Exploring photography
A studio art degree prepares you for the creative life you plan to live and opens the door to an inventive career full of exploration, critical thinking, and a practice based in hands-on making. Whether working as a studio artist or a creative in the commercial world, your visual and cultural literacy, and skills as a versatile maker and problem solver, make you an ideal talent in a culture driven by art, design, and continuously evolving media platforms.
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree offers students the skills and concepts necessary for a creative future in the visual arts and related fields. Majors may choose to pursue a wide selection of engaging studio classes across a variety of mediums, or may decide to focus on developing more deeply in a specific studio area. While this broad liberal arts education has a foundation in studio art, it also provides students a flexible academic path to pursue their passions outside of the major through elective courses. BA students are also encouraged to pursue a minor or double major to further enrich their practice. At the end of their academic studies, all BA students show their work in a group exhibition in the Bolivar Art Gallery.
Art Therapy Option
To achieve the equivalent of an undergraduate degree in art therapy, in addition to the required hours in art studio for the major, students must take a minimum of 12 hours in psychology. These hours must include coursework in developmental psychology and abnormal psychology. The combination of studio coursework and psychology courses meet the national standards for an undergraduate degree in art therapy set by the American Art Therapy Association and is sufficient to qualify for graduate programs leading to professional careers in art therapy.
In-depth and creatively fulfilling, the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree asks students to grow their own artistic voices while developing polished technical, conceptual, and material skills. Students may focus on a specific medium or hybridize skills in order to tailor their experience. Areas include animation, ceramics, drawing, digital fabrication, digital illustration, graphic design, fiber, painting, photography, printmedia, sculpture, video, VR, and web design.
The BFA program is a rigorous, focused degree. This major is selective: students are required to submit an application and a portfolio review of work in the visual arts, and all applicants must have completed all art studio Foundations requirements prior to application. Working closely with a dedicated faculty committee, each student organizes a public solo exhibition showcasing their work. This preprofessional degree is also an excellent option for students interested in pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) after college.