Art (BA)
Courses in art are designed to strengthen students’ visual and cultural literacy, to help them develop a broad knowledge base, and to hone key creative and communication skills necessary to their professional success. As an art major, students choose to concentrate in either studio art or art history. In studio art, students engage in the direct practice of art making and visual analysis, building technical proficiency alongside skills in creative and conceptual thinking. Through art history, students explore the cultural, political and social contexts in which art has been produced and displayed, and expand their writing and analytic skills. Arts administration courses engage students with contemporary issues and institutions in the cultural community, and build critical, writing, and organizational abilities. Art courses complement other disciplines in the humanities, such as history, English, philosophy, and communications. Art majors are strongly urged to include these and other areas in their programs of study and many complete a double major.
Art Major
The major in art includes courses in art history and studio art practice. Students choose either area to emphasize, depending upon interest and career plans. Either emphasis can serve as a foundation for further study at the graduate level. The study of art leads to careers in a wide variety of fields, such as teaching, publishing, arts administration, art conservation, museum or gallery work, commercial art and design, architecture, city planning, painting, photography, or printmaking, etc. In all of these areas, the major in art would profitably be combined with a major in another area, such as English, history, chemistry, philosophy, management, communications, or mathematics.
Students are encouraged to augment the required courses with in-depth study in the liberal arts and additional courses in the major. Students work with their advisor to develop a coherent course program that will meet their educational goals. Students considering graduate study should plan to take as many upper-level courses in their major as they can accommodate in their schedules, especially during junior and senior years.
Program Requirements:
Students are required to take 28 semester hours in Art. Students will choose an emphasis in Art (History) or Art (Studio). None of the seven courses for the major may be taken Pass/Fail. ART 100 does not count for the Art major.
Art History Track
- Majors will complete FIVE Art History courses and TWO Studio Art courses.
- There is no strict sequence in which art history courses must be taken, although the introductory courses ART 141 and ART 142 are normally taken first.
- Required courses are:
- Five courses in art history.
- Two courses in studio art.
- Take at least two 200 or 300 level art history courses.
Studio Art Track
- Majors will complete FIVE Studio Art courses and TWO Art History courses. One of the two Art History courses must be Art 254 OR Art 244, the other course is an elective.
- Studio Art courses must include at least TWO of the following: ART 111, ART 112, ART 138, and/or ART 139. This requirement cannot be fulfilled with both ART/COMM 138 & ART/COMM 139.
- Three Studio Art courses are electives. TWO courses must be at the 200-level or above.
Required Courses
Take two courses out of four. Cannot be filled with both
ART 138 and
ART 139.
One of the two art history courses must be