Transfer Students
UTC Art welcomes transfer students from regional universities and community colleges, as well as students relocating to Chattanooga from higher learning institutions across the country.
The Department of Art participates in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway program to provide a path to a bachelor’s degree beginning at an eligible Tennessee community college. The time to the completion of your degree will vary based on the credits you transfer in and the degree program you intend to pursue. Read more about transferring into specific degree programs below.
Visit our Programs page for more information about our degree programs. If you will be transferring in from a regional community college or university, you can also consult the Records Office transfer equivalency chart.
BFA Transfer Information
UTC Art participates in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway (TTP) program to provide a path to a bachelor’s degree beginning at an eligible Tennessee community college. The time to the completion of your degree will vary based on the credits you transfer in and the degree program you intend to pursue.
Students who wish to transfer into a BFA program at UTC must take or have equivalent credit for our Foundations-level courses (ART 1010, ART 1020, ART 1050, ART 1060). UTC Art will also accept equivalent credit for the Art History survey sequence.
Transfer students seeking a BFA must undergo the Portfolio Review that takes place in the spring semester. Except by special permission of the Department Head, transfer credits will not be accepted for the following sophomore-level courses:
- Design Research & Practice: ART 2601 Visual Literacy for Design and ART 2611 Introduction to Typography
- Painting & Drawing: ART 2070 Painting I and ART 2080 Painting II
- Photography & Media Art: ART 2810 Photography I and ART 2820 Photography II
- Sculpture: ART 2330 Sculpture I and ART 3360 Sculpture II
Students pursuing one of the department’s BA degrees do not need to complete the Portfolio Review. For students transferring into the department with no art credits from another institution, please see the section titled BA Transfer Information below.
Learn more about the differences between BFA and BA degrees on our Programs page.
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 Transfer Information
Students who wish to transfer into a BA in Studio Art, Art History, or Art Education at UTC, must take or have equivalent credit for ART 1010, ART 1020, ART 1050, and ART 1060. UTC Art will also accept equivalent credit for the Art History survey sequence, ART 2140 and ART 2150. The Portfolio Review is not required for BA degrees. Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees can be completed in two years with the appropriate TTP Associate of Arts degree in Studio Art or Associate of Fine Arts degree.
Learn more about the differences between BFA and BA degrees on our Programs page.
Changing Majors
The Department of Art has a sequential program that requires students to begin in the fall or spring of the first year in order to complete a degree in four years. This sequence begins with studio and art history survey courses that are then prerequisites for all of the coursework that follows, regardless of the degree concentration. From there, students move through concentration requirements according to a clearly articulated four-year programmatic plan. This means that students who change majors to a BFA or BA program will need to enter at the introductory (freshman) level regardless of how many credits at UTC they may have obtained toward another degree path.