Overview
http://www.design.iastate.edu/artvisualculture/index.php
The Department of Art and Visual Culture offers degree programs focused on fine arts and visual culture, offering courses in studio arts, art history, art education, and scientific illustration. Degree offerings include the Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Art and Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Integrated Studio Arts, and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Integrated Visual Arts.
BFA Integrated Studio Arts (ISA) (Fine/Studio Arts)
Students will select from ISA's studio options including ceramics, digital media, drawing, furniture/wood design, illustration, jewelry and metalsmithing, scientific illustration, mixed media, new genres, painting, photography, printmaking, and textiles.
Over the four-year course of study students will develop a portfolio and prepare for a professional practice in the visual arts. This concentration engages aesthetics, visual problem-solving, critical thinking, and skill development, drawing on historical and cultural theory, contemporary trends, and studio practice.
Transfer students with studio credits from other colleges and universities may present a portfolio of work created in those courses to determine if these credits can be applied toward specific studio requirements. Students will present this portfolio upon admission and prior to registration for classes. Arrangements for this process should be made with the department's academic advisors.
The department offers an undergraduate minor in Illustration and participates in the undergraduate minors in Classical Studies, Critical Studies in Design, Design Studies, Digital Media, and Textile Design.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will learn to:
- develop creative problem-solving abilities and traditional and innovative technical skills through the design, research, and creative processes;
- understand and express in multiple media the relationship between objects, aesthetics, and meaning;
- exhibit an awareness of their roles as artists and thinkers regarding the ethical, cultural, and ecological impacts of what they do;
- express through visual, verbal, and written means an awareness of global art movements and a meaningful understanding of historic and contemporary art; and
- use their understanding and practice of art to engage with local, national, and global communities where they can participate in broad exchange of ideas.
Degree Requirements
The curriculum in leads to a 128-129 credit undergraduate Bachelor of Fine Arts in Integrated Studio Arts. Admission into the program requires the completion of at least 31.0 credits, including the following courses: DSN S 102, DSN S 110 or 115, DSN S 131, DSN S 132, and DSN S 183; 6 credits of Social Sciences/Humanities; 6 credits of Math/Science; ENGL 150 (or test-out credit); LIB 160. Information on admission criteria is posted each year on the College of Design website.
Total Degree Requirement: 128-129 cr.
Only 65 credits from a two-year institution can apply, and may include up to 16 technical credits; 9 P-NP credits of free electives; 2.00 minimum GPA.
International Perspective: 3 credits
U.S. Diversity: 3 credits
Communication: 10 credits
(C or better grade ENGL 150 and ENGL 250)
| ENGL 150 | Critical Thinking and Communication | 3 |
| ENGL 250 | Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition | 3 |
| LIB 160 | Introduction to College Level Research | 1 |
| One course from the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Communication Studies | ||
| Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Fundamentals of Public Speaking | ||
| Total Credits | 10 | |
Humanities: 6 credits
6 credits from College of Design General Education Approved Course list
Social Sciences: 6 credits
6 credits from College of Design General Education Approved Course list
Math/Physics/Biol. Sciences: 6 credits
6 credits from College of Design General Education Approved Course list
General Education Courses: 9 credits
| 6 credits at level 300-400 from College of Design General Education Approved Course List | 6 | |
| 3 credits from College of Design General Education Approved Course list | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 9 | |
College of Design Core: 13 credits
| DSN S 102 | Design Studio I | 4 |
| DSN S 115 | Design Collaborative Seminar | 1 |
| or DSN S 110 | Design Exchange Seminar I | |
| DSN S 131 | Drawing I | 4 |
| DSN S 132 | Digital Design Literacy | 1 |
| DSN S 183 | Design in Context | 3 |
| Total Credits | 13 | |
Integrated Studio Arts Core: 31 credits
| ARTIS 202 | Studio Fundamentals: Wood | 2 |
| ARTIS 203 | Studio Fundamentals: Jewelry/Metalsmithing | 2 |
| ARTIS 204 | Studio Fundamentals: Ceramics | 2 |
| ARTIS 206 | Studio Fundamentals: Printmaking | 2 |
| ARTIS 208 | Color | 2 |
| ARTIS 210 | Studio Fundamentals: Photo | 2 |
| ARTIS 212 | Studio Fundamentals: Digital Media | 3 |
| ARTIS 213 | Studio Fundamentals: Painting | 2 |
| ARTIS 214 | Studio Fundamentals: Textiles | 2 |
| ARTIS 230 | Drawing II | 3 |
| ARTIS 310 | Sources and Methods of Visual Art | 3 |
| ART H 280 | History of Art I | 3 |
| ART H 281 | History of Art II | 3 |
| Total Credits | 31 | |
ISA Concentration: 24 credits
Eight courses from ARTIS studio offerings. Faculty advisors will assist students in developing their studio concentration plan.
Art History: 9 credits
At least 6 credits from ART H 300+ course level.
