Studio Art: New Media, BFASA

for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art in Studio Art, New Media Concentration


The Studio Art concentration in New Media provides an opportunity for students in the BFASA degree program to pursue sustained study in art forms that include time-based media, performance, digital imaging, and coding-based practices.

New Media courses incorporate established and emerging technologies in the service of art-making that looks to the history of art as well as to contemporary intersections between art, design and community engagement. Students can expect to gain working knowledge in a core set of forms that include digital imaging, video, coding, and interactive technologies, along with an understanding of the conceptual and historical context in which these forms exist. As students advance, they will build on this core knowledge by developing and following individual interests in advanced courses that include both technical instruction and topic-focused explorations. Students will be able to take courses across the School of Art & Design and the broader campus to further pursue experiences in other disciplines and areas of inquiry that can contribute to a personal artistic trajectory.

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 degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art in Studio Art, New Media 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.

Composition I4-6
Advanced Composition3
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

FAA 101Arts at Illinois1
ARTF 101Contemporary Issues in Art2
ARTE 101Art, Design, and Society2
ARTH 110Introduction to the History of Art and Visual Culture3
ARTF 103Design I3
ARTF 105Design II3
Select one Drawing course:3
Observational Drawing
Expressive Drawing
Visualization Drawing
Total Hours17

Art History Requirements

200 level and above ARTH courses9

New Media Concentration Requirements

Students must declare one concentration, students may not declare more than one concentration.

ARTS 241Image Practice3
ARTS 243Time Arts I3
ARTS 244Interaction I3
ARTS 443Time Arts II3
ARTS 444Interaction II3
Additional 200-level ARTS courses6
Additional 300- and 400-level ARTS courses27
Total Hours48

Capstone Requirements

ARTS 392Current Art Issues Seminar3
ARTS 451BFASA Capstone Studio4

Summary of credits for Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts

General Education
First-Year Curriculum17
Art History9
Concentration48
Capstone7
Free electives to bring the total hours earned to 122, including a minimum of 40 credits at the 300- or 400-level.
Total Hours122

for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art in Studio Art, New Media 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 SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
FAA 1011ARTS 2433
ARTF 1012ARTE 1012
ARTH 1103ARTF 1053
ARTF 1033Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level)4
ARTF ### (Drawing Category)3General Education course3
Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level)4 
 16 15
Total Hours 31
Second Year
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
ARTS 2413ARTS 2443
ARTH 200-400 level course3Additional ARTS 200-level course3
Additional ARTS 200-level course3General Education course3
General Education course3General Education course3
General Education course3General Education course3
 15 15
Total Hours 30
Third Year
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
ARTS 4433ARTS 4443
ARTH 200-400 level course3ARTS 3923
Additional ARTS 300- or 400-level course3Additional ARTS 300- or 400-level course3
Additional ARTS 300- or 400-level course3Additional ARTS 300- or 400-level course3
General Education course3General Education course3
 15 15
Total Hours 30
Fourth Year
First SemesterHoursSecond SemesterHours
Additional ARTS 300- or 400-level course3ARTS 4514
Additional ARTS 300- or 400-level course3Additional ARTS 300- or 400-level course3
Additional ARTS 300- or 400-level course3Additional ARTS 300- or 400-level course3
ARTH 200-400 level course3General Education course3
General Education course3Free Elective course3
 15 16
Total Hours 31

Total Hours: 122

for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art in Studio Art, New Media Concentration


BFASA Studio Art:

Upon completion of BFASA curriculum:

  1. Students will apply basic principles of multi-dimensional and multi-sensory communication across diverse mediums to achieve a desired aesthetic in their creative work.
  2. Students will experiment with and critically analyze the expressive possibilities of various media and conceptual strategies, demonstrating engagement with emerging technologies and investigation of broader social questions and challenges.
  3. Students will implement concepts of visual rhetoric and meaning making in the development of artworks that acknowledge and demonstrate empathy toward diverse social histories and lived experiences. 
  4. Students will develop and articulate a self-directed creative practice that synthesizes existing knowledge, personal perspectives, and collaborative opportunities to engage audiences in a variety of social and institutional settings.
  5. Students will demonstrate adaptability for varying professional roles across artistic, cultural, and commercial contexts

In addition, each concentration has discipline specific learning outcomes:

New Media Concentration:

  1. Students concentrating in New Media are trained in the production and critique of artworks that explore forms and technologies identified as new or emerging. Students concentrating in New Media create work for the new disciplinary mechanisms that have arisen to evaluate and promote artwork in digital media, but also for traditional institutional mechanisms of art distribution and art critique. As in Contemporary Art, work in New Media may take the form of performance, sound and radio broadcast, gallery exhibition, curation, public art, cinema and video, a networked event, publication, or even scientific research.
  2. Students concentrating in New Media are able to analyze and synthesize relevant aspects of human interaction in various contexts (physical, cognitive, cultural, social, political, and economic) and with respect to technologically- mediated communication, objects, and environments. Junior and Senior years see students working with critics/professors across the School to develop a portfolio of works in time-based, interactive, physical, networked or performative media. In the process of generating a body of work around a subject and form of their choice, students receive instruction in technical execution, formal composition, and theoretical framing.

for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art in Studio Art, New Media Concentration


School of Art & Design

School of Art & Design
Art & Design Faculty
Coordinator of Undergraduate Academic Affairs: Michael Foellmer
143 Art and Design Building, Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 244-8462

College of Fine & Applied Arts

Fine & Applied Arts

Admissions

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Undergrad Admissions
FAA Undergraduate Advising
Undergrad Admissions: admissions@illinois.edu