Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree for Art Major

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College of Arts and Sciences

The School of Art is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and offers several major options in the visual arts. Among them is the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with majors offered by Art Education, Digital Arts, Graphic Design and Studio divisions.

In order to be admitted to one of these BFA degree majors, students must pass a portfolio review within their first two years of study. All students earning the BFA are required to complete three foundation courses, four art history courses, a set of core divisional courses, a set of advanced studio courses and three to four capstone courses.

More specific requirements for each BFA degree can be found HERE

• Major courses may not be taken “S/U”.

(University degree requirements and the BG Perspective curriculum are explained elsewhere in the catalog.)

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES DEGREE REQUIREMENTS for the BFA in the SCHOOL OF ART

Foreign language. Each student is required to demonstrate proficiency in a language area by one of the options listed below:

Graduating from a high school where all instruction was conducted in a language other than English;
Demonstrating proficiency in the language on the 1020 course level;
Having completed two years of one language in high school (student must have completed the second full year, for example, Spanish II, and received credit for these courses);
Completing one of the following course sequences.

German, Russian and East Asian Languages (Chinese, Japanese}

Romance and Classical Studies (French, Greek, Italian, Latin, Spanish}

American Sign Language

EDIS 3240
EDIS 3250

Additional Requirements

Credit toward a degree is not granted for foreign language courses that duplicate more than two units of high school study.

Lab Science. One course. If approved for BGP, this course may also count in the appropriate BGP domain.

Arts & Sciences Multidisciplinary Component. The Arts and Sciences Multidisciplinary Component is grounded in the conviction that acquiring proficiency in multiple modes of thought and communication, referred to as habits of mind, is the defining characteristic of a liberal arts education. This four-course component will enhance students’ ability to see things from multiple perspectives, solve problems both analytically and creatively, and communicate effectively both within and across cultural boundaries.

As a college anchored in the tradition of liberal arts and sciences, we believe that acquiring multiple habits of mind is valuable both in its own right and as a way to promote lifelong learning. As the largest college in a comprehensive regional institution serving the state and nation, we also believe that the intellectual and personal growth that students achieve in a 21st-century arts and sciences degree program is crucial to success in the global age, regardless of one’s professional path.

Specifically, courses in the liberal arts and sciences emphasize

Critical contemplation of theoretically-grounded ideas and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.
Learning via inquiry, in which students test their assumptions by exploring bases of knowledge, recent research findings, or bodies of creative expression.
Advancement of general intellectual capacities, such as verbal, quantitative, and visual literacy, interpretive judgement, and critical self-reflection.
Development of broadly applicable competencies, such as precise analysis, evidence-based argumentation, creative problem-solving, and effective communication.
Engagement with experiences and perspectives that differ from one’s own.

Students are strongly encouraged to work with their college advisers and faculty mentors to maximize the potential of the Arts and Sciences Multidisciplinary Component. The four courses selected for this component may be closely related to the major, sample the diverse domains of the arts and humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, or be interdisciplinary in nature.

Each course must have a different prefix,
At least two courses must be at 3000- or 4000-level, and
Courses applied to the Arts and Sciences Multidisciplinary Component may not be used to fulfill other Arts and Sciences degree requirements, nor may they be used to fulfill major, minor, BGP or other program requirements.

A list of eligible courses is printed in the College of Arts & Sciences Handbook and tracked by the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS).