BFA in Art Education
All regular programs—art education, graphic design, painting, and sculpture—lead to the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. For this degree the candidate must meet the following requirements:
- Satisfactory completion of all courses in the chosen program of study as determined by the School of Visual Arts
- Completion of a program of study equaling 132 semester credits, registering for eight semesters as a full-time student or the equivalent
- Demonstration of proficiency satisfactory to the faculty in all technical or professional courses
Requirements for Entering Major Areas
To enter into a major, students must have completed foundation requirements.
To be permitted to move from the junior to the senior year, a student must receive a grade of C or higher in his or her major subject.
A student who has received a D and is therefore disqualified from entering any major area may submit a portfolio of work to a committee composed of the faculty member who gave the grade of D and the faculty teaching in the major area, with a petition that the admission requirements for entrance to the major area be waived. The requirement for admission may be waived at the director’s discretion in consultation with the faculty committee.
Five-Year BFA/MA Program
Undergraduate students who wish to major in graphic design, painting, or sculpture but would also like to obtain state licensure to teach art in the public schools can combine an undergraduate studio art major (BFA) with a Master of Arts (MA) in studio teaching degree. This master’s program includes all licensure requirements.
Refer to the program page for full details.
Outline of Study
Required Courses (4 credits):
| CFA AR 193 | Visual Arts: Drawing I (for 4 credits) OR |
| CFA AR 131 | Drawing I (requires portfolio approval) |
Choose 16 more credits from the following suggested courses:*
| Courses with open registration: | |
| CFA AR 294 | Visual Arts: Drawing II |
| CFA AR 295 | Visual Arts: Painting I |
| CFA AR 297 | Visual Arts: Sculpture I |
| CFA AR 389 | Graphic Design elective |
| CFA AR 395 | Visual Arts: Painting II |
| CFA AR 397 | Visual Arts: Sculpture II |
| CFA AR 469 | Color (spring only) |
| CFA AR 521 | Site-Specific Art |
| CFA AR 580 | History of Graphic Design |
| Any School of Visual Arts Summer Term offerings | |
| Courses open on a space-permitting basis: | |
| CFA AR 250 | Introduction to Printmaking |
| CFA AR 261 | Introduction to Art Education (spring only) |
| CFA AR 280 | Introduction to Graphic Design |
| CFA AR 425 | Artist and the Book (spring only) |
| CFA AR 447 | Printmaking I (fall) |
| CFA AR 448 | Printmaking I (spring) |
| CFA AR 470 | Ceramics I |
| CFA AR 559 | Contemporary Issues in Art Education (fall only) |
| CFA AR 573 | Design and Animation |
*Any visual arts class can be counted toward the minor.
Course offerings may vary from semester to semester.
Students must earn a grade of C or better in courses applied toward the minor.
Liberal Arts Requirements
The School of Visual Arts BFA degrees in painting, graphic design, and sculpture require a minimum of 28 credits of liberal arts elective courses. The BFA in art education requires 24 liberal arts credits to complete the course of study for graduation. All majors require WR 100 and varying credits of Art History and Contemporary Issues. The following distribution guidelines are in effect for liberal arts electives starting with the Class of 2012.
The liberal arts electives must include a variety of courses that fulfill one of the following three tracks:
- A liberal arts distribution as follows:
- Sciences/social sciences/history—8 credits
- Language/literature/philosophy—8 credits
OR
- A minor through an approved CAS-designated program of study.
- An individually designed plan of study (i.e., arts administration or Russian literature) outlined in a detailed written proposal, and pre-approved by the student’s faculty advisor at the end of the first year of study.
OR
Art Education Program of Study
The BFA requires 132 semester credits.
| Art Education | |
| Prerequisites to Elect the Art Education Major (total 44 prerequisite credits): | |
| Drawing I (first two freshman semesters) | 8 cr |
| Additional Drawing (1) and Printmaking (1) electives | 8 cr |
| Intro to Art Education | 4 cr |
| Painting I, II, or III (minimum two semesters) | 8 cr |
| Sculpture I | 4 cr |
| Art History (minimum two semesters) | 8 cr |
| Freshman Writing | 4 cr |
| Additional Requirements to Complete the BFA in Art Education (total 88 credits): | |
| The following courses are needed to meet state licensing requirements. | |
| Foundations of Visual Computing (or equivalent) | 4 cr |
| General Psychology (CAS) | 4 cr |
| Child Growth and Development | 4 cr |
| Ceramics | 4 cr |
| Photography | 4 cr |
| Processes and Structures | 4 cr |
| Art Education I, II | 8 cr |
| Special Populations | 2 cr |
| Contemporary Issues in Art Education | 2 cr |
| Art Ed. Seminars I and II | 4 cr |
| Practicum Pre-K–8 | 4 cr |
| Practicum 5–12 | 4 cr |
| Art Education III | 4 cr |
| Art History (additional) | 4 cr |
| Studio electives | 8 cr |
| Liberal Arts electives | 24 cr |
| 32 cr |
