BA in Studio Art
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Studio Art is a fundamental liberal arts program that enables students to cross cultural and disciplinary boundaries while cultivating critical, creative and independent thinkers. It seeks to provide students with training in the visual arts and to combine this with other discipline skills that prepare them for the workplace. By the end of the program, students will have achieved a well-rounded studio arts education fused with interdisciplinary academic interests as problem finders and problem solvers in arts-based inquiry.
Students can customize their learning experience to suit individual academic and career goals choosing among studio art focus areas, internship and other experiential learning opportunities, double majors and minors, and more.
Program Overview
As a top-tier art program housed in a major Research I University, the Department of Art can offer an exceptional range of opportunities for undergraduates typically not available at smaller institutions. The Department offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that incorporates traditional and contemporary ways of making. Course selection encompasses history, theory, and practice. Each degree program mandates specific entry and graduation requirements. The BA degree requires the completion of one focus area and the BFA degree requires the completion of two.
What does the BA Studio Art Program Offer?
- Focused coursework taught by dedicated and distinguished faculty with expertise in a diversity of media areas
- Potential for double major, minor, certificates, study abroad, and more
- Opportunities for advanced and individualized research
- Visiting Artist Lecture Series featuring internationally acclaimed artists and curators
- Opportunities for gallery exhibition and internships
- A wide range of industry-standard technology, tools, and equipment
- Dedicated computer and media labs with evening and weekend access
Program Requirements
For incoming freshmen, transfer students, or students who wish to change their major to studio art, there are no pre-requisites for declaring a BA in Studio Art. There is no portfolio review process. The minimum GPA is the university-required 2.0.
To receive a BA degree in Studio Art, students must successfully complete one hundred-twenty (120) credit hours. The credit hours will be divided among:
- sixteen (16) credit hours in Foundations courses
- thirty-six (36) credit hours in liberal studies
- twenty-seven (27) credit hours of studio art and/or design courses including the completion of one focus area. Students must declare their focus area by the time they reach 90 credit hours. BA Studio Art majors are required to complete ART4851 BA Opportunities in the Arts course in their junior year.
- nine (9) credit hours of art history (ART2204C Contemporary Art Foundations counts toward this requirement)
- at least thirty-two (32) credit hours in additional courses (including completing a foreign language through the 2220 level*)
*As beginners, students studying a foreign language will typically need to complete three courses (12 credit hours) at 1120, 1121, and 2220 levels. Please see your academic advisor for more information.
Meet our faculty!
The Department of Art faculty is dedicated to preparing our students for a successful career in the Arts.
