As a doctoral student on a graduate assistantship, I am currently responsible for running our undergraduate and master's Advanced Cartographic Design labs for about 10-20 students per semester. The prerequisite to this course is Texas State's Maps and Mapmaking class (see more here) that I have also led. This advanced course in cartography focuses on thematic map design. The objective is to produce a series of well-designed, professional grade maps (or an atlas) that students can use to build a cartographic portfolio within the lab portion of the course. Each week the students are invited to explore guided material in both Adobe Illustrator and InDesign to enjoy learning about what makes "good" map design.