The Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree in studio art provides the most credit intensive – and therefore most extensive – course of study for students who intend to pursue professional careers, post-graduate training and/or graduate school in the visual arts. In addition to a comparable breadth of coursework as in the B.A., the B.F.A. program offers students the opportunity to select a single studio area for in-depth concentration: ceramics, drawing, painting, photography or sculpture. B.F.A. students thereby develop the conceptual, formal and technical skills necessary to create and analyze their work and the work of others at a high level.
For more explanation, please see the description of the studio art program.
Students in this major will:
- Demonstrate a high level of conceptual, formal and technical proficiency while safely employing a variety of artistic methods, materials and tools.
- Analyze artwork within art historical, cultural and/or contemporary contexts.
- Reflect upon their artistic processes and growth.
- Create and exhibit artwork that meets professional exhibition standards.
- Present themselves and their artwork professionally.
- Demonstrate depth and creative output in a specific medium (concentration area).
Studio Art B.F.A. Progress to Completion Requirements
In order to document and archive progress toward completion of the major and portfolio development, students are expected to post in their e-portfolios at the end of each semester. For each ART and GD studio course required in the major, students are expected to post image(s) of at least one project (ideally the one that is considered the strongest from the body of work produced during the course) and an accompanying written process narrative which may address factors such as the following:
- Summarize your decisions in approaching and defining this project.
- Explain your formal and technical choices in relation to your concept
- outline how and where in your project you may have applied the concepts of math, calculations, measurement, proportions and estimation.
- Reflect on the trajectory of your process and/or what you have learned from it.
Advisors will check advisees’ e-portfolios periodically to confirm completion and to use as opportunities to discuss creative progress and growth. A minimum GPA of C (2.00) in all major requirements must be attained.