Art- Studio (BA in Fine Arts)
The Art and Art History Program
The Department of Art and Art History offers two concentrations: Studio Art and Art History.
The Studio Art concentration offers tracks in Two-Dimensional Art and Three-Dimensional Art, through courses in drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, and architecture within the context of a liberal arts education. The concentration aims at developing greater visual awareness through a rigorously structured educational experience based on intensive studio training. All Two-dimensional course offerings, from beginning to advanced, emphasize working from observation to provide a common language and firm visual foundation. At more advanced levels, students develop a more personal sensitivity to visual modes, leading to an informed and specific artistic voice. It is to the advantage of the student to complete ART 211 Drawing and Color and ART 212 Three-dimensional Design: Form and Space by the end of the sophomore year.
The Art History concentration offers tracks in Art History, Critical Curatorial Studies, and Built Environment Studies. Each track contributes to the liberal arts education of undergraduates while preparing students for a variety of future careers and educational paths. Art History concentrators are required to take introductory and intermediate level courses, advanced seminars, one studio art course, a course on critical curatorial studies, and a senior research colloquium. The Art History concentration promotes critical understanding of the development and diversity of visual arts in various historical and global contexts while familiarizing students with current disciplinary concerns. In each Art History concentration, the student is required to complete three foundational ARTH courses and one foundational ART course. It is to the advantage of the student to complete these courses by the end of the sophomore year.
A wide variety of programs can be developed from the offerings of the department to suit the individual needs of majors. Students in Art and Art History have developed careers in art, architecture, art history, landscape design, urban studies, historic preservation, museum work, teaching, and applied arts in business. For purposes of double majoring, Art and Art History combines well with history, anthropology, literature, comparative literature, music and music history, classical studies, philosophy, psychology, and the sciences to give a student a breadth of knowledge and experience in comparable methodologies that leads to mutually reinforcing insights in both majors. Students interested in elementary and secondary school teaching of art should elect the concentration in Studio Art. All members of the department are ready to offer advice on career plans in Art and Art History.
Course Requirements
The studio art concentration is designed to offer the major a variety of courses and the opportunity to work in depth at the advanced level.
Core Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| ART 211 | Drawing and Color | 3 |
| ART 212 | Three-dimensional Design: Form and Space | 3 |
| Two 200-level Art History courses at, or above ARTH230 | 6 | |
| One 300-level Art History course at, or above ARTH330 1 | 3 | |
| ART 461 | Capstone I | 2 |
| ART 462 | Capstone II | 2 |
| ART 463 | Capstone III | 1 |
| Total Hours | 20 | |
- 1
This course must be taken for the writing requirement (see futher information below)
Two-Dimensional Art Focus
For those students who will focus their study in Two-Dimensional Art, they will be required to take 17 additional credits.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ART 309 | Life Drawing I | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Life Drawing II | ||
| Drawing | ||
| Printmaking - Intaglio and Monotype | ||
| Relief Printmaking | ||
| Photo I: Film & Darkroom | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Painting: Basic Pictorial Structure | ||
| Painting: Basic Pictorial Expression | ||
| Composition & Color | ||
| One 300 level Art course in 2D | 3 | |
| One 300 or 400 level Studio course in 2D or 3D for at least 2 credits | 2 | |
| One 400 level Studio course for 3 credits in drawing, painting, photography or printmaking | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 17 | |
Three-Dimensional Art Focus
For those students who will focus their study in Three-Dimensional Art, they will be required to take 17 additional credits.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ART 319 | Figure Sculpture I | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Life Drawing I | ||
| Drawing | ||
| Printmaking - Intaglio and Monotype | ||
| Relief Printmaking | ||
| Photo I: Film & Darkroom | ||
a Drawing Topics course | ||
| One 300 level Studio course in architecture, ceramics or sculpture | 3 | |
| One 300 level Studio course in architecture, ceramics or sculpture (in a different area than the first course) | 3 | |
| One 300 or 400 level Studio course in 2D or 3D for at least 2 credits | 2 | |
| One 400 level Studio course in architecture, ceramics or sculpture | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 17 | |
Additional Requirements
A minimum of 37 credits in Art and Art History must be earned in the major; a maximum of 48 credits may be earned. There is an exception to this rule for the student preparing for graduate study in studio art. The student may apply for the opportunity to take up to an additional 12 credit hours in studio art in order to develop a graduate application portfolio. Application (using the Degrees Committee petition form) to the Department and then the Degrees Committee is usually made during the first semester of junior year and no later than second semester junior year but before registration for the first semester of senior year. To be considered for this honor, the student should have shown exceptional promise by maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.3 within the department and a 2.5 GPA within the university. In addition, the student should have the sponsorship of two faculty members and will be required to submit a portfolio of ten works for review during this process.
All concentrators in Studio Art are required to take ART 461 Capstone I, ART 462 Capstone II and ART 463 Capstone III in their last three semesters.
Major Writing Requirement
One art history course at the 300 or 400 level (including ARTH 490 Independent Study) will fulfill the requirement.
The Major Writing Requirement will be satisfied in the following way:
- When prospective majors, in consultation with their major advisor, file the form required for a declaration of major, they will specify an art history course conforming to the above criteria that is most appropriate to their area of special interest. This course will satisfy the prospective majors Major Writing Requirement.
- At the time of registration for the specified course, the student will consult with the instructor to make all necessary arrangements for a schedule that allows for the opportunity to go through the stages of writing and rewriting that is part of the requirement.
- When the student has completed the courses with a grade of C or higher, the instructor will notify the department chair.
Major Computing Requirement
The Major Computing Requirement will be fulfilled during the completion of the Major Writing Requirement. In the process of writing their research papers, students will be expected to do research using all of the data bases and library resources that are computer accessible (World Web, On-line Journals, and Bibliographic Sources such as Art Index, Art Abstracts, RILA, RRA, BHA, Art Bibliographies Modern etc.) as well as to find and assess specific web sites related to their topic.