Studio Art: Photography, BFASA
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Photography Concentration
Students in the BFASA who choose a Photography concentration will focus on creating works of art that use photographic imagery. Faculty in the Photography program are committed to continually redefining fine art photography in an expansive and openly creative way. The ability to understand and employ photography’s unique narrative potential is emphasized alongside technical considerations. Our classes provide a balance of practice and theory, which assures the understanding and appreciation of both the interdependence and integration of creativity, production, and research.
Our photography faculty has international exhibition records and work in numerous museum and private collections. Their photographs, installations, books, films, and videos have won critical acclaim in the form of national reviews and grants ranging from the National Endowment for the Arts to the Illinois Arts Council. Faculty members have lectured on their work throughout the United States and abroad.
Collectively the faculty has a wide range of skills, and they use them to teach fine black and white printing, studio lighting, color photography, digital photography, video, installation art, the history of photography, and critical theory. Graduates of our program apply their knowledge in a variety of ways, as fine artists, commercial photographers, designers, gallery and museum professionals, or any field that requires visual literacy and creative thinking.
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.
Students in the BFA Studio Art degree, major in Studio Art, must declare one concentration and students may not declare more than one concentration.
A portfolio review is required for admission to the School of Art and Design.
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Photography Concentration
Graduation Requirements
Minimum hours required for graduation: 122 hours.
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 | |
| 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 History Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTH 257 | History of Photography | 3 |
| 200 level and above ARTH courses | 6 | |
Photography Concentration Requirements
Students must declare one concentration, students may not declare more than one concentration.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTS 264 | Basic Photography | 3 |
| ARTS 265 | Photography II | 3 |
| ARTS 266 | View Camera | 3 |
| ARTS 364 | Photography III | 3 |
| ARTS 394 | Special Topics in Photography | 3 |
| ARTS 461 | Advanced Photography (taken twice senior year, for 6 credits total) | 6 |
| Additional 200-level ARTS courses | 6 | |
| Additional 300- and 400- level ARTS courses | 21 | |
| Total Hours | 48 | |
Capstone Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTS 392 | Current Art Issues Seminar | 3 |
| ARTS 451 | BFASA Capstone Studio | 4 |
Summary of credits for Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education | ||
| First-Year Curriculum | 17 | |
| Art History | 9 | |
| Concentration | 48 | |
| Capstone | 7 | |
| Free electives to bring the total hours earned to 122, including a minimum of 40 credits at the 300- or 400-level. | ||
| Total Hours | 122 | |
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Photography Concentration
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 |
| ARTF 101 | 2 | ARTE 101 | 2 |
| ARTH 110 | 3 | ARTF 105 | 3 |
| ARTS 264 | 3 | ARTF ### (Drawing Category) | 3 |
| ARTF 103 | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level) | 4 | Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level) | 4 |
| FAA 101 | 1 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTS 265 | 3 | ARTS 266 | 3 |
| ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 | ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 |
| Additional 200-level ARTS course | 3 | Additional 200-level ARTS course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTS 364 | 3 | ARTS 394 | 3 |
| ARTH 257 | 3 | ARTS 392 | 3 |
| Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 | Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 |
| Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 | Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTS 461 | 3 | ARTS 461 | 3 |
| Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 | ARTS 451 | 4 |
| Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 | Additional 300- or 400- level ARTS course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | Free Elective course | 3 |
| 15 | 16 | ||
| Total Hours 122 | |||
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Photography Concentration
BFASA Studio Art:
- Students will understand and be able to apply basic principles of visual and material communication, including two-dimensional pictorial concepts, three-dimensional formal and spatial concepts, and a wide variety of media and formats for artistic production, and possess the ability to apply them to a specific aesthetic intent.
- Students will demonstrate an ability and willingness to experiment and explore the expressive possibilities of various media, and artistic and creative strategies for self-directed art-making, and investigate the diverse activities and conceptual modes available to the contemporary artist, including work that directly addresses or engages with recent developments in the field of fine art as well as broader social questions and challenges. Students are trained in the production and critique of artworks that explore forms and technologies identified as new or emerging.
- Students will gain knowledge of, understand, and be able to apply concepts of visual rhetoric in the development of content, and be able to recognize and critically analyze an evolving variety of communicative practices in art and visual culture, including those that represent diverse cultures and sociopolitical positions, and to demonstrate openness to new social possibilities and a critical empathy towards both audiences and culture producers of differing histories, origins and identities.
- Students will develop an innovative, imaginative, and entrepreneurial self-directed studio practice, will gain a deep understanding of their own creativity, be able to apply it in any context, and will learn to independently generate thematic investigation and implementation of research in a broad variety of social locations, including art and educational institutions, activist forums, and cyberspace.
- Students will be willing and able to investigate and accommodate broad-ranging types of knowledge and artistic strategies for the purpose of synthesizing diverse and even disparate ideas in order to create sophisticated, unique works of art, participate in new types of collaboration, and to make innovative statements and hypotheses, or propose creative solutions to social, organizational and societal problems using aesthetic strategies.
- While pursuing a BFASA, students prepare for work as artists at a time when artists are employed in a variety of spheres: artistic direction, project management, education, research, fine art, curation, performance, non-profit work, activism, advertising, and many others. As digital medias evolve, our graduates will be flexible, able to understand the best use of emerging technologies while crafting new economic and social connections.
- Students will produce an integrated, cohesive, critically informed body of work for a thesis exhibition, supported by a written thesis document that serves to position their artistic practice within the broader sphere of contemporary art practices, exhibition strategies, audiences, and economies.
In addition, each concentration has discipline specific learning outcomes:
Photography:
- Students in the photography concentration will acquire the ability to control the procedural construct of an image via camera, software and darkroom techniques.
- Students in the photography concentration will have an understanding of and an ability to employ photography's unique narrative structure.
- Students in the photography concentration will acquire a critical appreciation of the historical and social influences of the medium and the ability to evaluate their own work as well that of others via this construct.
- Students in the photography concentration will develop a cohesive body of work demonstrating technical competency and conceptual awareness of photography's varied histories and applications.
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art Major in Studio Art, Photography Concentration
School of Art & Design
School of Art & Design
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Academic Coordinator of Undergraduate Academic Affairs: Michael Foellmer,
143 Art and Design Building, Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 244-8462
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College of Fine & Applied Arts
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