Art Education, BFA
for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education
The curriculum in art education requires 130 credit hours and prepares students for positions as teachers of art in public and private schools, grades pre-kindergarten through twelve. The program places emphasis on theories, methods, materials, and processes of art education, foundational knowledge that is applicable to teaching in art in schools as well as in museums and community centers. For teacher education requirements applicable to all curricula, see the Council on Teacher Education. To be recommended for licensure, candidates are required to maintain an Illinois cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 (A=4.0).
Students in the School of Art and Design must complete the Campus General Education requirements. Some Art and Design courses will also apply toward the General Education requirements.
Students majoring in this degree program must complete the First Year Curriculum requirements before beginning other major requirements.
A portfolio review is required for admission to the School of Art and Design.
for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education
Graduation Requirements
Minimum hours required for graduation: 130 hours.
To be recommended for licensure, candidates are required to maintain a UIUC cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 (A=4.0).
University Requirements
Minimum of 40 hours of upper-division coursework, generally at the 300- or 400-level. These hours can be drawn from all elements of the degree. Students should consult their academic advisor for additional guidance in fulfilling this requirement.
The university and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.
General Education Requirements
Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in Art and Design.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Composition I | 4-6 | |
| Advanced Composition | 3 | |
| Humanities & the Arts (6 hours) | 6 | |
fulfilled by ARTH 110 and any other course approved as Humanities & the Arts | ||
| Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences (6 hours) | 6 | |
fulfilled by EPSY 201 and any other course approved as Social & Behavioral Sciences | ||
| Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
fulfilled by ARTH 110 | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses, at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I) | 6-10 | |
| Language Requirement (Completion of the third semester or equivalent of a language other than English is required) | 0-15 | |
First Year Curriculum
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FAA 101 | Arts at Illinois | 1 |
| ARTF 101 | Contemporary Issues in Art | 2 |
| ARTE 101 | Art, Design, and Society | 2 |
| ARTH 110 | Introduction to the History of Art and Visual Culture | 3 |
| ARTF 103 | Design I | 3 |
| ARTF 105 | Design II | 3 |
| Select one Drawing course: | 3 | |
| Observational Drawing | ||
| Expressive Drawing | ||
| Visualization Drawing | ||
| Total Hours | 17 | |
Art Education
Art education courses are applicable to professional education requirements for teacher certification.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| These courses must be completed prior to student teaching | ||
| ARTE 202 | Facilitating the Art Experience | 3 |
| ARTE 301 | Curriculum, Assessment, and Art Education | 3 |
| ARTE 303 | Everyday Arts Lab | 3 |
| ARTE 304 | Practicum Teaching Experience | 2 |
| ARTE 393 | Teachers as Researchers | 3 |
| ARTE 400 | Art-Centered Learning at the Secondary Level | 3 |
| Total Hours | 17 | |
Professional Education
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| EPOL 201 | Foundations of Education | 3 |
| or EPOL 202 | Foundations of Education-ACP | |
| EPSY 201 | Educational Psychology | 3 |
| SPED 405 | General Educator's Role in Special Education | 3 |
| CI 473 | Disciplinary Literacy | 3 |
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Student Teaching
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTE 401 | Teaching Seminar | 4 |
| EDPR 438 | Educational Practice in Special Fields | 5 |
| EDPR 442 | Educational Practice in Secondary Education | 5 |
| Total Hours | 14 | |
Art and Design
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTS 251 | Beginning Painting | 3 |
| ARTS 354 | Intermediate Painting | 3 |
| or ARTS 252 | Making and Meaning | |
| One Additional 3D Course (200 level or above, chosen in consultation with advisor) | 3 | |
| One Additional 4D Course (200 level or above, chosen in consultation with advisor) | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Art History
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Art history courses (200-level or above) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 9 | |
Art & Design Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Art & Design Electives (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ) courses not otherwise required in major | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 9 | |
Summary of credits for Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education | ||
| First-Year Curriculum | 17 | |
| Art Education | 17 | |
| Professional Education | 12 | |
| Student Teaching | 14 | |
| Art & Design | 12 | |
| Art History | 9 | |
| Art & Design Electives | 9 | |
| Electives to bring the total hours earned to 130, including a minimum of 40 credits at the 300- or 400-level. | ||
| Total Hours | 130 | |
for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education
This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this four-year plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence.
Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a third level of a language other than English. For more information, see the corresponding section on the Degree and General Education Requirements page.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| FAA 101 | 1 | ARTE 101 | 2 |
| ARTF 101 | 2 | ARTF 105 | 3 |
| ARTH 110 | 3 | ARTS 251 | 3 |
| ARTF ### (Drawing Category) | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| ARTF 103 | 3 | Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level) | 4 |
| Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level) | 4 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours 31 | |||
| Second Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTE 202 | 3 | ARTE 301 | 3 |
| EPSY 201 | 3 | ARTS 354 or 252 | 3 |
| One additional 3D course (200-level or above) | 3 | EPOL 201 or 202 | 3 |
| Art History course (200-level or above) | 3 | General Education course (choose a Humanities & the Arts course with NW Cultural Studies designation) | 3 |
| General Education course (choose a QR course with Nat Sci designation) | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 2 | Free Elective course | 2 |
| 17 | 17 | ||
| Total Hours 34 | |||
| Third Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTE 303 | 3 | ARTE 393 | 3 |
| ARTE 304 | 2 | CI 473 | 3 |
| One additional 4D course (200-level or above) | 3 | SPED 405 | 3 |
| Art History course (200-level or above) | 3 | Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | Free Elective course | 3 |
| 17 | 18 | ||
| Total Hours 35 | |||
| Fourth Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTE 400 | 3 | ARTE 401 | 4 |
| Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 | EDPR 438 | 5 |
| Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 | EDPR 442 | 5 |
| Art History course (200-level or above) | 3 | ||
| Free Elective course | 4 | ||
| 16 | 14 | ||
| Total Hours 30 | |||
Total Hours: 130
for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education
Learning Outcomes
Students graduating with the BFA in Art Education should be able to:
- Understand the diverse characteristics and abilities of their students and how individuals develop and learn within the context of their social, economic, cultural, linguistic, and academic experiences. Our graduates are prepared to use these experiences to create instructional opportunities that maximize student learning in diverse art education settings such as schools, museums, and community centers.
- Understand art content area knowledge, including central concepts, methods of inquiry, structures of the disciplines, and content area literacy. Our graduates are prepared to create meaningful learning experiences for students through both art content area and pedagogical knowledge.
- Plan and design instruction for diverse art education settings based upon content area knowledge, diverse student characteristics, student performance data, curriculum goals, and the community contexts.
- Create safe and healthy art education learning environments that facilitate cultural and linguistic responsiveness, emotional well-being, self-efficacy, positive social interaction, mutual respect, active engagement, academic risk-taking, self-motivation, and personal goal-setting.
- Differentiate instruction by using a variety of strategies that support critical and creative thinking, problem-solving, and continuous growth and learning. Our graduates understand that art education settings are dynamic, thus requiring ongoing modification of instruction to enhance learning for each student.
- Enact critical, inclusive, and empowering expressions of art education that challenge and redress systemic injustices related to social identities such as race, ethnicity, class, age, gender, sexuality, dis/ability, nationality, and religion.
- Possess foundational knowledge of reading, writing, and oral communication within art education (e.g., curriculum and lesson planning, assessment tools, etc.) and recognize and address how student reading, writing, and oral communication facilitates the acquisition of knowledge in art education.
- Understand the purposes, characteristics, and limitations of different types of assessments in art education and develop and implement a range of assessment tools for teaching and learning in art education.
- Build and maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues, students, parents or guardians, and community members to foster the development of their students.
- Exhibit ethical, reflective, and professional practices, while providing leadership in their educational settings and advocating for students, parents or guardians, and the profession.
for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education
School of Art & Design
School of Art & Design
Art & Design Faculty
Coordinator of Undergrad Academic Affairs: Michael Foellmer
143 Art and Design Building, Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 244-8462
College of Fine & Applied Arts
Admissions
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Undergrad Admissions
FAA Undergraduate Advising
admissions@illinois.edu