Studio Art BFA, Studio Practice Emphasis
The Art & Design department at UMSL welcomes students to explore essential cultural and professional systems through creative visual practice. Students encounter both traditional and new technologies as means to study and create the visual world in which we live. Students in the Studio Practice program enjoy the benefits of close relationships with the St. Louis visual arts professional community. Our professors maintain a rigorous program that prepares students for immediate employment as creative professionals and enriches lives through creative practice.
Degree Requirements
Candidates for the B.F.A. degree must complete a Foundation and Core Art Program (which is largely satisfied by the A.F.A. degree) and an emphasis area in one of the following: art education, graphic design, or general fine arts studio practice. Studio Art majors are required to take 69 hours in studio art (this includes 27 hours in the foundation and core art program) and 12 hours in Art History. The final 30 hours must be completed in residence at UMSL. Graduating students must also pass a faculty portfolio review.
Advanced Placement in Studio Art Classes: Studio Art Majors who have professional Graphic Design or other professional studio experience may wish to submit a portfolio to a committee of Studio Art faculty. Depending on the nature and the quality of the student’s portfolio, they may be able to obtain exemptions from selected lower level Studio Art courses. Students applying for these exemptions must submit their portfolios prior to the first day of class of their first semester in the BFA Program. Students will be notified in writing if an exemption is granted. Students informed of these waivers will be advised of their requirements in the studio art major. All decisions of the portfolio reviews are final.
General Education
Majors in Studio Art must meet the college and university general education requirements. A foreign language is not required. Studio Art courses required for the degree may not be taken on a satisfactory/ unsatisfactory (S/U) basis. A minimum of 120 hours is required for graduation. Certain Studio Art courses fulfill the humanities and fine arts general education requirement.
Specific Requirements for the Emphasis Area
| Foundations | ||
| ST ART 1020 | Expanded Artforms | 3 |
| ST ART 1150 | 2D Design: Surface | 3 |
| ST ART 1151 | 3D Design: Space | 3 |
| ST ART 1140 | Drawing I (MOTR PERF 105D) | 3 |
| Core | 15 | |
| Select five 2000-level courses from the following: | ||
| Graphic Design I | ||
| Computer Design I | ||
| Drawing II | ||
| Comics and Cartoon Illustration | ||
| Painting I | ||
| Printmaking I | ||
| Photography I | ||
| Ceramics I | ||
| Sculpture I | ||
| Entrepreneurship for the Visual Arts | ||
| Introduction to Fibers and Textiles | ||
| History of Art and Visual Culture | ||
| ART HS 1100 | Introduction to Western Art (MOTR ARTS 100) | 3 |
| ART HS 2280 | Modern to Contemporary Art | 3 |
| Choose one non-Western History of Art and Visual Culture course from the following: | 3 | |
| Global Art and Visual Culture (MOTR ARTS 101) | ||
ART HS 1140 | ||
| Introduction to the Art and Visual Cultures of Africa | ||
| Introduction to the Art and Visual Cultures of Asia | ||
| Choose one course from the following: | 3 | |
| Art and Archaeology of The Ancient World | ||
| Greek Art and Archaeology | ||
| Medieval Art | ||
| Renaissance and Baroque Art | ||
| Rococo to Realism | ||
| Art of the United States | ||
| History of Illustration | ||
| Special Study | ||
| Selected Themes in the History of Art and Visual Culture | ||
| Major (Studio Art Emphasis) | ||
| Select ten of the following courses: | 30 | |
| Drawing III | ||
| Figure Drawing I | ||
| Figure Drawing II | ||
| Painting II | ||
| Painting III | ||
| Watercolor Painting | ||
| Printmaking II | ||
| Printmaking: Screenprinting | ||
| Printmaking: Lithography | ||
| Printmaking: Etching | ||
| Photography II | ||
ST ART 3362 | ||
ST ART 3364 | ||
| Commercial Applications in Photography | ||
| Advanced 2D Practices | ||
| Advanced 3D Practices | ||
| Electives | ||
| Choose two elective courses from any 2000- or 3000-level Studio Practice or History of Art and Visual Culture courses | 6 | |
| Capstone | ||
| ST ART 4495 | Senior Studio Seminar | 3 |
| ST ART 4496 | Senior Studio Seminar | 3 |
| Total Hours | 81 | |
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to:
- To develop visual and verbal responses to visual phenomena, and organize perceptions and conceptualizations both rationally and intuitively
- Explain the major achievements in the history of art and design, including the works and intentions of leading artists and designers in the past and present
- Develop the capacity to identify and/or solve visual problems within a variety of physical, technological, social, and cultural contexts
- Explain and evaluate contemporary thinking about art or design
- Develop competence in a number of art or design techniques
- Make valid assessments of quality and effectiveness in design projects and works of art, especially their own
Sample Four Year Plan
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| INTDSC 1003 | 1 | ST ART 1020 | 3 |
| ST ART 1140 | 3 | ST ART 1151 | 3 |
| ST ART 1150 | 3 | ST ART 2230 | 3 |
| ST ART 2231 | 3 | ST ART 3333 | 3 |
| ENGL 1100 | 3 | ART HS 1100 | 3 |
| MATH 1020 | 3 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ST ART 3330 | 3 | ST ART 2235 | 3 |
| ST ART 2XXX Course in 2D or 3D Practice | 3 | ST ART 2285 | 3 |
| ART HS XXXX Non-western Art History Course | 3 | ART HS 2280 | 3 |
| CORE - US History and Government | 3 | ST ART 3XXX Course in 2D or 3D Practice | 3 |
| EXPLORE - Mathematics and Life/Natural Sciences | 3 | EXPLORE - Social Sciences | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ST ART 2245 | 3 | ST ART 3342 | 3 |
| ST ART 3382 | 3 | ST ART 3344 | 3 |
| ART HS 2XXX Art History Course | 3 | ST ART 3385 | 3 |
| ENGL 3100 | 3 | ST ART XXXX Studio Art Elective | 3 |
| CORE - Communication Proficiency | 3 | CORE - Information Literacy | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ST ART 3352 | 3 | ST ART 3356 | 3 |
| ST ART 4495 | 3 | ST ART 4496 | 3 |
| ST ART XXXX Studio Art Elective | 3 | EXPLORE - Social Sciences | 3 |
| EXPLORE - Social Sciences | 3 | EXPLORE - Mathematics and Life/Natural Sciences | 3 |
| EXPLORE - Mathematics and Life/Natural Sciences | 3 | Elective or minor | 2 |
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Total Hours: 120 | |||