BFA in Art
Degree Program Description
The School of Visual Studies' Art program offers opportunities for creative development, provides instruction in visual literacy, and trains students in the necessary technical and conceptual skills needed to pursue a lifetime of creative activity. Through a variety of studio art courses, students learn critical thinking skills, creative problem solving, and become life-long learners. Course offerings include ceramics, drawing, fibers, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. The BFA is considered a professional degree intended to provide a solid foundation for a career in visual art. Students that earn a degree in art pursue a variety of careers, including professional artists and illustrators; art educators; museum and gallery curators and directors; commercial and studio designers; and graphic, web, print and packaging designers. Businesses are looking for creative thinkers and innovative problem solvers, skills acquired in the BFA degree.
Major Program Requirements
Art majors earning a BFA degree complete Art Foundations courses, Art Studio Core requirements, Art Studio Electives, Art Capstone Sequence, and Critical and Historical Art History courses. Students enrolled in the program may not include art or art history courses with a grade of D. There is a Laptop Computer Requirement.
All art students are assigned an Academic Advisor. Students are encouraged to meet with the Academic Advisor regularly and to plan a program of study with a focus in one particular media area before the Capstone Sequence.
Students complete 64 to 70 credits in studio art and 12 credits of Art History courses, including at least three 3-credit Art History courses numbered 2000 or above, including one 3000+ Writing Intensive course. A minimum of 35 credit hours of studio art coursework must be taken at MU.
In addition to University, general education, and College of Arts and Science requirements, students must also meet the following major program requirements. All major requirements in the College of Arts and Science must be completed with grades of C- or higher unless otherwise indicated.
All students wishing to pursue a degree in art will need to pass the Art program BA/BFA Portfolio Review. A student will need to have completed four (4) courses in art before submitting a portfolio (it is acceptable to be enrolled in the last class(es) the semester the portfolio is submitted). The courses are ART_VS 1020, ART_VS 1030, ART_VS 1040, and ART_VS 1050. For more detailed information on the portfolio, please refer to the School of Visual Studies website.
| Art Foundations (12 Credits) | ||
| ART_VS 1020 | Introduction to Visual Studies | 3 |
| ART_VS 1030 | 2-D Materials and Methods | 3 |
| ART_VS 1040 | 3-D Materials and Methods | 3 |
| ART_VS 1050 | Drawing Materials and Methods | 3 |
| Art Portfolio Review Required | ||
| Art Studio Core Requirements (24 Credits) | ||
| ART_VS 1070 | Digital Methods | 3 |
| ART_VS 2100 | Hand-Built Ceramics | 3 |
| ART_VS 2210 | Beginning Color Drawing | 3 |
| ART_VS 2320 | Weaving | 3 |
| or ART_VS 2310 | Papermaking and Artists' Books | |
| ART_VS 2500 | Beginning Painting | 3 |
| ART_VS 2600 | Digital Photography | 3 |
| ART_VS 2700 | Etching and Relief Printmaking | 3 |
| or ART_VS 2730 | Screen Printing | |
| ART_VS 2800 | Beginning Sculpture | 3 |
| Art Studio Electives (12-18 Credits) | ||
| ART_VS 2000+ | 6 | |
| ART_VS 3000+ | 6 | |
| OPTIONAL ART_VS 3000+ Course | 6 | |
| Art Capstone Sequence (16 credits) | ||
| ART_VS 4000-Level Studio Course | 6 | |
| ART_VS 4040 | BFA Portfolio | 3 |
| ART_VS 4510 | Career Development for Visual Artists | 3 |
| ART_VS 4040 | BFA Portfolio | 3 |
| ART_VS 4977 | Capstone: BFA Exhibition | 1 |
| Historical & Critical Studies in Art History (12 Credits) | ||
| ARH_VS 1130 | Introduction to the History of Art | 3 |
| ARH_VS 2000+ Course | 3 | |
| ARH_VS 2000+ Course | 3 | |
| ARH_VS 3000+ Writing Intensive 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. (Students focusing on graphic design will take GD_VS 4976. Fall of their fourth year instead of an Art Studio Elective which they will move to the Spring of their fourth year and take instead of ART_VS 4975)
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ART_VS 1020 | 3 | ART_VS 1030 | 3 |
| ART_VS 1050 | 3 | ART_VS 1070 | 3 |
| ART_VS 1040 | 3 | Math and Quantitative Reasoning | 3 |
| ARH_VS 1130 (Humanities from Arts and Science) | 3 | Missouri State Law Requirement, Social Science from Arts and Science | 3 |
| ENGLSH 1000 | 3 | Humanities (non- Art History) | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ART_VS 2210 | 3 | ART_VS 2500 | 3 |
| ART_VS 2800 | 3 | ART_VS 2310 or 2320 | 3 |
| ART_VS 2700 or 2730 | 3 | ART_VS 2600 | 3 |
| ARH_VS 3820W (Humanities, First Writing Intensive) | 3 | Art History 2000+ level (Humanities) | 3 |
| Behavioral Science from Arts and Science | 3 | Biological or Physical Science lab | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ART_VS 2100 | 3 | Art Studio Elective 3000+ level | 3 |
| Art Studio Elective 2000+ level | 3 | Art Studio Elective 3000+ level | 3 |
| Art Studio Elective 2000+ level | 3 | Art Studio Elective 3000+ level | 3 |
| Art History 3000+ level, Writing Intensive | 3 | Biological, Physical, or Mathematical Science | 3 |
| Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 | Internship | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Art Studio Elective 4000 level | 3 | ART_VS 4977 | 1 |
| ART_VS 4040 | 3 | Art Studio Elective 4000 level | 3 |
| ART_VS 4510 | 3 | ART_VS 4040 | 3 |
| Biological, Physical, or Mathematical Science | 3 | Behavioral or Social Science | 3 |
| Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 | Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 3 |
| Second major, minor, certificate, or elective | 2 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| 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.
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If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.
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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 the major.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.