Art

Majoring & Minoring

The Studio Art Department offers courses leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art, a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art, and minors in Studio Art, and in Architecture and Design Studies. 

Studio Art

The studio art curriculum offers art, design, and architecture courses as expressive media: the primary art media are ceramics, painting, and sculpture, combined with courses in drawing, printmaking, and digital arts (photography, 3D modeling and cybersculpture). The art major is inherently interdisciplinary, so studio art is offered as a pre-professional program within a liberal arts context. It intends that each student should produce artworks with technical proficiency in a principal medium, supported by knowledge of a variety of media processes, as well as liberal arts breadth in critical thinking and verbal skills. In advanced classes, students focus on a body of personally selected creative works, locating their ideas and artworks within a contemporary cultural and theoretical context.

There are two studio art degree options: the Bachelor of Arts, and the Bachelor of Fine Arts. The B.A. encourages a broad based education across the curriculum and the B.F.A. is more focused within studio art.  The latter requires departmental admittance into the program.

The major is preparation both for students intending to apply to Master of Fine Arts programs and work as professional artists; and for students who wish to acquire a liberal arts degree which can lead to work in a wide variety of fields in graduate school both inside and outside the world of art (such as art history, architecture, digital arts, commercial art, design, arts administration, teaching art in elementary and secondary schools, etc.).

Students are highly encouraged to experience a semester abroad or a semester in the NYAP internship in New York.

There are degree planning tools on this website under “new and returning students.”

Studio Art Goals:

  • Develop students’ abilities to think critically and creatively about art practice and the influences that inform art as a discipline.
  • Impart a basic knowledge of the central theoretical concepts in contemporary art and art practice.
  • Provide the basis for a life of sustained intellectual and creative inquiry with interdisciplinary frames of reference.

 

  • Major in Studio Art (BA)

    10 courses (Majors consist of a minimum of 30 credits.)

    Foundations (in the first three semesters):

    • ART70-114 Drawing I
    • One course from:
      • ART69-214 Ceramics: Hand-forming
      • ART69-224 Ceramics: Wheel-forming
    • One course from:
      • ART69-314 Painting: Representational
        • ART69-324 Painting: Abstract
      • One course from:
        • ART69-414 Sculpture: Figurative
        • ART69-424 Sculpture: Abstract
      • ART70-224 Drawing II (as soon as possible)

    Focus: The BA focus area is a four-course sequence in one focus medium chosen from Intermedia: Ceramics, Design; or Intermedia: Painting, Drawing, Printmaking; or Intermedia: Sculpture, Digital Arts, Photography. To stay on track for a four-year BA degree, the focus medium must be declared by the mid-sophomore year, and the second course in the focus medium must be completed by the end of the sophomore year.

    • One additional course (by the end of the sophomore year) from:
      • ART69-214 Ceramics: Hand-forming
      • ART69-224 Ceramics: Wheel-forming
      • ART69-314 Painting: Representational
      • ART69-324 Painting: Abstract
      • ART69-414 Sculpture: Figurative
      • ART69-424 Sculpture: Abstract
    • One course in the intermedia focus area (note: these courses are offered only once per year):
      • ART69-234 Intermedia Seminar: Ceramics and Design
      • ART69-334 Intermedia Seminar: Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking
      • ART69-434 Intermedia Seminar: Sculpture, Digital Arts, and Photography
    • One course in the Intermedia Capstone (note: these courses are offered only once per year):
      • ART 69-236 Intermedia Capstone: Ceramics and Design
      • ART69-336 Intermedia Capstone: Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking
      • ART69-436 Intermedia Capstone: Sculpture, Digital Arts, and Photography

    Studio elective:

    • One additional course (3-4 credits) in studio art chosen from courses with a 70-xxx prefix

    Art history:

    • One Art History course
    • Note on course numbering: 69- indicates studio art primary focus media: ceramics, painting, sculpture; 70- indicates all other studio media. 100 level courses are introductory. 200-700 level courses indicate various media. 800 level courses are exhibition practicums. 900 level courses are tutorials, honors, internships, and independent study.
  • Minor in Studio Art:

    Five courses to include two courses in the same medium required: (Minors consist of a minimum of 18 credits.)

