BA in Art
Degree Program Description
The School of Visual Studies’ BA in Art offers students a liberal arts pathway grounded in studio-driven inquiry, critical analysis, and engagement with visual and material culture. Through a combination of studio coursework and art historical study, students develop technical, conceptual, and interpretive skills that support creative practice across cultural, civic, and professional contexts.
The BA emphasizes interdisciplinary exploration, encouraging students to connect creative work to broader social, cultural, and intellectual frameworks. Students engage in making, research, and reflection while developing transferable skills in communication, collaboration, and creative problem-solving. The program culminates in a capstone experience, where students present the visual, material, and conceptual strategies of their work.
Graduates of the BA in Art can pursue diverse paths, including careers in the arts, design, education, and work within cultural institutions. The degree emphasizes transferable skills that support career paths that value creative thinking, adaptability, and critical inquiry. The BA in Art is well suited as a double-major and is frequently combined with degrees such as Art History, Digital Storytelling, Film Studies, Journalism, English, supporting interdisciplinary approaches to academic, creative, and cultural inquiry.
Art Students may take coursework across a wide range of media, including animation, book arts, ceramics, comics and cartooning, drawing, illustration, papermaking, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video art, and weaving.
Major Program Requirements
All students wishing to pursue a BA in Art must pass the Art BA/BFA Portfolio Review. Students are eligible to apply after completing the following foundations courses: ART_VS 1020, ART_VS 1030 and ART_VS 1040.
This foundational coursework is supported by the Art Studio Core( 12 cr.), Art Studio Electives (9 to 15cr.), Critical and Historical Studies (9cr.) and the VS Symposium Capstone (3cr). Alongside coursework in Art History, The BA requires 30–40 credit hours of studio art and 9 credit hours of Art History, including two courses at the 2000 level or above. The program culminates in a Capstone Course.
Students must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours of MU art coursework at the 2000 level or above. All coursework in Art and Art History must be completed with a grade of C- or higher.
| Studio Art Requirements | 34 to 40 | |
| SVS Foundation | 3 | |
| ART_VS 1020 | Introduction to Visual Studies | 3 |
| Art & Design Foundation | 7 | |
| ART_VS 1030 | 2-D Materials and Methods | 3 |
| ART_VS 1040 | 3-D Materials and Methods | 3 |
| ART_VS 2040 Portfolio Reivew | 1 | |
| Art Studio Core | 12 | |
| ART_VS 1050 | Drawing Materials and Methods | 3 |
| ART_VS 2100 | Hand-Built Ceramics | 3 |
| or ART_VS 2800 | Beginning Sculpture | |
| ART_VS 2310 | Book Arts | 3 |
| or ART_VS 2700 | Etching and Relief Printmaking | |
| or ART_VS 2730 | Screen Printing | |
| ART_VS 2500 | Beginning Painting | 3 |
| or ART_VS 2600 | Digital Photography | |
| Art Studio Electives | 9 to 15 | |
| 3000+ Art Studio Courses | 9 | |
opt. Art Studio Courses | ||
| SVS BA Capstone | 3 | |
| ARH_VS 4970 | Capstone: Visual Studies Symposium | 1 |
| Critical and Historical Studies Requirements | 9 | |
| ARH_VS 1130 | Introduction to the History of Art | 3 |
| or ARH_VS 1130W | Introduction to the History of Art - Writing Intensive | |
| Select one 3-credit 2000-level course from below: | ||
| Seeing Through Visual Cultures - Writing Intensive | ||
| The Lives of Objects | ||
or ARH_VS 2860W | The Lives of Objects - Writing Intensive | |
| The Art of the Book | ||
or ARH_VS 2150W | The Art of the Book - Writing Intensive | |
| Select one 3000+ level Writing Intensive Art History course | 3 | |
Semester Plan
Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student's actual plan may vary based on course choices where options are available.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ART_VS 1020 | 3 | ART_VS 1030 | 3 |
| ART_VS 1050 | 3 | ART_VS 1040 | 3 |
| ARH_VS 1130 | 3 | Math and Quantitative Reasoning | 3 |
| ENGLSH 1000 | 3 | Second Language Requirement | 4 |
| Second Language Requirement | 4 | Missouri State Law Requirement, Social Science from Arts and Science | 3 |
| 16 | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| 2D Art studio course | 3 | Art studio course, 2000+ level | 3 |
| 3D Art studio course | 3 | Biological or Physical Science lab | 3 |
| ARH_VS 3820W | 3 | Behavioral Science, 2000+ level | 3 |
| Behavioral Science from Arts and Science | 3 | Humanities from Arts and Science (non-Art History) | 3 |
| Second Language Requirement | 4 | Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 |
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Art studio course, 3000+ level | 3 | Art studio course, 3000+ level | 3 |
| Biological or Physical Science | 3 | Biological, Physical, or Mathematical Science | 3 |
| Humanities (non-Art History) | 3 | Social Science | 3 |
| Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 | Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 |
| Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 | Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ART_VS 4510 | 3 | Art History, 3000+ level (Writing Intensive) | 3 |
| Art studio course, 4000 level | 3 | Internship | 3 |
| Internship | 3 | Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 |
| Social Science | 3 | Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 |
| Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 | ||
| 15 | 12 | ||
| Total Credits: 120 | |||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
- Change your Major. If you are considering changing your undergraduate major or are choosing between several majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573) 884-9700 or through the Discovery Center service in your MU Connect success network.
- Decided on a Major. If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring that major.
- Identify your Interests and Strengths. If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values, and talents, visit the staff at the MU Career Center. No appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- Explore MU Majors. If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit Majors at Mizzou or the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.