Programs
We offer two different degree programs: Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). BA degrees (in Studio Art, Art History, and Art Education) emphasize the liberal arts and allow for flexibility in course offerings to meet each student’s interests. The BFA degree is designed to offer students an intensive program of study in specific visual art and design concentrations (Design Research and Practice, Painting and Drawing, Photography and Media Art, and Sculpture).
BFA Degrees
The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree is a professional degree designed to offer students an intensive program of study in specific visual art fields. The BFA requires passing the Portfolio Review, maintaining a 2.5 minimum GPA in Art coursework, and the completion of a capstone thesis project. Upper-division students pursuing the BFA receive individual or communal studio space in which to work. Students who wish to develop independent practices within a rigorous and focused program benefit from pursuing a BFA degree.
We offer four BFA concentrations:
- BFA Art: Graphic Design (Design Research & Practice)
Design has a direct impact on culture at large by shaping the form and the contexts for our relationships with one another. At UTC, students develop the pragmatic formal and technical skills to practice design effectively and are also expected to continually consider the broader socio-political contexts within which design operates and is defined. This helps students clearly articulate the decisions they make throughout the creative process. Through this, our students begin to practice design with curiosity, reflexivity, and conviction. Students leave the program with the ability to select appropriate design methodologies to approach and analyze problems, demonstrate their communication skills (visually, verbally, and in writing), and above all, to identify and adapt to changing contexts and needs. It is this very adaptability that we work to instill in our students, the trait that is most often cited as a differentiating factor in favor of our students when applying for professional positions or for graduate study.
- BFA Art: Painting & Drawing
The Painting and Drawing program prepares students to become practicing artists. Through individualized instruction and access to private studio space, students are guided by faculty to form convictions about their work, develop research priorities, and determine their own positions within the expansiveness of contemporary practice. Upon completion of their studies, our students are prepared for professional life, they have forged distinctive studio practices, and they are empowered to make their own contributions to the field.
- BFA Art: Photography & Media Art
The Photography and Media Art program is centered around creative imaging and time-based arts. With a strong foundation in photographic imaging and digital media, students at the upper division may choose to focus their individual interests in photography, video, sound, digital media, or explore various combinations and new media. At the upper division, independent studio practice is complemented by PMA coursework that explores web-based art, bookmaking, interdisciplinary research, physical computing, and other new forms of photo-media production and expression.
- BFA Art: Sculpture
The Sculpture program teaches students to engage the physical world through a range of approaches with a focus on material exploration and conceptual intent. Students develop a strong knowledge of fabrication processes in both traditional and nontraditional media and investigate contemporary concepts including installation, performance, interdisciplinary strategies, and emerging forms. Sculpture students in the upper division contribute to the evolving discourse of the field through a series of specialized courses and the development of independently driven studio work.
Portfolio Review
Portfolio Review takes place in the spring semester and is required of all BFA candidates. The review is a formal assessment of the student’s overall performance as it pertains to the student’s designated degree and concentration. The review provides students with an assessment of their potential for success in the intended area of study early enough to allow them to make a program change should that be advisable.
Students who do not satisfactorily complete the review will be unable to enroll in some departmental upper-division courses (3000- and 4000-level) except by special permission of the Department Head. In consultation with their academic advisor, students may re-apply for admission into the BFA by retaking Portfolio Review one more time. Alternatively, students may choose to pursue one of the department’s BA degrees, which have no Portfolio Review requirement.
BA Degrees
Bachelor of Arts degrees emphasize the liberal arts. They offer students the opportunity to study more than one visual art field and to meaningfully synthesize their major with an academic minor. BA degrees are open to all students without a portfolio review prerequisite. BA degrees require students to complete four semesters of a foreign language and/or study abroad. Students who are equally interested in multiple fields of study benefit from a BA degree.
We offer three BA degrees:
- BA Art: Studio
The BA in Studio Art degree, with its general studio focus, allows a student to pursue a career that calls for broad education in the visual arts. This degree offers students the opportunity to study more than one visual art field and to meaningfully synthesize their major with an academic minor. Upon graduation, students might seek professional opportunities in gallery or museum work, art auctioning and sales, curatorship, art criticism, printing or publishing production, or art development and advocacy. The degree is also appropriate for students wishing to do non-studio graduate study in art history, museum conservation, art therapy, or other arts-related professions.
