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Integrated Studio Arts

This is an archived copy of the 2023-2024 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

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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 150Critical Thinking and Communication3
ENGL 250Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition3
LIB 160Introduction to College Level Research1
One course from the following:3
Introduction to Communication Studies
Interpersonal Communication
Fundamentals of Public Speaking
Total Credits10

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 List6
3 credits from College of Design General Education Approved Course list3
Total Credits9

College of Design Core: 13 credits

DSN S 102Design Studio I4
DSN S 115Design Collaborative Seminar1
or DSN S 110 Design Exchange Seminar I
DSN S 131Drawing I4
DSN S 132Digital Design Literacy1
DSN S 183Design in Context3
Total Credits13

Integrated Studio Arts Core: 31 credits

ARTIS 202Studio Fundamentals: Wood2
ARTIS 203Studio Fundamentals: Jewelry/Metalsmithing2
ARTIS 204Studio Fundamentals: Ceramics2
ARTIS 206Studio Fundamentals: Printmaking2
ARTIS 208Color2
ARTIS 210Studio Fundamentals: Photo2
ARTIS 212Studio Fundamentals: Digital Media3
ARTIS 213Studio Fundamentals: Painting2
ARTIS 214Studio Fundamentals: Textiles2
ARTIS 230Drawing II3
ARTIS 310Sources and Methods of Visual Art3
ART H 280History of Art I3
ART H 281History of Art II3
Total Credits31

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 399BFA Professional Practice2
ARTIS 499BFA Exhibition1
Total Credits3

Electives: 11 credits

Integrated Studio Arts. BFA

First Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
DSN S 102 or 1314DSN S 102 or 1314
DSN S 110 or 1151DSN S 183 (or General Education)3
DSN S 1321ENGL 150 (or General Education)3
DSN S 183 (or General Education)3General Education3
ENGL 150 (or General Education)3General Education3
General Education 3LIB 1601
General Education3 
 18 17
Second Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
ART H 280 (fall only)3ART H 281 (spring only)3
ARTIS 212 or 2303ARTIS 230 or 2123
ARTIS Studio Fundamentals2ARTIS Studio Fundamentals2
ARTIS Studio Fundamentals2ARTIS Studio Fundamentals2
ARTIS Studio Fundamentals2ARTIS Studio Fundamentals2
ARTIS Studio Fundamentals2ARTIS Studio Fundamentals2
ENGL 250 (or General Education)3ENGL 250 (or General Education)3
 17 17
Third Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
ARTIS 3103ARTIS Studio Option3
ARTIS Studio Option3ARTIS Studio Option3
ARTIS Studio Option3ARTIS Studio Option3
ART H 300 level or above3ART H 300 level or above3
General Education3ARTIS 3992
 DSN S 301 (Rome option only)1
 15 15
Fourth Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
ARTIS Studio Option3ARTIS Studio Option3
ARTIS Studio Option3ARTIS Studio Option3
ART H 300 level or above3ARTIS 4991
General Education or Elective3General Education3
Elective3Elective5
 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.

  1. 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
  2. One-page statement of intent
  3. Current resume
  4. 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 ARTIS27
Studio Courses outside of ISA6
ARTIS 699A and ARTIS 699B6

Seminar Courses: 6 credits

(Students take 2 sections of ARTIS 571, or 1 section of ARTIS 571 and ARTIS 511)
Graduate Seminar ARTIS 5713 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 required3
Art History courses9

Related Courses (outside of IVA program): 3 credits

Total: 60 Credits