Professional Practice: 3 credits
| ARTIS 399 | BFA Professional Practice | 2 |
| ARTIS 499 | BFA Exhibition | 1 |
| Total Credits | 3 | |
Electives: 11 credits
Integrated Studio Arts. BFA
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| DSN S 102 or 131 | 4 | DSN S 102 or 131 | 4 |
| DSN S 110 or 115 | 1 | DSN S 183 (or General Education) | 3 |
| DSN S 132 | 1 | ENGL 150 (or General Education) | 3 |
| DSN S 183 (or General Education) | 3 | General Education | 3 |
| ENGL 150 (or General Education) | 3 | General Education | 3 |
| General Education | 3 | LIB 160 | 1 |
| General Education | 3 | ||
| 18 | 17 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ART H 280 (fall only) | 3 | ART H 281 (spring only) | 3 |
| ARTIS 212 or 230 | 3 | ARTIS 230 or 212 | 3 |
| ARTIS Studio Fundamentals | 2 | ARTIS Studio Fundamentals | 2 |
| ARTIS Studio Fundamentals | 2 | ARTIS Studio Fundamentals | 2 |
| ARTIS Studio Fundamentals | 2 | ARTIS Studio Fundamentals | 2 |
| ARTIS Studio Fundamentals | 2 | ARTIS Studio Fundamentals | 2 |
| ENGL 250 (or General Education) | 3 | ENGL 250 (or General Education) | 3 |
| 17 | 17 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ARTIS 310 | 3 | ARTIS Studio Option | 3 |
| ARTIS Studio Option | 3 | ARTIS Studio Option | 3 |
| ARTIS Studio Option | 3 | ARTIS Studio Option | 3 |
| ART H 300 level or above | 3 | ART H 300 level or above | 3 |
| General Education | 3 | ARTIS 399 | 2 |
| DSN S 301 (Rome option only) | 1 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| ARTIS Studio Option | 3 | ARTIS Studio Option | 3 |
| ARTIS Studio Option | 3 | ARTIS Studio Option | 3 |
| ART H 300 level or above | 3 | ARTIS 499 | 1 |
| General Education or Elective | 3 | General Education | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 5 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
Post-Baccalaureate Undergraduate Certificate
Iowa State’s Post-Baccalaureate Undergraduate Certificate program in Integrated Studio Arts (ISA) prepares students for either graduate study or career advancements by providing a focused environment for advancing aesthetic, technical, creative, and conceptual skills. While a bachelor’s degree in visual or fine arts is not necessary, a strong portfolio of creative work and a written statement of purpose are required for admission. Download application requirements (PDF) or view online.
Curriculum
Post-baccalaureate students will work with a faculty advisor to create a tailored 25-credit program of study including:
- 15 credits of 300/400-level Integrated Studio courses
- Six (6) credits of 300/400-level art history courses
- Three-credit elective selected from a list of options
- ARTIS 491: One-credit capstone exhibition course
For the capstone experience, you will be expected to produce an artist’s statement and a written assessment of your learning that will be reviewed, along with your art, by the arts faculty.
This certificate program must be completed within two years. Students interested in developing a body of work for admission to graduate school or to focus on further skill development prior to moving into professional practice will be ideal candidates.
Application Requirements
To apply for this program, please submit the following materials.
- Digital portfolio:
— Twenty (20) images of recent work with no more than four (4) of the images being details
— Descriptions on each image need to include title, date, size and medium - One-page statement of intent
- Current resume
- Name and contact information of three (3) references
Graduate Program
The department offers the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Integrated Visual Arts (IVA). The MFA curriculum in IVA requires a minimum of 60 credits. This MFA is a unique interdisciplinary program offering integrative study among a combination of media areas including ceramics, computer applications, drawing, textiles, illustration, jewelry/metalsmithing, painting, printmaking, photography, furniture/wood design and areas outside of AVC. The IVA program offers an innovative curriculum aligned with emerging art and design markets.
IVA graduates link traditional studio disciplines with interdisciplinary studies. Graduates are prepared as visual artists to enter studio practice, business, higher education, or new interdisciplinary fields. The MFA is recognized as the terminal degree. A required thesis exhibition is composed of two parts: a substantial solo exhibition; and a written thesis statement that describes the development of the work in the exhibition, its objectives, and its historical and cultural points of reference. A written thesis with no exhibition component may be an appropriate alternative, but some portion of the work should entail an element of creative problem-solving in the form of a visual product.
Upon completion of the graduate program IVA graduates are expected to:
- Have developed a fully realized creative direction which provides a platform for continued professional research and growth, and visual expression;
- Have produced a body of work which demonstrates a high level of creative investigation and accomplishment;
- Have acquired a professional level of technical proficiency in one or more media areas;
- Effectively communicate their ideas verbally and in writing;
- Understand the context, both historical and current, within which their creative pursuits exist;
- Have developed a well-formed and informed personal creative philosophy and a strong studio skill set;
- Understand current and relevant ethical, ecological, and social issues; and
- Use relevant theory in pursuing creative university-level scholarship.
Studio Courses: 39 credits
| Courses numbered ARTIS | 27 | |
| Studio Courses outside of ISA | 6 | |
| ARTIS 699A and ARTIS 699B | 6 | |
Seminar Courses: 6 credits
(Students take 2 sections of ARTIS 571, or 1 section of ARTIS 571 and ARTIS 511) | ||
| Graduate Seminar ARTIS 571 | 3 credits each section | |
| Graduate Seminar: Grants, Residencies, Exhibitions, Entrepreneurialism | ||
| Graduate Seminar: Critique and Creative Process | ||
| Seminar in Teaching | ||
Art History/Theory/Criticism: 12 credits
| ART H 501 required | 3 | |
| Art History courses | 9 | |