BFA in Printmaking

The Printmaking program engages innovative and traditional technologies of print, builds creative community, and provides professional training in the fine print media. Building on the rigorous foundation program, the Printmaking major begins with introductory courses—intaglio, relief, lithography, screen printing, book arts, and digital printmaking—that focus on process and ideas in print media, and on materials, history, and analysis. The upper-level, advanced practice courses consolidate knowledge and encourage innovation and excellence, building toward a body of work with an individual voice and a specialized set of concerns and media, and culminating in the BFA Thesis Exhibition. Students in Printmaking are also expected to critique and write about their own and others’ work, and submit a written statement to accompany their exhibition.

A minimum of five major courses in at least three of the print media are required in Printmaking (including a thesis semester), as well as a Contemporary Issues Seminar, Painting II, the Art of the Multiple seminar, and at least one additional semester of Drawing at an advanced level. Additional studio electives provide versatility, visual fluency, and options in cross-disciplinary study, including two courses in one other major studio discipline and free electives supporting in-depth studio practice. Multidisciplinary study is encouraged, and students benefit from a close working relationship with faculty. Students are expected to interact with the community in special print projects, attend national conferences to build professional associations, and maintain an active profile as emerging professional artists.

The ultimate goal is to prepare students for career entry in the world of professional printmaking, with an understanding of their context in contemporary art. They will be fluent in the concepts, processes, experimentation, and materials that are necessary to create work on an advanced level in printmaking, developing work from idea to finished product, and will be able to analyze and respond critically to their own work and the work of others, to become contributing members of the creative community.

Learning Outcomes

All students graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the Boston University School of Visual Arts are expected to:

  • Develop a body of work that exhibits inventiveness, creativity, ambition, and clarity of thinking.
  • Demonstrate proficiency in various printmaking processes including materials, tools, and techniques appropriate to the practice—including mastery of at least one printmaking technique, and the ability both to experiment with technical innovation and to explore and develop personal concepts and imagery.
  • Demonstrate one’s ideas through a unique visual language.
  • Demonstrate spoken and written critical-thinking and communication skills.
  • Apply appropriate models of interpretation based on historical and contemporary artistic knowledge.
  • Generate career materials sufficient to sustain a professional practice: artist statement, CV, image documentation, and online presence.
  • Complete participation in at least one collaborative or community project within or outside the department (e.g., Kopanang project, printmaking conference, collaborative portfolio, group or exchange exhibition, etc.) via the student’s studio production.

Requirements

All first-year, first-time students will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, a general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements are flexible and can be satisfied in many different ways, through coursework in and beyond the major and, in some cases, through co-curricular activities. Students majoring in Printmaking will ordinarily, through coursework in the major, satisfy a number of BU Hub requirements in Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, the Individual in Community, First-Year Writing Seminar, Writing, Research & Inquiry, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing Intensive, Teamwork/Collaboration, Research and Information Literacy, and Creativity/Innovation. Remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied by selecting from a wide range of available courses outside the major or, in some cases, co-curricular experiences.

The BFA requires 132 semester credits.

Visual Arts Foundation Requirements
CFA FA 100 Doing, Making & Knowing: The CFA Experience 2 cr
CFA AR 131, 132 Drawing I (first two freshman semesters) 8 cr
CFA AR 121 Foundation Sculpture 4 cr
CFA AR 141 Foundation Painting 4 cr
CAS AH 111, 112 Art History 8 cr
Printmaking Major Requirements
CFA AR 425, 447, 448, 451, 452, 517, 518 Printmaking Major Studios (minimum four semesters, including final senior semester) 20 cr
CFA AR 238, 239, 240, 250, 251, 270, 425, 432, 447, 448, 500, 501, 517, 518 Drawing/Printmaking electives (advanced) 12 cr
CFA AR 241 Painting II 4 cr
Graphic Design/Painting/Sculpture electives 8 cr
Additional studio elective 4 cr
CFA AR 329 Contemporary Issues Seminar (fall only) 2 cr
CFA AR 450 Art of the Multiple 2 cr
CAS AH 393 Contemporary Art History–1980 to Present (fall only) 4 cr
BU Hub Requirements Outside Major and Electives
BU Hub Requirements outside the major, including First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 120) and Writing, Research & Inquiry (e.g., WR 150/151/152) or equivalent 32 cr
Additional BU Hub Requirements and/or studio/general electives 18 cr
Total credits 132 cr