Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2019-2020 Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Art and Design (B.F.A.)


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Program Descriptions

Bachelor of Fine Arts
Department of Art and Design  
College of Visual and Performing Arts

Visual Arts Building 117 ~ 260-481-6705


Upon completion of their degree, B.F.A. students will be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes:

  • Develop creative ways to solve problems in Fine Arts, Graphic Design, and Photography media, mastery in their chosen area of concentration, and competency in drawing visualize ideas.
  • Develop an ability to enhance their artwork through an understanding of the major movements in art history and awareness in a student’s area of concentration.
  • analyze and critique artwork in spoken and written forms, using sophisticated vocabulary and making appropriate references to contemporary and historical circumstances.
  • Work on large projects in an organized and incremental way, managing time and resources .
  • Implement 2D design principles compelling and effective artwork in a variety of media, including black and white, color, and digital imagery. 3D design principles in a variety of media to articulate form and space.
  • Develop verbal and written communication visual literacy skills for effective professional communication for of artwork.
  • Develop fundamental visual literacy skills and gain aptitude in applying those skills, leading to a heightened ability to communicate to a given audience.
  • Demonstrate functional knowledge of basic Fine Arts, Graphic Design, and Photography business practices and opportunities, as well as professional ethical practices.
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply their learning to become oriented to the working profession through activities such as exhibitions, field experience (museum, gallery and curatorial), artists residencies and workshops, internships, community art organizations, working as an arts educator, the pursuit of graduate education in the Visual Arts, or another arts-related degree.
  • Develop an ambitious body of original artwork to for Thesis Seminar i and II (capstone) Exhibition.

Program Description

The Bachelor of Fine Arts program offers a high-level studio experience that allows you to develop your creativity and prepares you for a professional career in the visual arts. You will benefit from working with our accomplished studio faculty as well as our partnerships with Fort Wayne design firms.

Courses offer multifaceted experiences in art and design creation, flowing from a solid and diverse foundation curriculum for the first two years. From this base, students have the latitude to sample various areas of creative endeavor before selecting an area of studio concentration. When you complete the degree, you will be ready to continue study in prestigious graduate programs or continue to be an active artist/designer in the business world.

Accreditation:

  • The Department of Art and Design is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).

Program Delivery:

  • Department of Art and Design courses are offered on campus, with some distance and hybrid course offerings.

Declaring this major (Studio Art or Design Art) - B.F.A. Portfolio Review:

Each student enters the program as a Bachelor of Art student. Students wishing to pursue the B.F.A. degree must submit a portfolio of their first and second year work to attain formal acceptance into the B.F.A. program. Each petitioning student must apply to present their work through the Department of Art & Design office in the semester in which they complete all second year classes. Each student applying for acceptance into the B.F.A. program will declare their area of studio concentration, i.e., painting, graphic design, etc. with the understanding that areas of art can be interdisciplinary and flexible.  There are Studio Art Concentrations (Ceramics, Drawing, Metalsmithing, Painting, Printmaking, and Sculpture), and Design Art Concentrations (Graphic Design and Imaging and Photography).

The Art and Design Department will notify students of this requirement, along with instructions on the portfolio review process.

B.F.A. Portfolio Review Outcome

A student applying for acceptance into the B.F.A. program from the B.A. program may be accepted, deferred or denied. A student’s acceptance into the B.F.A. program will allow them to advance into junior and senior level studio classes as a declared B.F.A. major. A deferred student will be asked to re-submit their portfolio for B.F.A. consideration after re-taking requested classes. A student denied entry into the B.F.A. program will continue in the B.A. program. Denied students can apply one additional time for review into the B.F.A. program with permission from the department chair.

General Requirements

Specific admission requirements for program - See “Declaring this major” above for portfolio review requirements.

General Education Requirements Credits: 33

  • Click on the Purdue University Fort Wayne General Education Requirements link above for details
  • A grade of C- or higher is required in each course used to satisfy the Purdue Fort Wayne General Education Requirements. Courses may be retaken if minimum grade requirement is not met.
  • B.F.A. students may not take any Art and Design courses for General Education credits; this includes AD 11100, AD 11201, AD 10101, AD 10801, AD 13300, AD 16500,  AD 19600, AD 23900

 

Art and Design Content Field: Credits 87 (either major)


Art History Course Requirements: Credits 12


Art and Design B.F.A. students are required to take 12 credit hours of Art History courses, including AD 11100 History of Art I and AD 11201 History of Art II.

