Mersin University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Graphic Arts was established in 1992 and began education at the undergraduate level in the 1994-1995 academic year with a student quota of 20. Candidates to the undergraduate program must have a high school or equivalent diploma and achieve a sufficient base score on the Higher Education Institutions Exam (YKS). The department, which admits students through a Special Talent Exam, has a total of 7 faculty members: 1 Professor, 2 Associate Professors, 1 Assistant Professor, 2 Instructors, and 1 Research Assistant. Within the Faculty of Fine Arts building, the department has 3 graphic design studios, 1 computer lab, and 1 photography studio. Additionally, 1 printmaking studio, 1 drawing studio, and 3 classrooms are shared with the faculty's other departments. All studios and classrooms are equipped with projectors.

The department aims to train designers capable of producing creative and original solutions to visual communication problems. The course content is prepared in line with this goal, and new courses have been included in the program to adapt to evolving conditions. Students must successfully complete all courses given over eight semesters (totaling 240 ECTS credits). The duration of the education is 8 semesters, the language of instruction is Turkish, and the study mode is full-time.

The courses in the education program are semester based. In the first year, mandatory courses include workshop classes such as Basic Art Education, Drawing, Photography, Typography, and Introduction to Computer Education, as well as theoretical courses like General Art History and Introduction to Art Concepts. The first-year curriculum generally provides an introduction to art and specifically to graphic design.

In the second year, students take Graphic Design Studio, Typography, Photography, Drawing, Elective Courses (such as Printmaking, Illustration, Comic Book Techniques), and Computer Education courses in studio settings. Theoretical courses such as Aesthetics, Art History, and Visual Communication are also provided. In the Computer Education course, interactive and multimedia opportunities are evaluated technically and content-wise through projects. The course also involves working with Adobe programs like Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, and After Effects.

Students, who are informed about the technical and content aspects of graphic design, take courses in the third year that are both theoretical and practical, supporting experimental work and project creation. Specifically, projects implemented in workshop courses such as Advertising Graphics, Industrial Graphics, and elective courses like Illustration, Printmaking, and Animation Techniques are designed to explore how students approach design problems and generate solutions. In addition to workshop courses, students are supported with theoretical courses such as Graphic Production Techniques, Graphic Design History, and two separate elective course groups that include Art Philosophy, Civilization History, Mythology, Art Sociology, Visual Culture History, Contemporary Art and Interpretation, Semiotic Concepts, and Semantics.

In the final year, students are offered three groups of elective courses. The first group includes fundamental workshop courses such as Advertising Graphics, Industrial Graphics, Publication Graphics, and Motion Graphics Design. The second group includes Digital Illustration, Advertising Photography, Web Design, Printmaking, Typography, Portfolio, and Animation. The third group consists of theoretical courses such as Advertising and Marketing, Visual Text Analysis, Design Management, Research Methods, and Media Analysis. Students can choose each course from these groups for only one semester or for both semesters. Each student who selects a fundamental workshop course prepares a "Graduation Project" on a topic related to that course. Projects completed over two semesters are evaluated. Students who succeed in this evaluation and in other courses are eligible to graduate.

Graduates can work as graphic designers, art directors, illustrators, animators or as consultants in private and public organizations in sectors including advertising, publishing, web publishing, motion graphics for TV, animation, digital game development, social media managment, and printing. They may also continue their personal art and design work by establishing their own studios/agencies. They can pursue postgraduate education in relevant fields through Master's programs and may become academics in related departments of higher education.