Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art

Iowa State University

The Department of Art and Visual Culture offers degree programs focused on fine arts and visual culture, including the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Art, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Art History, Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Art, and Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Integrated Visual Arts. Course offerings include studio arts, art history, art education, and scientific illustration and visualization. The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art (formerly Integrated Studio Arts) is an enrollment-managed, four-year program for students seeking an immersive degree in studio arts with an emphasis on crossing conceptual and media boundaries. In their sophomore year, students complete rotations in our eight media areas: ceramics, textiles, jewelry and metalsmithing, furniture design and woodworking, painting, printmaking, digital media, and photography. Classes in color theory and drawing round out the year. Junior and senior-level studios provide focused investigation in specific media areas and help prepare students for professional practice and/or graduate study toward a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree. Art history courses enhance the studio environment by providing a strong context as students develop their ideas and technical abilities. Over their four-year course of study, students develop a portfolio and prepare for a professional practice in the visual arts. This concentration engages aesthetics, conceptual development and visual problem-solving, critical thinking, and technical-skill development, using historical and cultural theory, contemporary trends, and studio practice. The B.F.A. degree culminates in a professional exhibition in the College of Design’s Gallery 181. Transfer students with studio credits from other colleges and universities may present a portfolio of work created in those courses to determine if these credits can be applied toward specific studio requirements. Students will present this portfolio upon admission and prior to registration for classes. Arrangements for this process should be made with the department's academic advisors. The department offers an undergraduate minor in Illustration and participates in the undergraduate minors in Classical Studies, Critical Studies in Design, Design Studies, Digital Media, and Textile Design.

College of Design