    • One course from:
      • ART69-214 Ceramics: Hand-forming
      • ART69-224 Ceramics: Wheel-forming
    • One course from:
      • ART69-314 Painting: Representational
      • ART69-324 Painting: Abstract
    • One course from:
      • ART69-414 Sculpture: Figurative
      • ART69-424 Sculpture: Abstract
    • Two additional courses (3-4 credits) in any studio medium offered in the department: either one additional course in the above focus media plus one in any other medium; or two additional courses in the above media; or two courses in the same medium selected from any offered in the department (e.g., printmaking, photography, digital arts, drawing, architecture/design, and may include one advanced intermedia course).
  • Major in Studio Art (BFA):

    18 courses (Majors consist of a minimum of 30 credits.)

    Foundations (in the first three semesters):

    • ART70-114 Drawing I
    • One course from:
      • ART69-214 Ceramics: Hand-forming
      • ART69-224 Ceramics: Wheel-forming
    • One course from:
      • ART69-314 Painting: Representational
      • ART69-324 Painting: Abstract
    • One course from:
      • ART69-414 Sculpture: Figurative
      • ART69-424 Sculpture: Abstract
    • ART70-224 Drawing II (by the end of the sophomore year)
    • ART70-324 Drawing III

    Focus: The BFA focus area is a four-course sequence in one intermedia area chosen from Intermedia: Ceramics, Design; or Intermedia: Painting, Drawing, Printmaking; or Intermedia: Sculpture, Digital Arts, Photography.

    • One additional course (by the end of the sophomore year) from:
      • ART69-214 Ceramics: Hand-forming
      • ART69-224 Ceramics: Wheel-forming
      • ART69-314 Painting: Representational
      • ART69-324 Painting: Abstract ART69-414 Sculpture: Figurative
      • ART69-424 Sculpture: Abstract
    • One course in the intermedia focus area (note: these classes are offered only once per year):
      • ART69-234 Intermedia: Ceramics, Design
      • ART69-334 Intermedia: Painting, Drawing, Printmaking
      • ART69-434 Intermedia: Sculpture, Digital Arts, Photography
    • One course in the Intermedia Capstone (note: these courses are offered only once per year):
      • ART69-236 Intermedia Capstone: Ceramics and Design
      • ART69-336 Intermedia Capstone: Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking
      • ART69-436 Intermedia Capstone: Sculpture, Digital Arts, and Photography

    Art History:

    • ARH71-024, -034, -044, or -054 Introduction to Art History
    • One modern Art History course from:
      • ARH71-524 19th Century Art in Europe and the United States
      • ARH71-534 Modernism and 20th C. Avant-gardes
      • ARH71-544 Art After 1945 (recommended)
    • ARH71-200s (a course in East Asian art history); or ARH71-300s (a course in Latin American art history)

    Exhibition Practicum:

    • Two semesters (one of which must be in the semester of the senior exhibition) of ART70-812 Exhibition Practicum

    Studio and Art History Electives:

    • Four additional courses (3-4 credits each) in studio art; one art history elective course may be taken in the place of a studio elective. A total of four credits of Independent Study may count as studio art electives; any additional Independent Study hours count as university electives.

    BFA Exhibit Capstone:

    • BFA Capstone Exhibition The capstone exhibition must be sponsored by a faculty member in the appropriate medium; and must be approved by the full-time studio art faculty for graduation. BFA students present a senior art exhibition to the public and give a formal talk to the studio faculty for a jury grade. See the Department Chair for details.
  • Art Education:

    See the Education Department for information regarding teacher certification in Art.