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long time reader, first time member and poster.

i teach graphic design and typography at a community college in southern ontario (carl dair's hometown, in fact). we are in the process of revising our curriculum and i have been tasked with doing some research into the type design component of our curriculum. i thought the folks on this forum would have some valuable and usable input into our process.

when i was at design school in the late 1980s, we had one minor type design project as part of our larger type design course (15 hours per week). but i wish that i had had more.

so, my questions are :
how much type design is appropriate/useful in a three-year graphic design diploma?
are there specific types of projects that you have found helpful in your own experience?

thanks

How much of the overall content is required vs options? Do you have defined specializations within the program? Would you get somebody with real type design expertise to teach this?

as of right now, there are no optional courses other than electives within the curriculum that is being developed (which is more of a bow to economics than anything else)
we don't have defined specializations within the programme
and, yes, we will have someone with real type design expertise teaching this

As you don't happen to be in a city that is overrun with professional type designers, I would find the person to teach the course, and get them to design it with your input.

Different type designers have different strengths, and different ideas about priorities and even process. You'll probably get a better course by getting them to structure it.