Art Major/Minor Requirements

An integral part of a liberal arts curriculum, the courses of the studio art department encourage aesthetic awareness and appreciation by emphasizing the interdependence of art-making, art history, and other intellectual fields. Certification for teaching K-12 is available in conjunction with the studio art major. Students planning to major in studio art should take the introductory 100-level courses required for the major in their freshman and sophomore years. Students may take a maximum of 90 units in the studio art department.

Students who major in studio art will learn the principles of two-dimensional design (line, shape, texture, value, color theory, balance, rhythm, emphasis, illusion of space, etc.), three-dimensional design (form, function, dimensionality, line, plane, volume, mass, space, texture, light, color, balance, scale, proportion, materials, etc.), and four-dimensional design (elements of time, narrative, non-narrative, multiples, experimental structure, installations, etc). Students will generate and propose project ideas for a fully realized body of work to be included in ongoing exhibitions, installations and public art displays. Moreover, they will recognize the continuum of art history, theory, and criticism to provide background and context for critiquing and producing art, and they will interpret contemporary art and design and its relationship to art history and visual culture. In so doing, they will implement the communication skills required for evaluating art. At the conclusion of the major, students will produce a fully realized body of work backed by an artist statement and properly presented in the Senior Exhibition.

The major in studio art requires the following:

1. A minimum of nine studio art courses (54 units) to include:
   1. Two 100-level Studio Art courses
   2. One two-dimensional and one three-dimensional course (6 units each) at the 200 level
   3. At least four courses (24 units) numbered 300 or above, of which at least one (6 units) must be numbered 500 or above
   4. ART 600: Senior Seminar
2. A grouping of works in the senior exhibition
3. Two art history courses (12 units) to include:
   1. One 100-level ARHI course
   2. One ARHI course (6 units) with an emphasis on 20th century or contemporary art

The studio art Senior Experience consists of two separate yet complementary components: ART 600: Senior Seminar (usually offered Term I) and participation in the Senior Exhibition, held annually in the Wriston Galleries near the end of Term III.

Both aspects of the studio art Senior Experience are intended to be a culmination of the practical and conceptual art-making skills developed through the studio art program. Designed to inform one another, both serve to encourage a more refined awareness and understanding of current issues pertinent to contemporary art along with the applied skills and critical thinking processes necessary for success either in graduate school or as a professional visual artist.

1. A minimum of six studio art courses (36 units) to include:
   1. Two 100-level studio art courses
   2. One course (6 units) numbered 500 or above
   3. Three additional courses (18 units)
2. A grouping of works in the senior minors' exhibition

Studio art majors may seek certification to teach art in grades K-12.  Recommended art courses for certification include ART 200, 240, 250, and 585, and one 100-level ARHI course and one ARHI course (6 units) with an emphasis on 20th century or contemporary art. These courses may be taken in conjunction with or in addition to the studio art major requirements. Additional recommended courses to expand knowledge of media and processes are ART 220, 230, and 270. Students can add an endorsement for a second area (such as English as a second language) by completing the appropriate minor. Students who plan to seek teacher certification should notify their advisor, review the requirements in the Education section of the catalog, and meet with the director of teacher education as soon as possible, preferably before the end of the sophomore year.