ARTP-BA - Art Practice (BA)
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Program Overview
The undergraduate program in Art Practice is designed to help students think critically about the visual arts and visual culture. Courses focus on the meaning of images and media and their historical development, societal roles, and relationships to disciplines such as literature, music, and philosophy. Work performed in the classroom, studio, and screening room is designed to develop a student’s powers of perception, capacity for visual analysis, and knowledge of technical processes.
Preparing for the Major
Suggested Preparation for the Major
Students considering an Art Practice major are encouraged to take the following three introductory courses, which also fulfill major requirements, during their frosh or sophomore years. The core studio series course ‘Foundations 2D’ and course ‘Foundations 3D/4D’ expose students to a broad range of contemporary artists and hands-on art-making techniques, familiarize students with the various studio facilities in the Department of Art & Art History, introduce key theoretical concepts in contemporary practice, and provide experience with group critiques and exhibition practices which are critical components of the art practice field and major. course ‘Art and Power’ familiarizes students with contemporary thinking regarding the power dynamics in the production and circulation of art, along with its cultural and historical uses and impacts. By taking these three core courses early on, students gain a broad overview of the field and its essential components, which can better situate and contextualize their elective coursework for the major upon declaring.
How to Declare the Major
To declare the major, students must meet with the Student Services Specialist. During this meeting, students select a faculty advisor with guidance from the Student Service Specialist. Students then must confirm that the faculty member has agreed to advise them by filing a signed advisor form.
During the first two weeks of each quarter, majors must meet with their faculty advisor and the Student Services Specialist to have coursework approved and ensure they are meeting degree requirements.
During their junior year, declared art practice majors may apply for the Honors Program in Art Practice; for details, see the Honors section below.
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
Overview
All undergraduate Art Practice majors complete at least 65 units, as detailed below.
The coursework includes six lower-level studio courses, six upper-level studio courses, and four art history / critical theory courses as follows:
Five required courses:
course - Foundations 2D
course - Foundations 3D/4D
course - Art & Power
course - Art Practice Major Seminar (WIM)
course - Art Practice Capstone Course
Eleven elective courses:
Four 100-level elective studio courses
Four 200-level elective studio courses
Three art history/critical theory elective courses*
*(One Film & Media Studies course may satisfy an art history/critical theory elective. One of these electives may also be from another department with advisor approval).
Students are expected to pass reviews and critiques of their work throughout the quarter and participate in open studios and exhibitions as required by their art studio courses.
All required and elective courses must be taken for a letter grade and must be passed with a letter grade of C or better.
Completing a full year of ITALIC can count as four credits towards either one Art History elective or one lower 100-level Art Practice elective.
Curricular Flow
As outlined in the “Suggested Preparation for the Major” section above, students are strongly encouraged to take the required core program courses course ‘Foundations ‘I and course ‘Foundations II’ studio series, and course ‘Art & Power’ before declaring, or at least early in their major, as these provide broad understanding and context for the field.
At the start of the major, along with the above core courses, students should take a range of introductory (100-level) elective studio courses to fulfill their four lower-level studio electives. In these lower-level courses, students explore different media and build an understanding of the scope of contemporary art practice. After completing 100-level courses, students can focus their practice via upper (200-level) elective courses in specific areas of interest. The advanced 200-level courses are designed to deepen the student’s knowledge of particular materials and techniques and stretch their understanding of conceptual issues. Experimental and challenging, these courses typically cross area boundaries. Independent study, which a permanent faculty member supervises, is also available on a case-by-case basis as a component of a student’s 200-level coursework for the degree.
The course ‘Art Practice Major Seminar’ is designed to be taken in junior year. Students may enroll in this course only after completing the three core program courses (the Foundations I, II art studio courses and the Art & Power art history course) and two additional 100-level studio electives. In this advanced course, students begin to define their artistic voice and develop a unique body of individual work. Students learn to document and refine their work by creating a professional portfolio, an artist’s statement, and an artwork research proposal to further their artistic goals. The Art Practice Major Seminar is typically offered in winter quarter, as it supports students interested in applying to the honors program to prepare the required materials for the application process in the spring.
