Campuses:
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Twin Cities Campus
Art B.F.A.Art Department
College of Liberal Arts
The program provides in-depth instruction in the visual arts through a high concentration of coursework in the Department of Art. Admission is based on portfolio evaluation. The program is oriented toward professional practice or admission to a master's degree program.
Program Delivery
This program is available:
Admission Requirements
Students can apply to the BFA program after being admitted to the University of Minnesota. Incoming freshmen and transfer students will be invited to apply to the program after confirming their decision to attend the University of Minnesota.
Current students can also apply in both Fall and Spring semesters. For application information, portfolio requirements, and deadlines, see the department website: cla.umn.edu/art.
Students should apply and be admitted to the BFA program before they have completed 60 credits.
Students can apply to the BFA program twice, but a third application will not be considered.
For information about University of Minnesota admission requirements, visit the
Office of Admissions
website.
General Requirements
All students in baccalaureate degree programs are required to complete general University and college requirements including writing and liberal education courses. For more information about University-wide requirements, see the
liberal education requirements.
Required courses for the major, minor or certificate in which a student receives a D grade (with or without plus or minus) do not count toward the major, minor or certificate (including transfer courses).
Program Requirements
CLA degrees require students to complete 48 credits of upper-division coursework taken at the 3xxx, 4xxx, or 5xxx level.
Beginning in Fall 2016, the Art BFA does not have a second language requirement, but students may choose to complete a second language sequence. Consult the Department of Art advisor to find out how this will change your electives requirement.
Students who wish to apply credits from art courses taken outside the University of Minnesota should contact the department's undergraduate advisor. At least one upper division (3xxx or above) course in the major must be writing intensive. Students may earn no more than one degree from the Department of Art: a BA or a BFA or a minor.
All incoming CLA freshmen must complete the First Year Experience course sequence.
Preparatory Courses
Take 19 or more credit(s) from the following:
Introduction to Contemporary Art and Theory or Art and Life
Take exactly 1 course(s) totaling exactly 3 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 1001 - Introduction to Contemporary Art and Theory
[AH, DSJ]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARTS 1002 - Art and Life: Thinking About Ethics Through Art
[AH, CIV]
(3.0 cr)
·
Drawing
Take exactly 1 course(s) totaling exactly 4 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 1101 - Introduction to Drawing
[AH]
(4.0 cr)
·
Three-Dimensional Concepts
Take exactly 1 course(s) totaling exactly 4 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 1802 - Introduction to Sculpture: Understanding the Fundamentals of the Practice of Sculpture
[AH]
(4.0 cr)
·
ARTS 1801 - Introduction to Ceramics: Wheel-Throwing and Hand-Building Techniques
[AH]
(4.0 cr)
·
Reproducible Media
Take exactly 1 course(s) totaling exactly 4 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 1501 {Inactive}
[AH]
(4.0 cr)
·
ARTS 1103 - Introduction to Printmaking: Relief, Screen and Digital Processes
[AH]
(4.0 cr)
·
ARTS 1704 - Introduction to Moving Images
[AH]
(4.0 cr)
·
ARTS 1701 - Introduction to Photography
[AH]
(4.0 cr)
·
1xxx-level Elective
Take exactly 1 course(s) totaling exactly 4 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 1xxx (4.0 cr)
Art Electives
In the final year of studies, a minimum of 8 Art Elective credits must be at the 5xxx level.
Take 30 or more credit(s) from the following:
Take 0 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 3xxx
·
Take 8 or more credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 5xxx
Art Internship
Take 1 of the following courses for at least 1 credit.
ARTS 3896 - Internship
(1.0-3.0 cr)
or
ARTS 3499 {Inactive}
(3.0 cr)
Critical Theory
Take 1 or more course(s) totaling 3 - 4 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 3401W - Critical Theories and Their Construction From a Studio Perspective
[AH, CIV, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARTH 3577 - Photo Nation: Photography in America
[AH]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARTH 5417 {Inactive}
(3.0 cr)
·
CSCL 1001W - Introduction to Cultural Studies
[AH, DSJ, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
CSCL 1201W - Cinema
[AH, WI]
(4.0 cr)
·
CSCL 1301W - Reading Culture: Theory and Practice
[AH, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
CSCL 3210 - Cinema and Ideology
[AH]
(4.0 cr)
·
CSCL 3425W - Critical Theory and Social Change
[AH, DSJ, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
CSCL 3351W - The Body and the Politics of Representation
[HIS, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
PHIL 3502W {Inactive}
[WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
CSCL 3350W - Sexuality and Culture
[DSJ, WI]
(3.0 cr)
or
GLBT 3456W - Sexuality and Culture
[DSJ, WI]
(3.0 cr)
Art History
Take 3 Art History courses for a total of 9 credits. At least 2 of the Art History Courses must be upper-division.
