Art Studio (BA)
The Bachelor of Arts degree program in art and design is defined as a general liberal arts degree. The BA degree is ideal for the student who desires a liberal education with a strong emphasis in art.
The Major in Art Studio is designed both for the student artist and the student interested in art as a second major or minor. Courses are offered in painting and drawing, ceramics, photography and video, printmaking, and sculpture. The Art Studio major provides an excellent basis for continuing work in graduate school and pursuing art-related fields such as design, art criticism, teaching, museum and auction house work, art therapy, media and publishing, commercial photography, exhibition design, and advertising.
The major also provides students with an opportunity to develop the techniques, visual sensibility, and historical understanding necessary for working with various materials. The mission of the major is to provide students with intellectually informed, hands-on instruction in creative studies within the context of a liberal arts university. One of the inherent values of visual art is that by giving tangible form to the social, political, and private aspects of human existence, it makes visible the invisible; it provokes the expansion of intellectual boundaries, gives form to complex ideas, reveals deep but abstract emotions and extends our capacity to comprehend the lives of others. Each of the programs in our department offers a distinct means of confronting and understanding the important visual aspects of our wider engagement with and construction of the world.
Students enrolling in the Art Studio BA degree program are required to complete a five-course core curriculum.
Students select a major and concentration for the BA degree.
For the Art Studio major, students may choose to concentrate in Ceramics, Painting, Printmaking, Photography, or Sculpture.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARST 10201 | Drawing I | 3 |
| ARST 10100 | 2-D Foundations | 3 |
| ARST 10601 | 3-D Foundations | 3 |
| Two Art History Courses | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 15 | |
Honors in Studio Art
The BA with Honors consists of two additional 3-credit honors thesis courses taken in sequence, fall/spring of the senior year. It is a special two-semester course sequence designed for the most talented and motivated department majors who wish to develop a capstone project during their senior year. The BA with Honors consists of 39 hours in art, of which 30–33 are in studio and 6–9 in art history.
Ceramics Concentration
Ceramics is a concentration emphasizing clay and glaze as the primary vehicles for expression. Traditional pottery, vessel making, and sculpture may be addressed through a variety of processes that include hand building, throwing, and casting. Students are encouraged to develop technical skills and a direction of their own choosing. In addition to traditional ceramic materials and processes, students will be encouraged to study and utilize other sculptural media, as well as become familiar with contemporary and historical source material that will inform their own directions in ceramics.
Painting Concentration
Painting, with its many traditions, is a medium put to an extraordinary diversity of contemporary uses. Capable of representing everything from the material to the intangible, painting continues to be a means for artists of vastly different interests to address their subjects in highly individual ways. The painting concentration at Notre Dame fosters the aesthetic, critical, and technical development of each student through a program of course work, independent study, and regular critiques. Emphasis is placed on being well-versed in contemporary critical issues, on articulating individual themes, and on developing the technical means to give visual form to thematic concerns.
Photography Concentration
Images are arguably the most important documents of the 21st century, operating at the intersection of communication, commerce and culture. The photography program educates students to be technically skilled, visually literate and creatively prepared for a world where photography, video and streaming media permeate our everyday experiences. Beginning with foundation work through senior thesis, courses are designed to inform students about photographic traditions while engaging them in the critical issues and methodologies of contemporary practice. The photography major prepares students for a career in visual media (including fine art, media communications or advertising), education or institutional professions at galleries, museums or auction houses.
Sculpture Concentration
Sculpture today encompasses diverse materials and contexts for the expression of ideas in space. Within this broad description, students are encouraged to develop the technical skills that will help them expand their ideas into thoughtful individual expression. We embrace a breadth of vision and experience, which will challenge the student to investigate and respond to contemporary issues through problem-solving. A full range of traditional and nontraditional media are available in specific courses and through individual mentoring. By blending required and elective courses and independent study, students can experience a curriculum that responds to their particular needs and direction.