The course ‘Art Practice Capstone’ course must be taken in the senior year. This course includes preparation and participation in the senior art practice exhibition and professional practice experiences such as catalog production, guest curator critiques, etc., which are the culmination of the art practice degree.
Specific ARTSTUDI courses listed may not be offered yearly and are subject to change. Art practice courses change frequently, so this list may not be current. Typically any four-credit ARTSTUDI 100-level course may count towards 100-level electives for the major, and any 4-credit ARTSTUDI 200-level course may count towards the 200-level electives. Ask your advisor or the Student Services Specialist if a course not listed can count towards your major.
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Completing a full year of ITALIC can count as 4 credits towards either one Art History elective or one lower 100-level Art Practice elective.
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Independent study, which a permanent faculty member supervises, is also available on a case-by-case basis as a component of a student’s 200-level coursework for the degree. For Independent Study to apply to the major, it must be taken for four units.
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Complete three art history/critical theory elective courses. One Film & Media Studies course may satisfy an art history/critical theory elective. One of these electives may also be from another department with advisor approval. Completing a full year of ITALIC can count as four credits towards either one Art History elective or one lower 100-level Art Practice elective.
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course should be taken during junior year.
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Majors take the Major Capstone in spring of the senior year. The course culminates in the Senior Art Exhibition.
Students pursuing Honors should earn a grade of A- or higher every quarter for the following courses.
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Overview
The art practice honors program is competitive, open only to art practice majors, via an application process in spring of the junior year. Completion of the honors program is noted on the student’s diploma and transcript.
Students selected into and participating in the art practice honors program develop an additional focused body of artwork throughout their senior year in parallel with their regular work for the art practice major. This thesis artwork is exhibited in an honors exhibition at the end of the senior year. Students also produce a written thesis paper contextualizing and documenting this work.
Participation in the honors program requires ten units of honors-specific coursework dedicated to producing the thesis artwork, exhibition, and written thesis. Up to 4 units of this honors coursework may count towards one of the six upper 200-level elective courses required for the major. The honors track is a minimum of six credits more than the 65 credits required for the regular art practice major. A minimum of 71 credits is required for the Art Practice major plus the Art Practice Honors Program.
While honors students are expected to work independently to develop their honors artwork, they are supported via ongoing one-on-one tutorials with a faculty thesis mentor (which comprise 3 of the required 10 honors credits) and via a year-long Honors seminar with the other honors students and the Director of the Honors program (which comprises the additional 7 required credits). In the Honors seminar, students engage with their honors cohort through critiques and other activities determined by the faculty director of the honors program.
Honors students are also given access to individual studio space in a shared honors studio throughout their senior year to develop their honors thesis work.
Admission to the Honors Program
Students are selected for the Honors program based on the strength of their application portfolio and project proposal submitted as part of the honors application. Students accepted into the honors program have illustrated their ability to work independently and rigorously on their artwork, participate productively in group critiques, and work respectfully in a shared studio space. The body of work students propose and develop for an honors exhibition is expected to deepen and elaborate on work and themes they have begun to explore in previous courses or independent work.
To be eligible to apply for honors, students must have completed ARTSTUDI 101 ‘Foundations I,’ ARTSTUDI 102 ‘Foundations II,’ ARTHIST 5 ‘Art & Power,’ ARSTUDI 201 ‘Art Practice Major Seminar,’ and three of their 100-level elective courses by the end of their Junior year. Four required courses must be completed by the end of winter quarter. With advisor approval, two of the 100-level elective courses may be taken at an overseas campus.
Application Timeline
Early in their junior year, students considering honors should contact Student Services to review the requirements and express interest in the program so that they will be notified of that year’s specific application deadlines and submission process.
During Autumn quarter of the junior year, students interested in pursuing honors should consult and select a potential honors thesis mentor from the Art Practice faculty. This is the faculty member the student will work with in one-on-one honors tutorials senior year if selected for the program. The honors thesis mentor need not be the student’s academic advisor but certainly can be. The honors thesis mentor will approve the honors proposal in Spring quarter of their junior year and will agree to work with them as a tutorial instructor for autumn quarter of their senior year. Thesis mentors must be in residence during Autumn quarter of the student’s senior year.
