Studio Art Major, B.A.

The B.A. in studio art provides students with a broad exposure to artistic ideas and practices within a liberal arts framework. This degree is ideal for those seeking a well-rounded education and is a popular choice for students pursuing a double major. Common pairings include communication studies (media and technology studies and production), media and journalism, biology, dramatic art (costume and set design), and psychology, though students from any field can benefit from studying visual arts.

The major requires 36 credit hours, but students may take up to 45 credit hours in studio art (ARTS) courses that count toward graduation. Any additional ARTS credits beyond 45 will not apply toward overall graduation requirements.

Learning Outcomes

The studio art program at UNC–Chapel Hill aims to cultivate the interconnected skills of creative thinking and critical making, equipping students with a strong foundation to create exceptional works of art.

Upon completing the B.A. or B.F.A. program, students will be able to:

Master Technical Skills: Demonstrate proficiency in technique, process, and materials, along with an understanding of visual organization principles, to achieve effective visual communication and expression in one or more media.
Understand Studio Practice: Grasp fundamental practices shared across various studio disciplines.
Present and Document Work: Create portfolios, exhibitions, and online galleries that reflect a basic understanding of professional artistic presentation.
Think and Create Innovatively: Experiment, analyze possibilities, and refine ideas to develop artwork from concept to final form.
Engage in Creative Research: Approach artistic development as an iterative process that informs and evolves their work.
Communicate Critically: Use precise verbal and written language to analyze and discuss the relationship between form and content in their own work and that of others.

Requirements

In addition to the program requirements, students must

earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.

For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Core Requirements
Three Tier I studio courses		9
Select one 2-D course (see list below)
Select one 3-D course (see list below)
Select one 4-D course (see list below)
Three Tier II studio courses (see list below)		9
Two Tier III studio courses (see list below)		6
Three studio art elective courses ^1,2		9
One art history (ARTH) course ³		3
Total Hours		36

¹: Only three credits of senior honors thesis can count in the B.A. major.
²: Any ARTS classes, including first-year seminars.
³: Any ARTH classes, including first-year seminars.

Listing of Studio Art Courses by Tier

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Tier I Studio Art (Foundation) Courses
2-D Courses
ARTS 102	Two-Dimensional Design
ARTS 104	Drawing I
ARTS 105	Photography I ^H
ARTS 115	Darkroom Photography I
ARTS 132	Collage: Strategies for Thinking and Making
ARTS 202	Painting I
ARTS 208	Print I
3-D Courses
ARTS 103	Sculpture I
ARTS 213	Ceramic I
ARTS 233	Wood Sculpture
4-D (Time-Based) Courses
ARTS 106	Video I
ARTS 116	Introduction to Web Media
Tier II Studio Art Courses
ARTS 205	Photography II	3
ARTS 206	Video II	3
ARTS 209	2D Animation	3
ARTS 214	Life Drawing	3
ARTS 215	Darkroom Photography II	3
ARTS 221	Color: Theory and Concept	3
ARTS 222	New Technologies and Narrative Painting	3
ARTS 238	Screen Printing	3
ARTS 290	Special Topics in Studio Art	3
ARTS 302	Painting II	3
ARTS 313	Ceramic II	3
ARTS 324	Drawing II	3
ARTS 352	Abstract Painting	3
ARTS 358	Letterpress	3
ARTS 368	Print II	3
Tier III Studio Art Courses
ARTS 309	3D Animation	3
ARTS 322	Narrative Painting	3
ARTS 343	MAKE: Art in the (New) Age	3
ARTS 353	Phantasmagoria: Haunted Art, History, and Installation	3
ARTS 354	Narrative Drawing	3
ARTS 355	The Practice of Representation: Portraiture in Photography	3
ARTS 363	At the Radical Edge of Life: Art, Space, and Ecology	3
ARTS 364	The Walking Seminar: A Territorial Investigation	3
ARTS 383	States of Change	3
ARTS 390	Special Topics in Studio Art	3
ARTS 402	Advanced Painting Projects	3
ARTS 409	Art and Science: Merging Printmaking and Biology ^H	3
ARTS 410	Public Art	3
ARTS 413	Advanced Ceramic Projects	3
ARTS 415	Conceptual-Experimental Photography	3
ARTS 416	Advanced Video	3
ARTS 417	Advanced Mixed Media Projects	3
ARTS 418	Advanced Printmaking	3
ARTS 428	Book Art	3
ARTS 458	Photo Printmaking	3
ARTS 490	Advanced Special Topics in Studio Art	3
ARTS 493	Studio Art Practicum or Internship	3
ARTS 515	Advanced Topics in Photography	3
ARTS 596	Independent Study in Studio Art	3

H	Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply.

Honors in Studio Art

The Senior Honors Thesis Project offers senior studio art majors the opportunity to undertake significant and in-depth creative work that may qualify them to graduate "with honors" or "with highest honors." Selected students conduct original creative research over both semesters of their senior year.

To apply, students must be rising senior studio art majors and have a minimum GPA of 3.3, as required by the Honors Carolina office. The application includes:

A completed application form
A proposal for the senior thesis project
A digital portfolio demonstrating the ability to conduct advanced visual research

A call for applications is sent via the department’s student listserv during the spring semester. Applications are due in early April and are reviewed by the studio faculty within a week of the deadline. Accepted students enroll in the honors courses for the following year through the student services manager.

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
ARTS 691H	Senior Honors Thesis Project in Studio Art (fall)	3
ARTS 692H	Senior Honors Thesis Project in Studio Art (spring)	3

Studio honors students work with a thesis committee composed of at least two members: a thesis advisor — who must be a full-time studio art faculty member — and at least one other studio art faculty member. The committee may include up to two additional faculty members, for a maximum of four, and these additional members may be from outside the department.

In studio art, the thesis project consists of the creative work produced and accompanying written components. Work is reviewed at the end of the fall semester to determine progress toward completion. In the spring semester, the completed honors project work and written thesis are presented to the honors committee for an oral defense. On the basis of this defense and the work presented, the committee determines whether or not a student graduates with an honors designation (honors or highest honors). Honors students exhibit their work in a formal exhibition either as a solo show at the time of the thesis defense and/or as a participant in a group exhibition with other Senior Honors students. Studio art honors students also join their art history peers in a departmental honors symposium in April.

Current deadlines, details of the application process, and requirements for the senior studio art honors project (research, work, and written components) are available on the Department of Art and Art History webpage or from the student services manager.

Special Opportunities in Art and Art History

Independent Study

Students may pursue independent study coursework with individual faculty members. Such work may be undertaken only with the permission of the sponsoring faculty member. Students should consult individual faculty members prior to registration to secure permission. A proposal and a contract must be approved by the appropriate director of undergraduate studies (studio art or art history) before students may enroll. (See the Undergraduate Policies, Procedures, and Resources section of the Department of Art and Art History website for instructions.) Since faculty members are limited to supervising only two independent study students each semester, students are strongly advised to contact the faculty member with whom they wish to work early in the registration period for the upcoming semester.

Independent study work requires a minimum of three hours per week per credit hour. For example, a typical three-credit-hour class would require at least nine hours of work per week. Once the semester begins, students must meet with the faculty member initially to confirm goals, review expectations, and establish semester deadlines. Thereafter, students must meet regularly to review work in progress, with a suggested biweekly frequency. Total time spent in direct interaction with the faculty member for the semester must average 45 minutes per week. This may be in the form of face-to-face meetings, blog or email exchanges, or group critiques with other independent study students and their advisors.

Internships

Art and art history majors are encouraged to pursue internships at local, regional, or national arts institutions or businesses. Students have worked in many art career contexts including museums and galleries, arts programming, and local businesses specializing in art-related production (photo studios, printmaking studios, illustration, design firms, and publishing). The Undergraduate Policies, Procedures, and Resources section of the Department of Art and Art History website has useful information about the requirements and how to set up the contracts for ARTH 293 and ARTS 493 as well as a partial listing of organizations that have worked with our students in the past. If you would like to discuss specific ideas about a possible internship, speak to any faculty member or the relevant director of undergraduate studies (art history or studio). All internships taken for UNC credit are subject to governmental guidelines, and students must have internships preapproved and under contract before enrolling for either ARTH 293 or ARTS 493.

