will be reviewed by the SMAD director, who will grant final permission to change concentrations.

Remember — there are no guarantees that the change will be granted, and the switch in concentrations will likely delay a student’s graduation. Students who change concentrations will not receive overrides or prerequisite waivers to expedite graduation.

If a student enrolled in SMAD 101 is accepted in the major and makes an “F” in the course, the student will be dropped from the major. In order to be eligible to reapply for the major, the student must re-take SMAD 101 and reapply.  

If a student enrolled in SMAD 101 is accepted in the major and makes a “D+,” “D,” or “D-“ in the course, the student may continue to take classes in the major; however, the student must retake SMAD 101 again in the next semester and earn at least a “C-.”

Students are limited to taking SMAD 101 twice. Failure to achieve a grade of at least a C- after the second time will result in the student being dropped from the major, including being dropped from any SMAD courses for which the student is preregistered and the student may not reapply. 

Withdrawing from SMAD 101: A student who withdraws from the course before JMU’s withdrawal deadline in a semester will receive a “W” on their transcript and will not use up one of their attempts at the course. However, if that student was admitted to SMAD before the withdrawal deadline, that student will need to reapply to the program.

WP: A SMAD 101 student who has extenuating circumstances and needs to withdraw from the course after JMU’s withdrawal deadline while having a grade of 60% or above can receive a WP at the professor’s discretion. In such an instance, that will count as one of the student’s two attempts at SMAD 101. If that student was admitted to SMAD during the same semester they receive the WP, they will need to retake and earn at least a C- in the course the following semester to stay in the major. 

WF: A student who has extenuating circumstances and needs to withdraw from SMAD 101 after JMU’s withdrawal deadline while having a grade below 60% can receive a WF at the professor’s discretion. In such an instance, that will count as one of the student’s two attempts at SMAD 101. If that student was admitted into SMAD during the same semester they receive the WF, they will have one more opportunity to retake the course to earn at least a C-, and they must reapply to the program. 

To graduate with a major in media arts and design, a student must have a grade point average of 2.0 (“C”) or better in the major.

A student admitted before fall 2023 must complete a minimum of 39 SMAD credits. In addition to courses in the School of Media Arts and Design, students must complete at least 75 non-SMAD credits. 

Students admitted starting in fall 2023 must complete a minimum of 42 SMAD credits. In addition to those SMAD courses, students must complete at least 72 non-SMAD credits.