B.F.A. in Art
The B.F.A. degree prepares students to become professional artists, engage in professions in the arts or continue studies at the graduate level. The division offers instruction in an integrated studio environment in the following media: painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, video, ceramics and digital/hybrid media. Cross-disciplinary interaction is encouraged at every level. First-year students intending to major in art should take ASAG Foundations: Drawing and Design in the fall and spring terms as the beginning of their B.F.A. studies. To earn a B.F.A. (125 hours), the student is required to take a minimum of 66 hours in the Division of Art and nine to 12 hours in the Division of Art History. All majors in art are strongly encouraged to enroll in the May term or summer term study of art at SMU-in-Taos in Fort Burgwin, New Mexico, in the May or summer after declaring their major.
Because the total number of hours required to satisfy the General Education Curriculum requirements and the major requirements exceeds 122 term hours, students in the B.F.A. degree program of the Division of Art are exempt from three (3) hours of Perspectives and an additional three (3) hours taken from either Perspective or Cultural Formations.
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Credit Hours |
| General Education Curriculum |
35 |
| Required Art Courses |
78 |
The B.F.A. curriculum is divided into eight stages or areas: |
|
Foundations: Drawing/Design (for art majors only) |
12 |
ASAG 1300, 1304 Foundations I and II |
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ASAG 1601 Foundations III |
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Departmental Distribution |
12 |
ASDR 2300 Introduction to Studio: Drawing II plus |
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Three courses (9 hours) at the 2000 level from the following areas: |
| Ceramics |
Photography (1300 level)
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| Digital/Hybrid Media |
Printmaking
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| Painting |
Sculpture
|
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Major Concentration |
24 |
Includes ASXX 4315 Junior Independent Tutorial. The concentration should be chosen by the sixth term of study. Courses for the supporting studies must be approved by the division adviser or the student's primary area adviser.
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Primary Studies |
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Five courses (15 hours) in a single subject area at the 3000 level or above, including ASXX 4315 Junior Independent Tutorial in the primary area (usually taken in the seventh term). Primary studies areas: ceramics, digital/hybrid media, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, or sculpture.
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Supporting Studies |
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Three courses (9 hours) that support the student's primary studies: one may be at the 2000 level; two should be at the 3000 level or above. These may be within the Division of Art or from another division or school, provided they support the studio production of the student's primary studies (i.e., not art history, history, or critical studies).
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ASAG 3381 Critical Issues (fall term only) |
3 |
A seminar for art majors in their second or third year of studies. |
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ASAG 4300 or 4301 Senior Seminar |
3 |
Usually offered in the spring and taken in the final term of study. |
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ASAG 5315 B.F.A. Thesis Project in Art |
3 |
Includes the B.F.A. Qualifying Exhibition |
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Departmental Electives in Art |
9 |
Art History and New York Colloquium |
12 |
Introductory Surveys |
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Two courses (6 hours) chosen among: ARHS 1303, 1304, 1305, 1306, 1308
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Additional Studies |
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Two courses (6 hours) chosen among the following: Any 20th- or 21st- century art history course or
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ASAG 3350, 5350 Art Colloquium – New York or
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Any art history course at the 3000 level or above
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| Meadows Elective/Corequirement |
3 |
| Free Electives |
9 |
Total Hours
|
125 |