Art - Studio Arts (BFA)

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts is a professional degree that blends the expressive power of the traditional arts with the innovation of contemporary design practice. The BFA in Studio Arts, unlike the BA, is a degree that provides students with the opportunity to specialize/focus on a singular medium to achieve technical and conceptual mastery as opposed to the BA, which offers students a wider breadth of material experimentation and areas of study. Students begin with a strong foundation in studio art—developing skills in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and other hands-on media—before advancing into research based practice methods and ways of making. This balance fosters both formal/technical mastery and conceptual thinking, equipping students to create meaningful, visually compelling work across media and platforms.

Through a scaffolded curriculum that emphasizes creative exploration, technical proficiency, and professional readiness, students develop a strong design voice and an art world-ready portfolio. The program also integrates stackable micro-credentials in Ceramics and Printmaking, allowing students to tailor their studies and demonstrate specialized expertise.

The BFA culminates in a senior thesis exhibition and professional portfolio that reflect each student’s mastery of visual communication and their unique synthesis of formal artistry and conceptual innovation.

Learning Outcomes:

• Students are competent in their application of the elements of art and design principles and will develop a technical proficiency in a variety of media with an emphasis on the media of their choice (drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramic, or digital applications). 
• Students will gain knowledge in historical and contemporary art history, practices, and aesthetic theories and understand how their own artwork exists in relation to the canon.
• Students will prepare for professional development and career readiness—essential for those seeking to obtain an art degree in today’s age. 
• Students will develop an understanding of interdisciplinary perspectives: how art functions within broader socio-political contexts.
• Students will create a coherent body of work that focuses on a single theme/concept backed by a written exhibition proposal detailing their research and addressing the need for this body of work in contemporary society (Why did you make it? Why does it matter? Why now?).