degrees & programs

The College of Visual Arts offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fine arts, graphic design, illustration, interdisciplinary design studies, and photography. The fine arts degree offers concentrations in drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. The interdisciplinary design studies degree offers a concentration in fashion.

All students participate in a clearly sequenced first year foundation program designed to ground them in the skills, vocabulary, concepts, and methods that will be essential to all future work. The year long program lays the foundation for a four-year experience, culminating in the senior capstone work. There is a clear correlation between studio and liberal arts course content, which reinforces learning across the curriculum.

In the sophomore year, students begin to focus on the core program in their major field. Each program offers a carefully designed sequence of courses to build the knowledge and skills required for increasingly complex and sophisticated study within their program.

Junior and senior year work focuses in depth on work in the major fields, and continues the parallel development in both education in the disciplines and professional development. Junior year internships offer another opportunity for exposure to professional practice. As the student nears graduation, the CVA curriculum provides a strong support for the transition from college out to the world of professional practice with professional skills training.

Integration of liberal arts coursework in all of the art and design majors is a distinguishing feature of the College of Visual Arts; CVA offers a robust selection of liberal arts courses to round the student's learning experience. Extensive study in art history helps the students understand the context of their own work in the larger world of art and design. CVA math and science courses incorporate teaching methods that combine rigorous coverage of traditional course content with active learning through the arts. Skills in oral presentation and in critical reading, thinking, and writing are important activities across the curriculum.

The CVA curriculum differs from that of many art and design colleges because it emphasizes integration of learning in all the disciplines involved in art and design education as well as preparation for professional practice. At CVA, students are prepared to become successful students, and also to become accomplished professional artists and designers.