BFA in Studio Arts
The BFA degree is offered for students who seek focused, undergraduate professional education in studio practice. There are degree concentrations in ceramics, digital art, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. The program prepares students to become open, resourceful, critical, and independent thinkers, capable of successfully conceiving, articulating, and resolving their own visual problems, and equally capable of successfully viewing, appreciating, and contemplating the work of others. They will be engaged and active artists producing work that encompasses theoretical and practical knowledge.
Students who intend to pursue professional careers in art and design or who plan to pursue graduate study culminating in the MFA degree are encouraged to seek admission to the BFA program. BFA students are admitted as art candidates. Final acceptance into the BFA degree program depends upon acceptance of portfolio.
The minimum number of credits (exclusive of the University's Core curriculum) required for the major: 81.
Art Foundation (18 credits)
ARH 111 Art History: Prehistory through Medieval
ARH 112 Art History: Renaissance to the Present
ART 141 2-D Design
ART 142 3-D Design
ART 151 Drawing I
ART 152 Drawing II
Upper Level Art History Requirements (9 credits*)
ARH 200- or 300-level Art History Elective
ARH 200- or 300-level Art History Elective
ARH 411 Philosophy of Art (or PHI 220)
Studio Requirements (9 credits)
Do three of eight 200-level courses other than your concentration.
ART 221 Introduction to Digital Art
ART 231 Introduction to Ceramics
ART 251 Drawing: Media and Strategies
ART 261 Introduction to Painting
ART 271 Introduction to Photography
ART 281 Introduction to Printmaking: Intaglio and Relief
ART 282 Introduction to Printmaking: Lithography and Screen printing
ART 291 Sculpture: Additive and Subtractive Processes or
ART 292 Sculpture: Altered and Constructed Processes
Concentration Requirements (24 credits)
ART 2XX Introductory Studio
ART 3XX Intermediate Studio I
ART 3XX Intermediate Studio II
ART 4X1 Advanced Studio I
ART 4X2 Advanced Studio II (may be repeated for up to 9 credits)
ART 400 Internship in the Visual Arts
ART 401 Senior Seminar
Studio Courses (Elective and Required) (21 credits*)
- Any 200-, 300-, or 400-level ART courses
*See specific recommendations in your area of concentration.
Completion of the senior exhibition is also required for the BFA The BFA senior exhibition requirement must be completed while enrolled in ART 401 Senior Seminar in Studio Art.
Concentration Requirements and/or Recommended Courses
Each concentration has additional requirements or course recommendations as follows:
- Digital Art: ART 271 Introduction to Photography and ART 382 Experimental Printmaking are recommended. ARH 327 Modern Art and ARH 328 Contemporary Art are recommended. ART 343 New Media Book Arts counts as a 300- level digital arts requirement.
- Drawing: Recommended upper-level art history courses are ARH 328 Contemporary Art; ARH 327 Modern Art and/or ARH 329 Asian Art; or any ARH non-Western Art.
- Painting: Recommended upper-level art history courses are ARH 323 Renaissance Art or ARH 321 Classical Art; and ARH 327 Modern Art or ARH 326 Nineteenth-Century European Art.
- Photography: Recommended upper-level art history courses: ARH 318 History of Photography, ARH 327 Modern Art, or ARH 328 Contemporary Art.
- Printmaking: Recommended art history courses are ARH 310 Cross-Cultural Perspectives and ARH 328 Contemporary Art.
- Sculpture: Recommended studio course is ART 271 Introduction to Photography; recommended upper-level art history is ARH 329 Asian Art or any ARH non-Western art, and ARH 328 Contemporary Art.
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