Study Abroad Options in Visual Arts
Studio Arts Program in Venice
Visual arts students may spend one semester abroad studying art in the heart of beautiful Venice, Italy. Boston University’s Studio Arts Program at Venice’s Scuola Internazionale di Grafica offers courses in graphic design, painting, drawing, printmaking, glassblowing, digital photography, and bookmaking. While the curriculum is designed for graphic design and painting majors, art education and sculpture majors are eligible to participate. The facilities at the Scuola include a fully equipped print workshop, painting and drawing studios, painting major studios off-site, artist-in-residence studios, and computer facilities. Glassblowing is taught on the Island of Murano, which has a 1,000 year history as a center of glassblowing. Boston University painting instructors teach painting in the Fall Semester, and internationally recognized instructors and visiting artists teach art courses in Italian and English, and the School of Visual Arts students interact with Italian and international students. The curriculum, enhanced by planned field trips to local museums, galleries, art sites, and neighboring cities, draws on Venice’s rich history and location. Students live in furnished apartments that are a 15-minute walk to the Scuola and a 5-minute walk to Piazza San Marco.
London Summer Term: Graphic Design in Britain
The London Graphic Design and Internship Program, part of Boston University’s liberal arts program, offers graphic design and advertising majors, visual arts students, and non-majors the unique opportunity to study graphic design and to intern in one of the world’s most important cities for graphic design. Students live in South Kensington and experience Europe’s hub for museums, design education, research, and technology. Students will enroll in two courses for a total of 8 credits: Graphic Design in Britain taught by Professor Richard B. Doubleday and Advertising in the U.K. Courses will integrate visits to museums, design studios, advertising agencies, and book publishers. Courses and studio work are conducted at Boston University British Programmes. Upon successful completion of the program, students earn 8 or 12 Boston University credits. All students are able to register for the four-credit internship in graphic design in addition to the two courses for a total of 12 Boston University credits.
Landscape Painting in Tuscany
The Tuscany Landscape Painting Program offers both painting majors and non-majors the opportunity to spend six weeks studying landscape painting on the estate of Capitignano in Tuscany, which is beautifully situated on a hillside and offers breathtaking views of the olive groves and vineyards of the Mugello Valley. It is an unparalleled setting for painters. Courses and studio work are conducted at Capitignano and students are housed there. Students will enroll in two courses: Landscape Painting and a second course in either art history or elementary Italian language. Courses will integrate visits to the museums and masterpieces of Florence, a 45-minute drive from Capitignano. Upon successful completion of the program, students earn 8 Boston University credits.
China
Boston University Beijing Art Center is a semester-long study abroad program for graduate painters, sculptors, and graphic designers. The program is housed within Tsinghua University School of Art in Beijing and offers students studio space with high ceilings and natural light. The course of study includes the following:
- Chinese Language
- Chinese Art History
- Chinese Studio Arts (Ink Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture and/or Graphic Design)
- Studio Art (studio program)
Boston University graduate students must have a 3.5 GPA and submit a proposal explaining why study in China would be beneficial to them, 10–20 images of artistic work, and two letters of recommendation.
World Travel Grant
Each year, one to two graduate students are chosen from a competitive process to spend one week in a pre-selected international destination. One destination is the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the rain forest of tropical Ecuador. The remote location provides unparalleled flora and fauna to observe and study. Ecuador hosts nearly 2,000 species of freshwater fish, 680 species of amphibians and reptiles, 1,435 species of birds, 30 species of mammals, nearly 20,000 species of flowering plants, and tens of thousands of insects. The week-long excursion offers an interested student a unique opportunity to draw, photograph, and paint in diverse locations.