Take 3 or more course(s) totaling 9 or more credit(s) from the following:
Lower-division Courses
Take 0 - 1 course(s) totaling 0 - 3 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTH 1xxx
·
Upper-division Courses
Take 2 - 3 course(s) totaling 6 - 9 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 3401W - Critical Theories and Their Construction From a Studio Perspective
[AH, CIV, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARTH 3xxx
·
ARTH 5xxx
Seminar
Note that ARTS 5400 is taken in the final fall semester of the B.F.A. program and requires concurrent enrollment in a 5xxx arts course for 4 credits that is part of the required 30 credits of art electives.
Take exactly 1 course(s) totaling exactly 3 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 5401W - BFA Seminar Capstone 1: Concepts and Practices in Art
[WI]
(3.0 cr)
Senior Project
B.F.A. candidates register with their faculty adviser and participate in a solo or small group exhibition at an adviser-approved gallery or exhibition space during the final semester. Note that ARTS 5444 is taken the final spring semester of the B.F.A. program and requires concurrent enrollment in a 5xxx arts course for 4 credits that is part of the required 30 credits of art electives. Students must complete ARTS 5400 prior to enrolling in ARTS 5444.
Take exactly 1 course(s) totaling exactly 1 credit(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 5407 - BFA Capstone 2: Critique and Exhibition
(4.0 cr)
Upper Division Writing Intensive within the major
Students are required to take one upper division writing intensive course within the major. If that requirement has not been satisfied within the core major requirements, students must choose one course from the following list. Some of these courses may also fulfill other major requirements.
Take 0 - 1 course(s) from the following:
ARTS and ARTH options
Take no more than 1 course(s) from the following:
·
ARTS 3401W - Critical Theories and Their Construction From a Studio Perspective
[AH, CIV, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARTH 3014W - Art of India
[AH, GP, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARTH 3014V {Inactive}
[GP, AH, WI]
(4.0 cr)
·
ARTH 3015W - Art of Islam
[AH, GP, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
ARTH 3921W - Art of the Film
[AH, WI]
(4.0 cr)
·
Other options within the major
Take no more than 1 course(s) from the following:
·
AMES 3356W - Chinese Film
[AH, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
COMM 3645W - How Pictures Persuade
[WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
CSCL 3212W - Documentary Cinema: History and Politics
[AH, CIV, WI]
(4.0 cr)
·
CSCL 3425W - Critical Theory and Social Change
[AH, DSJ, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
CSCL 3351W - The Body and the Politics of Representation
[HIS, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
GEOG 3374W - The City in Film
[AH, WI]
(4.0 cr)
·
GER 3604W - Introduction to German Cinema
[AH, GP, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
PHIL 3502W {Inactive}
[WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
CSCL 3350W - Sexuality and Culture
[DSJ, WI]
(3.0 cr)
or
GLBT 3456W - Sexuality and Culture
[DSJ, WI]
(3.0 cr)
·
GWSS 3409W - Asian American Women's Cultural Production
[AH, DSJ, WI]
(3.0 cr)
or
AAS 3409W - Asian American Women's Cultural Production
[AH, DSJ, WI]
(3.0 cr)
|
|
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtS 1001/ArtS 1001H |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtS 1101/ArtS 2101 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtS 1103/ArtS 2502 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtS 1704/ArtS 2601 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtS 1701/ArtS 2701 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 1.0 -3.0 [max 6.0] |
Grading Basis: | S-N or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtS 3401W/ArtS 3401V |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtH 1921W/CSCL 1201W/SCMC 120 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CSCL 3210/SCMC 3210 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CSCL 3350W/GLBT 3456W |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CSCL 3350W/GLBT 3456W |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtS 3401W/ArtS 3401V |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtS 3401W/ArtS 3401V |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtH 3014W/ RelS 3415 |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | ArtH 3015W/ClCv 3015W/RelS 370 |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CSCL 3212W/SCMC 3212W |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Geog 3374W/3374V/5374W |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Typically offered: | Fall Even, Spring Odd Year |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CSCL 3350W/GLBT 3456W |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CSCL 3350W/GLBT 3456W |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | AAS 3409W/GWSS 3409W |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | AAS 3409W/GWSS 3409W |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |