Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A)

Overview 

I . Foundation Courses
II. Intermediate Studios
III. Advanced Studios
IV. Critical Studies Courses
V. University Academic Courses

I. Foundation Courses

In their first year of study, students take a total of six foundation studio courses, exploring a range of mediums and conceptual processes. These studios ensure that all students have an exploratory experience with all of the media resources of the school. They also serve as preparation for intermediate and advanced studio work.

In addition, the Art First-Year Seminar introduces you to facilities, faculty, staff, resources, and many opportunities you can access within Art and the broader university. All first-year students take the seminar together, allowing you build a strong community that will help you develop as an artist during your time at CMU and beyond.

II. Intermediate Studios

Students take a minimum of six Intermediate Studio courses of their choosing in preparation for Advanced Studios in their junior and senior years. Intermediate studios will build on foundational knowledge and allow students to direct their studies to those mediums and topics most strongly of interest.

III. Advanced Studios

Students take a minimum of six Advanced Studio elective courses in their junior and senior years. These courses address specialized studio work in one of the four artistic concentration areas in the school, which are:

• Drawing, Painting, Print Media, and Photography (DP3)
• Sculpture, Installation, and Site Work (SIS)
• Electronic and Time-Based Work (ETB)
• Social Practice (SP)

In addition, students complete another six studio courses, which can be either Intermediate or Advanced Studios. This allows for significant exploration and integration across mediums within the program.

A minimum of four courses must be taken in one of these concentration areas. One of the intermediate or advanced courses can be a studio-based course within the College of Fine Arts, IDeATe, or additional programs.

IV. Critical Studies Courses

Students are introduced to critical studies in the spring of their first year, taking Foundations: Critical Studies. After the first year, students take four elective critical studies courses to broaden their knowledge and inform their studio practice. Critical Studies courses are discussion-based seminars examining theoretical texts in relation to periods of artistic practice. Readings will introduce students to the historical and critical background of the themes discussed in class and familiarize them with the varied methodologies and argumentative styles proper to art criticism, critical theory and philosophy.

V. University Academic Courses

Ten academic courses outside of Art and Computing @ Carnegie Mellon are required.

First Year

In the first year of study the student is expected to complete the following three requirements:

• Core@CMU (99-101)
• One First-Year Writing option
• One Global/Cultural Studies elective

For First-Year Writing, the student selects one of the two full-semester courses, (Interpretation and Argument (76-101) or Advanced First Year Writing: Special Topics (76-102)), or two of the three half-semester writing courses (Writing about Literature, Art and Culture (76-106), Writing about Data (76-107), or Writing about Public Problems (76-108)).

The Global/Cultural Studies electives include but are not limited to the following courses:

After First Year

The student must take one course in each of the following academic areas or “options”:

• Humanities and Languages or “Culture Option”
• Math, Science, Computer Science and Engineering or “Technical Option”
• History, Psychology, Economics or “Social Science Option”

The student must then take at least three additional courses from one of the academic areas/options listed above.

Finally, the student must take two additional, but unspecified, academic electives.

In selecting courses for the university academic component of the curriculum, students are encouraged to complete a cluster of courses that appeals to and develops their interests as emerging artists. In the process of taking their university electives, students can often simultaneously earn a minor.

Curriculum

Minimum units required for B.F.A. in Art384

Below is the recommended distribution of courses in the four-year B.F.A curriculum. After the first year, students have greater flexibility regarding the sequencing of their elective courses. Art sophomores are limited to intermediate studios. Advanced studio courses are reserved for Art juniors and seniors.

First Year

Second Year

Third Year

Fourth Year

Sophomore Reviews

Students give an overview of their work at the midpoint of their four-year course of study. At the end of the sophomore year, students undergo a faculty review of their work to date in the program. 

Art Majors Minoring or Double Majoring in Another Department

About a third of current B.F.A. Art students pursue a minor or a second major. If students are contemplating this option, they must discuss their plans with academic advisors from the minor or second major department as well as with the School of Art academic advisor.

Study Abroad

Art students are encouraged to spend either a semester of their junior year, or a summer before or after their junior year, in one of many available international programs. These programs include university sponsored and exchange programs in which a student's financial aid package remains in effect, and programs sponsored by other institutions.

Programs with other Pittsburgh Institutions

Art students are eligible to take courses at the nearby University of Pittsburgh's History of Art and Architecture Department, and at the Pittsburgh Glass Center. Established agreements with these institutions and other Pittsburgh colleges, universities or centers offer cross-registration opportunities at no additional expense to the student.