By March 1 of junior year, students must announce their intention to submit an honors application proposal by submitting an honors intent form signed by their selected honors thesis mentor. If you have filed an intention form, you will be notified of upcoming submission deadlines and details.
By April 15th of junior year, students must submit their complete honors application package. Proposal, course plan, and transcript are submitted to student services, and artwork portfolio and descriptions to Slideroom. Honors Application materials will be reviewed by the Art Practice faculty.
By May 15 of junior year, students will be notified of acceptance into the honors program.
Submission of the Honors Application Package
The honors application package includes:
Honors Thesis Exhibition Project Proposal: This maximum 2-page proposal describes the artwork/project which will be created during the honors program, including an outline of research concepts and project goals. The student’s selected thesis mentor must sign the proposal.
Artwork Portfolio: Ten artwork samples consisting of either JPEGS of recent work (no larger than 1MB each) or a combination of JPEGS and up to three video/audio clips no longer than five minutes per clip. If video/audio work only is submitted, any combination of up to 15 minutes of clips may be submitted.
Artwork Sample Descriptions: List each artwork and descriptions of submitted artwork (title, date, medium, dimensions, length if applicable, explanation if needed). These should be included on the “info” section of Slideroom, or as a standalone sheet uploaded as the last item in the portfolio.
Course Plan for senior year: Include titles for all classes, not just course numbers.
Copy of Academic Transcript.
Honors Program Requirements
Preparation for the Honors Program
Honors students should spend parts of the summer between their junior and senior years refining the honors thesis proposal individually and pursuing off-campus research that supports their inquiry. Students are encouraged to apply for UAR research grants to help finance trips or expenses related to individual summer work and research to support their honors thesis.
Honors students accepted into the program are highly encouraged to participate in the on-campus, two-week, 100% free Bing Honors College (BHC) in early September before the start of their senior year if this program is offered in Art Practice that year. Art Practice is not able to offer the BHC every year as it is based on faculty availability. BHC participants work individually and collectively on their theses with the support and guidance of faculty leaders and graduate student assistants. Participating in BHC helps students begin their senior year with a head start on their thesis project and a serious commitment to independent scholarship in an environment of shared intellectualism.
Research, Production, and Writing of the Honors Thesis
During their senior year, students must register for three units of ARTSTUDI297 Honors Tutorial and seven units of ARTSTUDI297S AP Honors Seminar. Students must enroll in 1 unit of ARTSTUDI297 each quarter (Autumn, Winter, and Spring) and 3 units of ARTSTUDI297S in the fall, and 2 units each in Winter and Spring. Up to 4 units may count towards one of the six upper-level courses required for the major.
Over the year, students work actively with the director of the honors program and their thesis mentor to define their thesis’s scope and plan and develop the thesis artwork so that a complete honors thesis exhibition is installed in the first three weeks of spring quarter of their senior year. An individual or a group honors exhibition will be scheduled at the discretion of the Honors Director and the Exhibitions Manager for the Department of Art and Art History.
The written thesis contextualizing and documenting the thesis artwork is also created in close consultation with the Honors Director and Thesis Mentor and is due according to the timeline outlined in the Honors Seminar course.
The honors program director determines additional honors requirements and milestones, which will be detailed as assignment components of the ARTSTUDI 297S Honors seminar course. Requirements may include attendance at quarterly artist talks in the Department of Art & Art History’s Studio Lecture Series.
Submission and Approval of the Honors Thesis
While their honors thesis exhibition is on display, the student must arrange a meeting with their thesis mentor and the Honors Director to review the work. The thesis mentor and the Honors Director must approve the honors thesis artwork to qualify the student to graduate with honors.
Students must also receive a yearly average of an A- or better for the three quarters of ARTSTUDI 297S AP Honors Seminar and ARTSTUDI 297 Honors Tutorial. Components of the grades in these courses include the Honors Director and Thesis Mentor’s evaluation of the student’s research, preparation, and final production of the written honors thesis and the thesis artwork displayed in the thesis exhibition.