Program Description:
The Department of Art and Art History offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degrees, with courses in art history, foundations, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. The BA in Art and the BA in Art History, are designed for students who wish to combine a liberal education with specific studies in art. The BFA degree is designed for students who want to pursue a more intensive professional studio art program. The department also offers minors in art history and studio art, and BFA degrees that enable students to receive graphic design or interior design certificates from Sinclair Community College.
Because self-expression and self-learning are the ultimate goals of the program, students are largely responsible for determining the options that best meet their individual needs and interests. Candidates for a degree in art may prepare for graduate study, careers in teaching, museum and gallery curation, commercial arts, or the professional practice of art.
In the studio area, studies begin with introductory courses in drawing, 2D and 3D Foundations and Photography. These courses are designed for the beginning artist and guide the student’s development in the visual arts. The program helps students expand and express their knowledge and grow in self-expression by exploring the processes and language that are basic to all visual arts. Rather than follow a system of independent courses in a given medium or discipline, students investigate issues and ideas in a variety of visual modes.
Incoming students who have scored a 4 or 5 on the AP exam for Drawing, 2D Foundations and 3D Foundations will automatically receive credit for these courses. Incoming students who have scored a 3 will automatically receive Art Elective credit. Students with a score of 3 are eligible to submit a portfolio for review and placement.; otherwise, all first-year students in art are admitted to the general curriculum. All candidates for the B.F.A. degree must be represented in the senior exhibition.
Students who wish to teach art in Ohio public schools can pursue the BFA degree with the art education component. Upon completion of this undergraduate degree, students will be eligible to seek admission to qualified masters and licensure programs throughout the state.
Art History Honors Program
The honors program in the Department of Art and Art History is designed to give students with outstanding academic ability and superior accomplishments in art history the opportunity to complete a program that encourages and recognizes their distinguished efforts. These students may earn an honors degree by completing the departmental major requirements, maintaining a high academic record, and successfully completing a senior honors project. Students are usually admitted to the program during their junior year. Interested students can obtain information on the honors program from the Department of Art and Art History office.
Program Learning Outcomes:
- Be able to conduct scholarly research in the field and demonstrate writing and critical thinking skills.
- Have an understanding of the evolution of art history.
- Have a detailed understanding of at least five periods and styles within the history of art.
- Have an acquaintance with the materials and procedures of at least two of the studio disciplines taught at Wright State.
- Have integrated the study of original works of art into their scholarly practice.
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