This is followed by two additional advanced Art History electives, or 6 credits. AD 11100 and AD 11201 are pre-requisites for advanced Art History courses.

AD Advanced Art History Elective for all SAR majors: Credits 6


Graphic Design Advanced Art History: Credits 6


  • Students entering into the Graphic Design Concentration will choose one 3 credit upper-level Art History elective from the list above and will take AD 20101 - History Of Graphic Design I  for the remaining 3 credits.

Imaging and Photography Advanced Art History: Credits 6


  • Students entering into the Imaging and Photography Concentration will choose one 3 credit upper-level Art History elective from the list above and will take AD 20501 - History Of Photography  for the remaining 3 credits.

First Year Portfolio Review Checkpoint


All students in the Department of Art and Design must submt a portfolio of their first year foundation course work to be reviewed by department faculty at the end of all completed first year foundation courses, usually in the spring semester.  Work from outside of Art and Design foundation classes will not be accepted for consideration, therefore careful storage and documentation of student work is essential for success.  The review is a checkpoint to assure that students have met adequate quality standards in the first year of their foundation program.  Upon a satisfactory portfolio review, students will continue in the second year foundation courses.

The Department of Art and Design will send out detailed information regarding the portfolio review process.

Second Year Foundation Studio Courses: Credits 18


Second Year Foundation Portfolio Review - Petition For Entrance Into The BFA program (either major)


Students who wish to enter the BFA program must submit a portfolio of their second year foundation course work to be reviewed by department faculty at the end of all completed second year foundation courses, usually in the spring.  Student portfolios should consist of 18 examples of work from the second year foundation studio classes, including at least one piece of work from each class.  Work from outside of these classes will not be accepted for consideration, therefore careful storage and documentation of student work is essential for success.  Detailed information is available by contacting the Department of Art and Design.

See B.F.A. Portfolio Review Outcome above for more information on the results of the review.

Third Year Portfolio Review


Students at the end of their junior year, or upon completion of 84 credit hours, of which 48 credit hours must be studio courses, will submit a third portfolio for review. The portfolio must contain work representing the best and fullest range of work completed in the freshman, sophomore, and junior Art and Design courses. The department will send out detailed information regarding this review to students prior to the review. Successful students will be allowed to enroll in their remaining coursework in both advanced studio and senior thesis and exhibition courses. Students whose work does not meet the standards of the department reviewers may be required to change their degree program back to the Art and Design Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) program.

Studio Art Concentrations: Credits 39


Ceramics:


Studio Requirements – Cr. 15

Drawing:


Studio Requirements – Cr. 15

Metalsmithing:


Studio Requirements – Cr. 15

Painting:


Studio Requirements - Cr. 15

Printmaking:


Studio Requirements – Cr. 15

Sculpture:


Studio Requirements - Cr. 15

Design Art Concentrations:


Graphic Design:


Imaging and Photography:


First Year GPA Requirements


Students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0.  Successful students will progress with the second year courses.

GPA Requirements For The Remainder Of Degree


Students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and maintain this minimum cumulative 2.5 GPA until graduation.  Successful students will progress with the third and fourth year coursework.

Minimum Grade Requirements


Students must have a minimum grade of C- or better on all AD classes for credit towards their degree.  Classes below a C- grade may be retaken for a qualifying grade as needed.

Credit By Self-Acquired Competency


Credit by Self-Acquired Competency is at the discretion of the department and evaluated on an individual basis.

Repeat Limits


All advanced level studio courses may be repeated up to a maximum of 18 credits.  No courses may be repeated in Graphic Design or Imaging and Photography concentrations.

Self-Paced Courses:

Independent study classes are sometimes available and at the discretion of both the course instructor and chair of the department.

Total Credits: 120


Student Responsibilities


You are responsible for satisfying the graduation requirements specified for your selected program.  Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies and procedures governing your academic career.  All request for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean.

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Program Descriptions