Studio Art
The BA and BFA in Studio Art offer a student-initiated path through a variety of studio art course offerings. Students may choose a general concentration in studio art, allowing them to use a range of studio practices from different disciplines, or they may choose a concentration in fashion, new media, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Concentrations will be noted on the student’s transcript, indicating material expertise and qualification for discipline-specific employment or advanced study.
Students may choose to develop their area of interest by focusing on one of five specializations within the major.
Select from the entire menu of course offerings available in the Studio Art fields, including Painting, Sculpture, New Media, Printmaking, Ceramics, and Fashion Design courses, for a truly customized experience that offers broad exposure to a wide variety of art-making materials and strategies.
Pursue a course of study that begins with rigorous instruction in traditional Drawing and Painting materials, methods, techniques, and concepts, and proceeds to encourage a diversity of experimental and multi-disciplinary approaches to Painting as a field with a complex and culturally influential history.
Focus on methods and concepts related to three-dimensional art, form-making, and expanded spatial practices. Contemporary sculpture practice is informed by multiple modes of ideation, making and fabrication, and utilizes a dynamic and ever-expanding set of tools, materials, techniques and approaches.
Provides an opportunity for students 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.
Offers students the opportunity to study a wide range of traditional, photographic, and digital printmaking methods that engage with contemporary art and design fields. Courses provide instruction in screenprint, letterpress, comics and zines, relief printing, intaglio, lithography, and other rotating special topics.
The future of fashion lies in sustainability and our students have access to world-class educators developing cutting-edge technologies, practices, and innovations. The internet has decentralized every aspect of the fashion industry and it is no longer essential to pursue your interest in fashion capitals like New York and Los Angeles. Come join us!
We prepare serious photographers to serve as cultural leaders of the 21st century. Our studios and seminars explore historic traditions, wide-ranging techniques, recent innovations, and the role of the contemporary photographer.
*ART 102 Drawing for Non-Majors
*ART 103 Painting for Non-Majors
*ART 104 Sculpture for Non-Majors
*ART 105 Visual Design for Non-Majors
*ART 140 Introduction to Art
ARTS 210 Ceramics Sculpture I
ARTS 220 Introduction to Fashion
ARTS 243 Time Arts I
ARTS 244 Interaction I
ARTS 264 Basic Photography
ARTS 280 Beginning Sculpture
*Courses non-majors can take, but do not count toward the major. These courses will help students continue to develop their portfolios and connect them to the department.
A studio art degree can lead to a variety of professions related to art, such as careers in
• Apparel Fashion Designer
• Art Administrator
• Art Buyer
• Art Conservator
• Art Critic
• Art Dealer
• Art Gallery Owner
• Art Teacher
• Art Therapist
• Cartoonist
• Clothing Designer
• Commercial Artist
• Commercial Photographer
• Curator
• Editorial Illustrator
• Exhibit Designer
• Fashion Designer
• Fashion Photographer
• Graphic Designer
• Illustrator
• Interior Decorator
• Medical Illustrator
• Mural Artist
• Painter
• Sculptor
• Silkscreen Artist
• Videographer
• Website Designer
- Creativity
- Planning
- Problem Solving
- Spacial Visualization
- Visual Analysis
- Visual Communication
- Visual Design
- Art Administrator
- Art Buyer
- Art Conservator
- Art Critic
- Art Dealer
- Art Gallery Owner
- Art Teacher
- Art Therapist
- Cartoonist
- Commercial Artist
- Curator
- Editorial Illustrator
- Exhibit Designer
- Graphic Designer
- Illustrator
- Interior Decorator
- Medical Illustrator
- Mural Artist
- Painter
- Sculptor
- Silkscreen Artist
- Videographer
- Website Designer
- Participating in undergraduate research
- Applying for a study abroad experience
- Utilizing resources of The Career Center
- Joining a Registered Student Organization (RSO) related to this major, such as:
- 8 to CREATE: 8 to CREATE is an art event in which 8 artists have 8 hours to create 8 works of art. The event is open to the public to observe, engage, and participate in the creative process.
- Life Drawing Club: Allows its members to learn and understand the human figure. Through the use of a live model, the members will observe and render the form to their own degree of satisfaction.
- Krannert Center Student Association: promotes and celebrates the arts by providing volunteer opportunities and activities that unite those who appreciate the arts throughout the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the University of Illinois, and larger communities.
- Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics: focuses on the development of computer animation & visual effects, video games, graphics research, multimedia, and software relating to graphics.
There are several professional organizations dedicated to the Studio Arts:
• American Photographic Artists
• The American Society of Media Photographers
• College Art Association (CAA)
• Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)
• Mid-American Print Council
• The New Media Caucus (NMC)
• Rhizome.org
• SGC International
• Society of Illustrators Artists & Designers (SIAD)
• Women's Caucus for Art