Study Abroad

Students are encouraged to pursue study abroad opportunities. While there are many opportunities to study art abroad, the Department of Art and Art History maintains a special affiliation with the Lorenzo di Medici School in Florence, Italy, and the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. Students should discuss their study abroad plans with the undergraduate advisor in studio art to obtain prior approval for courses taken abroad. Courses that have an equivalent in the UNC–Chapel Hill curriculum usually are approved. Courses that fall outside the UNC–Chapel Hill curriculum must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. No guarantee exists that a course will transfer for credit unless pre-approved. Contact the Study Abroad Office to discuss the procedures for approval. The Department of Art and Art History has some scholarship support available for study abroad (Loudermilk Scholarships). For additional information, see the department's undergraduate advisors in studio art or art history.

Undergraduate Research

Opportunities for undergraduate research in the Department of Art and Art History exist in several forms. Detailed descriptions and application guidelines are available in the Undergraduate Policies, Procedures, and Resources section of the Department of Art and Art History website and from the department's student services manager.

Allcott Travel Fellowships support two summer research projects in studio art and/or art history.

The Beatrice Pearman Fund supports special projects in both art history and studio art. Competitions for art history research funds are held in the fall and the spring. Studio art students may request funds for special projects by submitting a proposal to the director of undergraduate studies in studio art. Awards are $500 or less.

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) are administered through the UNC Office for Undergraduate Research. These $3,000 awards support undergraduate research projects over the summer. UNC's broad definition of research includes creative practices, and the James Boyd Gadson SURFs are specifically designated for studio art. SURF applications from studio art majors are automatically considered for these Gadson Fellowships. This fund typically supports at least two awards. Application deadlines (usually in February) are set by the Office for Undergraduate Research. Students interested in pursuing summer research should contact possible faculty sponsors toward the end of the fall semester.

The Jacquelyn Friedman and Marvin Saltzman Fund in Art provides supplemental monies for painting supplies for students who for economic reasons may be hindered from working to their full potential. Any undergraduate student with need, regardless of major, enrolled in a departmental studio art painting class during the fall and/or spring semesters is eligible. Students can contact their course instructor or the student services specialist for further information.

Undergraduate Awards

UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS IN STUDIO ART

The studio program awards more than $44,000 annually to students, with individual awards ranging from a minimum of $500 to $12,000. Every November, studio art majors and minors are invited to submit a portfolio of works to be considered for these scholarships. Some scholarships are restricted to majors only.

The Alexander Julian Prize (recognizing the outstanding achievements of one exceptional student)
The Anderson Awards (two awards)
John C Henry Scholarships (two awards covering tuition, fees, and expenses for two semesters)
George Kachergis Studio Art Scholarships (multiple awards chosen by a student-designated committee)
The Sharpe Scholarships (multiple awards for students receiving financial aid)
The Penland School of Craft Scholarships (two awards cover all expenses for a summer course at the Penland School of Craft)
Lowdermilk Scholarships (specifically designed to support study abroad)

Application information is available on the department website.

Departmental Involvement

Students have opportunities to see and interact with a variety of arts professionals through exhibitions in the Allcott Galleries, installations of sculptural works in the Alumni Sculpture Garden, the Visiting Arts Professionals Program, and the Hanes Visiting Artist Lecture Series.

Several undergraduate student organizations serve the visual arts at Carolina. The Undergraduate Art Association (UAA) is a campuswide social club that supports and develops undergraduate visual artists at Carolina — regardless of their enrollment in art classes — and strengthens the impact of visual art in the University community. The Studio Art Majors Association (SAMA) is aimed at developing community and professional opportunities that augment the experience for studio art majors and minors, especially through the programming of the SAMple Gallery in the Hanes Art Center. ArtHeels is a service-based organization that is passionate about bringing arts (visual, performing, and literary) to the healthcare setting. The Art History Liaisons is the undergraduate art history group. Kappa Pi is the department majors' honor society which includes both studio and art history majors. These groups serve as an important link between the majors and the department’s administration. The department utilizes these organizations to facilitate communication about matters of interest, including participation in departmental initiatives or other extracurricular opportunities.