Studio Arts - B.A. and B.F.A. Download to print

The Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts is a liberal arts degree that provides students with the breadth of study that complements core work in the visual arts. Students may choose a minor or second major within or beyond the arts to prepare themselves for a wide range of careers or for further specialized study.

Students may range broadly among studio courses in Ceramics, Drawing, Glass, Jewelry/Metals/Enameling, Painting, Print Media and Photography, Sculpture and/or Textiles, with additional electives in art history, as well as in other disciplines within the university.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts prepares students for professional careers in the visual arts by developing their conceptual understanding, technical competency, and independent problem-solving needed for the challenges of a creative professional practice in their chosen discipline(s) or further graduate study.

Through studio critiques, study of sophisticated art and design concepts, mastery of skills and technologies, and critical analysis of historical and contemporary issues, students learn to analyze and evaluate visual art and to apply this knowledge to their own creative practice. Graduating students demonstrate their competence by producing a cohesive body of work presented in their senior thesis exhibition to a panel of faculty reviewers.

The program comprises concentrations in Ceramics, Drawing, Glass, Jewelry /Metals/Enameling, Painting, Print Media and Photography, Sculpture, and Textiles with opportunities for interdisciplinary exploration.

Study Abroad/Study Away Opportunities:

• Travel to: New York, Chicago, London and Paris, and China
• Study Abroad in Florence, Italy; Semester in Italy or the Summer Art and Culture trip
   

Artists held about 221,900 jobs in 2008. About 60% were self-employed. Employment was distributed as follows:

• Art directors 84,200
• Multimedia artists and animators 79,000
• Fine artists, including painters, sculptors and illustrator 23,600
• Crafts artists 13,600
• Artists and related workers, all other 21,500

Of the artists who were not self-employed, many worked for graphic design and related services; newspaper, periodical, book, web and software publishers; motion picture and video industries; specialized design services and computer design. Some self-employed artists offered their services to advertising agencies, design firms, publishing houses, and other businesses. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Jewelers and workers in precious stones and metals held about 52,100 jobs in 2008. About 21 % of salaried jobs for these workers were in retail trade, primarily in jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores. Another 15% of jobs were in jewelry and silverware manufacturing. A small number of jobs were with merchant wholesalers of miscellaneous durable goods and in shops providing repair and maintenance of personal and household goods. Although jewelry stores and repair shops are found in every city and in many small towns, most jobs were in larger metropolitan areas.

Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers held 787,500 jobs in 2008.

Many manufacturing jobs can be found in California, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Pennsylvania. Jobs in reupholstering, shoe repair and custom leatherwork, and laundry and dry-cleaning establishments are found in cities and towns throughout the Nation. Overall, about 11 percent of all workers in textile, apparel, and furnishings occupations were self-employed; however, about 43 percent of all tailors, dressmakers, and sewers and about 29 percent of all upholsterers were self-employed. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The B.A. degree in Studio Arts also provides a solid basis for exploration and deeper study at the graduate level which can include various design fields, arts administration, art conservation, art therapy, and art education, or for positions in art organizations, art journalism and related fields.

General Admission Information for Freshman Students: Admission Requirements at the Kent Campus: The freshman admission policy at the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon the following: overall grade point average, ACT and/or SAT scores, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends.

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago. For more information on admissions, visit the Admissions website for new freshmen.

Students applying to the B.F.A. program do not need to declare a concentration upon admission, but a concentration should be designated no later than completion of ART 30001 Common Review.

Transfer Students: Applicants meeting the general transfer requirement for admission should schedule a meeting with the academic advisor in the School of Art and a portfolio review with a faculty member in the studio arts division for proper placement. Working with the director of the School of Art, that faculty member may impose additional requirements considered reasonable and necessary. Transfer credits are evaluated consistent with the state Transfer Articulation Guidelines (TAGs), although each student will be evaluated individually in terms of his or her ability to perform in the program. Transfer students should make every effort to complete admission requirements before the deadlines and to schedule a review with a member of the studio arts division before registration.

For more information about admission criteria for transfer, transitioning and former students, please visit the admissions website.

B.A.: Minimum 120 total credit hours, minimum 39 upper-division hours. Minimum 2.000 overall GPA and a 2.250 GPA in the major.

B.F.A.: Minimum 120 total credit hours, minimum 39 upper-division hours. Minimum 2.000 overall GPA and a 2.500 GPA in the major. Students are required to plan and execute independently a senior project exhibition presentation for review to a faculty committee. The senior project includes a written proposal and artist's statement. Students should work closely with their studio art advisor on all aspects of the senior project.
 

Graduates in the B.A. program will be able to:

1. Demonstrate the ability (skill) to do competent work within their chosen media and an understanding of the processes and materials involved.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of larger contemporary and historical contexts within which the visual arts have been created.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of design and visual literacy in their work.
4. Use skills in oral, written and digital presentation of work and of ideas associated with visual arts production, use, and appreciation.

Graduates in the B.F.A. program will be able to:

1. Demonstrate the ability (skill) to work within their chosen medium/media, involving understanding associated materials and processes, as presented during the common review and in the body of work presented for the B.F.A. thesis.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of larger contemporary and historical contexts.
3. Demonstrate a high degree of design and visual literacy in their work and present that work coherently through a digital portfolio and the organization of the B.F.A exhibition.
4. Articulate their individual vision in both written and oral form (thesis statement and oral defense before faculty panel for B.F.A exhibition).

National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)

Students enrolled in a B.A. program in Studio Arts complete the Writing-Intensive Course (WIC), ART 40007, Arts Engagement: Interpreting for a Community, to interact with the arts community in multiple and interdisciplinary ways.

Students enrolled in a B.F.A. program in studio arts must receive a rating of "satisfactory" on works exhibited during required exhibition review and on the thesis statement and oral defense.