View photos from the 2019 BFA in Art Capstone Exhibitions>>
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art is built on two central ideas. First, you will become a maker with technical and conceptual depth. Second, you will drive your own education with the choices you make about what classes to take and what projects to take on. You have the option of pursuing a concentration in Painting, Photography, Printmaking, or Sculpture. We offer advanced-level courses in these disciplines, as well as in time-based media and other practices.
All BFA in Art students integrate a mix of disciplines and approaches into their practice, regardless of whether you decide to concentrate in a specific discipline.
Course Work
In your first year, your required studio course work includes drawing, two-dimensional design, three-dimensional design, digital design, and a weekly lecture course.
Your choices begin in your sophomore year, when you select two of four Material & Culture studios: painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.
During your junior and senior years, you take seven Art Practice courses, which help you to acquire technical and conceptual strategies as you move toward independent work. We offer these courses in a range of areas every semester. Recent Art Practice offerings include:
– Body Image
– Large Format Photography
– The Printed Image
– Material as Metaphor
– Public Practice
– Time-Based Media
Also during your junior year, you will take two Methods & Contexts courses. Taught by teams of faculty, these courses help you understand your own artistic interests within the contemporary, professional field of art.
Capstone
In your senior capstone course, you commit to an artistic position—evidenced through studio production, presentation, and writing. Your work culminates in a spring exhibition.
Degree Requirements
The College of Art subscribes to the standards for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree as set forth and accepted by the College Art Association of American (CAA) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
For students entering the College of Art in fall 2019, a BFA degree requires a total of 121 credits of course work. Specific details for the BFA in Art for the 2019-20 academic year can be found here>>
Studio Spotlight: Documentary Photography & Social Practice
In this Art Practice course led by assistant professor Meghan Kirkwood, students explored the philosophical, aesthetic, and technical approaches to photographing contemporary landscapes and communities. Through a variety of projects, students practiced making work that responds to context and tells the story of what they see and experience. For their final project, they completed a final portfolio work that explored a topic related to food access and security in St. Louis, working closely with the Missouri Coalition for the Environment.
Questions?
Interested in learning more about our BFA in Art? Contact us>>