Studio Art Courses

Studio Art courses (ART) teach you to create your own works of art. We offer courses in architecture, ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture.

You can fulfill some COLL curriculum requirements with studio art courses. Some of these courses may require a prerequisite. Most of them fulfill the Creative and Performing Arts Proficiency requirement and Arts, Letters, and Values Knowledge Domain requirement.

Where to Start

Many of our advanced courses require ART 211 (Drawing and Color) or ART 212 (Three-dimensional Design: Form and Space) as prerequisites.

In order to put your work in context, you are required to take a total of three Art History courses (ARTH). Two of the Art History courses must be at or above ARTH 230, and one at or above 330.

The Undergraduate Catalog lists all the courses we offer. To see which classes are coming up next semester, or to see what topics will be taught in a topics course, check out the Dynamic Schedule or Open Course List.

What to Expect

What type of readings are involved in first-and-second-year courses? (e.g. articles, textbook) How much reading should a student expect to do per week?  

Studio courses are centered around making artworks (drawing, sculpting, printmaking, photography, painting, etc.) and so the readings involved are usually minimal. They tend to be supplemental to some of the concepts introduced (basic color theory, figure anatomy, ideas about perception or design, etc.). However, part of being a studio major involves taking 2-3 Art History courses which will involve more reading as is usual for a lecture course with exams and papers.   

What sorts of assignments should a student expect in first-and-second-year courses? (e.g. quizzes, group projects, presentations) 

The assignments for first-and-second-year Studio Art Majors typically revolve around studio practice: drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, etc.  The assignments tend to come in the form of studio projects that are centered around making things by hand. Quizzes and exams are minimal to non-existent in art studio courses. However, there are often critiques in the form of both group critiques and one-on-one critiques. 

Beyond the required course texts, are there other course materials a student should be prepared to purchase for first-and-second-year courses? 

Course Materials for Studio Art courses include the purchase of particular artist materials pertinent for each course. Each studio course may require that each student purchases a kit that would include such supplies as brushes, pencils, charcoal, erasers, paper, carving tools, etc., as needed for each course. It should be noted that studio courses usually ask for a studio fee to be paid, and that the fees are used by the instructor to purchase materials for the courses in bulk (such as clay or plaster for a sculpture course).   

Is there anything else that is important for first-and-second-year students to know and/or expect from their courses? 

Art Studio Courses tend to be longer sessions than lecture courses, with each studio course usually lasting almost 3 hours (2:50). Each course is sort of a combination lab/lecture/study hall, and the length of each class session is necessary for the students to develop their understanding of visual concepts and technical skill sets necessary to creating artworks.