Art Practices Emphasis, BFA
Introduction
Please click here to see general Visual Arts information.
The Art Practices emphasis provides students with a comprehensive education in visual art practices, which includes creative influences, ideas, materials, tools and skills, as well as theory and art history, with an emphasis on current trends in contemporary art. Art Practices is designed for students whose creative ideas move across media and who are looking for a more comprehensive critical approach to developing their practice. Art Practices provides students with focused professional skills in multiple areas of visual art, whereby the student can develop a fully formed body of work with conceptual impact. .
The work of contemporary artists is a dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that challenges traditional assumptions and definitions. Contemporary artists, art writers and creative thinkers give voice to the varied and changing landscapes of identity, values, and beliefs in the increasingly global culture of our diverse and technologically advancing world. Artists today explore ideas, concepts, questions, and practices that examine the past, describe the present, and imagine the future. This program is designed to address the needs of students looking to become successful emerging artists and creative minds with the skills to become active individuals in the art world through multiple outlets—in exhibition/sales routes, arts education, art writing, curation, business employment and much more.
Students gain professional skills in the studio arts, including painting, drawing, sculpture, and transmedia (digital art, video, performance, concept a socially conscious work). Students then select a secondary concentration that allows them to further focus their personal interests with their work. These selections include Photography, Illustration, and Art History.
Program Delivery
- This is an on-campus program.
Declaring This Major
- Click here to go to information about declaring a major.
General Requirements
To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.
- CU Denver General Graduation Requirements
- CU Denver Core Curriculum
- College of Arts & Media Graduation Requirements
- Click here for information about Academic Policies
Program Requirements
- A minimum letter grade is required for each course in the major for the course to satisfy the degree requirement. All grades apply to the major and are averaged to generate the major-specific GPA.
- A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required to satisfy degree requirements for any major course taken at CU Denver.
- A grade of C- (1.7) or lower will not fulfill a major, minor or certificate requirement, but is calculated in the major GPA.
- A grade of S is acceptable only for courses in which the grading basis is S/U. No more than 6 semester hours of P+/P/F is allowed in any given semester. No more than 12 semester hours may be elected as P+/P/F toward the degree.
- All upper-division visual arts courses must be taken at CU Denver unless approved otherwise by Department of Visual Arts faculty.
- At least 27 semester hours of visual arts credits (at any level) must be taken at CU Denver.
- At least 24 semester hours of total visual arts courses must be upper-division.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Arts Foundation | ||
| Take all of the following Arts Foundation courses: 1 | ||
| FINE 1100 | Drawing I | 3 |
| FINE 1400 | Two Dimensional Design | 3 |
| FINE 1500 | Three-Dimensional Design | 3 |
| FINE 2155 | Introduction to Digital Photography | 3 |
| FINE 2600 | Art History Survey I | 3 |
| FINE 2610 | Art History Survey II | 3 |
| Primary Visual Arts Concentration Courses | ||
| Take all of the Main Studio Concentration courses from one of the following categories: 1 | 24 | |
| Secondary Concentration Courses | ||
| Students must take five courses in a second area or discipline, choosing one of those listed below: 2 | 15 | |
| Additional Required Courses | ||
| FINE 4990 | Contemporary Art: 1960 to Present | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Take three semester hours of upper-division Art History elective. | 3 | |
| Take nine semester hours of Visual Arts electives. 4 | 9 | |
| Capstone Courses | ||
| FINE 4515 | Advanced Art Practices | 3 |
| FINE 4950 | Studio BFA Thesis | 3 |
| Total Hours | 78 | |
- 1
Note: Students should choose a Primary and Secondary concentration before continuing with upper-division (3000/4000-level) studio courses. Any 1000/2000-level course may be taken prior to making concentration selections.
- 2
Note that the Secondary Concentration must be different from the Primary Concentration.
- 3
Note: Students wishing to select Illustration as a secondary concentration area must participate in the Illustration Portfolio Day. For more information, please click here.
- 4
These may include studio, lecture, internship or art history courses.
Primary Visual Arts Concentration
Take all of the following Primary Visual Arts Concentration courses:
Art Practices
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 2030 | Life Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 2500 | Beginning Foundry | 3 |
| FINE 2510 | Shaping Materials | 3 |
| FINE 3200 | Intermediate Painting and Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 3500 | Installation Art | 3 |
| FINE 3510 | Form and Play | 3 |
| FINE 3556 | Concepts in Studio Art | 3 |
| FINE 4505 | Sculptural Drawing | 3 |
Secondary Concentrations
Take all of the Secondary Concentration courses from one of the following categories (Art History, Illustration or Photography).
Art History
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 4525 | Museum Studies | 3 |
| Six credits of Art History Elective | 6 | |
| Six credits of Art History Seminar | 6 | |
Illustration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 3010 | Illustration I: Image Making | 3 |
| FINE 3014 | The Graphic Novel Workshop | 3 |
| FINE 3030 | Media of Drawing | 3 |
| FINE 3410 | Illustration II: Digital Media | 3 |
| FINE 3450 | Digital Painting | 3 |
Photography
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FINE 1150 | Introduction to Darkroom Photography | 3 |
| FINE 3161 | The Silver Fine Print | 3 |
| FINE 3162 | The Digital Fine Print | 3 |
| FINE 3171 | Experimental Photography | 3 |
| FINE 4195 | Photography Portfolio I | 3 |
Note that the FINE 3556 Concepts in Studio Art course encompass rotating course topics and can be taken up to four times, with a different topic.
Please contact the College of Arts & Media at CAM@ucdenver.edu for course sequencing, any prerequisite updates and for lists of approved electives and more information about this emphasis.
To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.