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BFA

Bachelor of Fine Arts Program in Art

The broad-based, four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts program in art addresses many issues facing the contemporary artist. The primary intention of the program is to develop in the individual the commitment, knowledge and skills necessary to work as an artist in a rapidly changing global culture. Being educated to "work as an artist" can and will prepare individuals for many, widely diverging opportunities.

Implicit in the program is the notion that an artist works within a context of many dualities, which include: culture/nature, tradition/experiment, high-technology/low-technology, private/public, global/local, and diversity/focus. The program is a vehicle to explore these dualities.

The B.F.A. curriculum is composed of five components:

After freshman year, students have many options regarding the sequencing and selection of their academic courses. In the second semester of the sophomore year, students begin to select their own choices for advanced-level studio courses. In their junior year students have full latitude for course selection.

The ratio of studio to academic units is 5:3, or as a percentage, the curriculum is 62.5% studio and 37.5% academic. While the primary focus of the studio courses is artmaking, many studio courses have inherent academic components.

The undergraduate program presents artmaking in a unique manner, respecting tradition and encouraging innovation. The division of the curriculum into conceptually based courses and media-based courses fully acknowledges that neither concept nor media can be presented independently of the other. The dual approach ensures that all students experience high quality, consistent training in the making contemporary art. The five categories of the program are described below.

Concept Studios

These studios are the core of the B.F.A. concept component, appearing throughout the entire four-year program. Included are three semesters of Concept Studios, one or two semesters of Art-in-Context, and two semesters of Senior Project. The topics of the three Concept Studios are 1) the self and the human being, 2) space and time, and 3) systems and processes. These three courses are organized around structured assignments designed to assist the students in developing a personal, non-medium-specific approach to generating art as well as learning transferable conceptual skills. The progression from semester to semester tends toward increasing complexity. The junior Art-in-Context courses are devoted entirely to a community-based project, and the senior courses to a single student-generated project or body of work.

The Concept Studios are also a framework for mentoring and professional preparation, including preparation for the Sophomore and Senior Reviews.

Foundation Media Studios

Students take two media studios each semester during the freshman and sophomore years for a total of eight courses. These studios ensure that all students have an exploratory experience with every medium available in the school. They also serve as preparation for advanced studio work.

Two-dimensional media studios present drawing and mixed two-dimensional techniques and materials during the freshman year, and introduce painting and printmaking during the sophomore year. Electronic media studios introduce computer-related work during the freshman year and video in the sophomore year. Three-dimensional media studios introduce ceramics, welding and woodworking during the freshman year, and survey foundry, metals, and construction during the sophomore year.

Advanced Studios

Students take a total of eight advanced studio courses during the junior and senior years. These courses address specialized studios work in one of the three concentration areas in the School, which are:

A minimum of four courses must be taken in one of the three concentration areas. One advanced studio must be taken in another College of Fine Arts area: Architecture, Design, Drama, Music of Fine Arts Interdisciplinary.

Art Academic Courses

A four-semester art history/theory survey is required of all students. The course components of the survey are:

After these survey courses, students must take two additional art history/theory elective courses chosen from courses focused in a variety of ways, including:

University Academic Courses

B.F.A. students take eleven academic courses outside of the School of Art. In the freshman year, students take World History, English Composition (Interpretation and Argument), and Computing Skills Workshop (required of all Carnegie Mellon University students). After the freshman year, students take one course in each of the three following academic areas or options:

Students take three additional courses from one of the options above and two additional, unspecified academic electives. In the selection of courses for the academic component of the curriculum, students are encouraged to complete a cluster of courses that appeals to and develops their interests as emerging artists. In the process of taking their university electives, student can often simultaneously earn a minor.

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