- BA Art: Art Education
The BA in Art Education is rooted in a fine arts curriculum that prepares students for teacher certification in the state of Tennessee. Our curriculum provides students with a broad range of studio skills, study in the history of art, and invaluable student teaching experience in collaboration with the UTC School of Education. It is an excellent program for individuals whose love of artmaking intersects with the ambition to teach. The Art Education major also leads to professional opportunities in less conventional career paths including museum studies, work with recreational programs, senior centers, and hospitals—providing exciting career paths for individuals who recognize the value of the visual arts in people’s lives.
- BA Art: Art History
The BA in Art History develops students’ ability to understand and interpret their visual world. Focusing on human artistic production made across the globe from prehistory to the contemporary moment, the BA in Art History explores how different types of art, architecture, and other visual materials engaged their particular historical, religious, socio-cultural, theoretical, and formal contexts. Students learn to approach visual materials in a critical and inquisitive manner, and to analyze the influence of major artistic movements and concepts. Students also learn to write and speak confidently and cogently about their own visual interpretations and to conduct advanced research in specialized areas of emphasis. The concentration’s core courses examine the broad themes of global art and visual culture, while upper division courses expose students to a variety of more focused explorations of specific geographic regions, temporal periods, critical methodologies, as well as museum and curatorial studies. The BA in Art History provides ideal preparation for work in museums, galleries, auction houses, and other researched-focus careers, as well as graduate programs in art history.
Common Areas of Interest
The BA in Studio Art provides flexibility for students who are interested in areas in which we do not have degrees. If you are interested in animation, illustration, or arts administration, below are suggested courses that support those subjects. If there are other areas that you want to pursue that are not listed, please reach out to Katie Hargrave at [email protected] and she can help you work with your advisor to plan a course of study.
- Animation
- Studio courses that are relevant to an interest in animation:
- ART 2380: Media Art I
- ART 3830: Media Art II
- ART 2050: Figure Drawing
- ART 2601: Visual Literacy for Design
- ART 3621: Interactive Media
- ART 2840: Survey of Time-Based Art
- ART 4810: Expanded Media
- Possible minors:
- Creative Writing
- Communication (with a focus on Film/Video Production)
- Narrative Design
- New minor housed in English with a focus on video games
- Film and TV
- Read more about this new minor on UTC’s blog.
- Recommended Art History courses
- A variety of ART 4190 courses will be relevant to students with an interest in animation. Some recent classes include:
- Indigenous Film
- Horror in Art and Visual Culture
- A variety of ART 4190 courses will be relevant to students with an interest in animation. Some recent classes include:
- Other relevant UTC courses:
- MCLL 1500R: World Cinema
- THSP 1430: Basic Design in Theatre
- Theatre also teaches 3000-level courses in scenic design, lighting design, costume design, among others. All 3000-level courses will have pre-requisites, so work with your advisor to plan ahead if these are of interest to you.
- Studio courses that are relevant to an interest in animation:
- Illustration
- Studio courses that are relevant to an interest in illustration:
- ART 2050: Figure Drawing
- ART 2070: Painting I
- ART 3120: Figure Painting
- ART 2601: Visual Literacy for Design
- ART 2611: Introduction to Typography
- ART 4815: Web and Book for Artists
- Possible minors:
- Creative Writing
- Narrative Design
- New minor housed in English with a focus on video games
- Communications (with a focus on graphics and design or storytelling)
- Recommended Art History courses:
- ART 3601: Survey of Design Practice
- Other relevant UTC courses:
- HIST 2520: Graphic Novels and History
- Studio courses that are relevant to an interest in illustration:
- Arts Administration
- For an interest in Arts Administration, we recommend minoring in Art History, including enrollment in ART 4190: Museum Studies.
- Possible university electives:
- ANTH 4500: Archives, Collection Management, and Curation
- Note ANTH 1400: Archaeology is a pre-requisite for ANTH 4500.
- ENGL 2880: Professional Writing
- IARC 3500: Introduction to Historic Preservation
- ANTH 4500: Archives, Collection Management, and Curation
- Other relevant Studio courses:
- ART 4910: Professional Preparation for the Visual Artist
- Note students would need an override.
- ART 4900R: BA Portfolio and Professional Development
- ART 4910: Professional Preparation for the Visual Artist