Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art

About

In the Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art Program, you’ll study art in many forms.
You’ll choose a focus in:

  • Ceramics,
  • Painting,
  • Drawing,
  • Photography,
  • Printmaking,
  • Sculpture,
  • Digital media,
  • Illustration
  • or Hybrid Studies (a combination of art forms).

In addition to academic studies, you can participate in exhibition opportunities to prepare for your future career.

The skills gained through studying art (such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and creative enterprise) intersect with all disciplines and help develop abilities needed to excel in a variety of careers.

Our graduates have accepted professional assignments with non-profit organizations, public school systems, museums, community organizations, businesses and think-tanks. Some students go on to set up studios, open galleries, become curators and begin their own studio practices. Others use their Capstone portfolios to apply to (and get accepted by) some of the best graduate programs in the country.

Overall, a career in art is often both exciting and rewarding.

Curriculum & Requirements Curriculum Map

Ready to declare a Studio Art Major? email the Art director for an appointment.

Curriculum & Requirements

Art Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Notes:

  • the requirements for students who signed their major in either 2018/19 or 2017/18 should refer to the Catalog appropriate to the year he/she signed (courses no longer offered by EWU may be replaced with equivalent courses if authorized by an ART advisor)
  • the Art Department strongly recommends that all art majors and minors begin their studies with the foundational requirement courses
  • two years of a single high school foreign language or one year of a single college-level foreign language is required
  • the Art Department recommends all art majors and minors begin their studies with Required Foundation courses
Required Foundation Courses
ART 201STUDIO I: IMAGE AND TECHNOLOGY5
ART 202STUDIO II: TECHNIQUES AND MATERIALS5
ART 213THE VISUAL ART EXPERIENCE5
or ART 210 VISUAL CULTURE
ART 300DRAWING5
ART 320CAREERS IN THE ARTS1
Required Visual Culture Courses
ART 312ART ACROSS TIME: PREHISTORY TO 17TH CENTURY5
or ART 314 THE BODY IN ART
ART 313ART ACROSS TIME: 18TH CENTURY TO CONTEMPORARY5
or ART 315 HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
ART 331CONTEMPORARY ART5
Art Experience Electives15
In consultation with their faculty advisor, students choose three of the following courses:
CERAMICS I
CERAMICS II
ILLUSTRATION
COLOR THEORY
DIGITAL ART
PHOTOGRAPHY: DIGITAL PRACTICES
PHOTOGRAPHY: BLACK AND WHITE
THE BODY IN ART
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ART
PAINTING
WATERCOLOR
PRINTMAKING
SCULPTURE
FIBER AND TEXTILES
EXPERIMENTAL
Art Focus10
In consultation with their faculty advisor, students complete 10 advanced level credits in one focus area. 400-level courses can be repeated for credit.
Ceramics
CERAMICS III
Drawing
DRAWING
LIFE DRAWING
Digital
DIGITAL ART: THE MOVING IMAGE
Illustration
ADVANCED ILLUSTRATION
Painting
PAINTING II
Photography
PHOTOGRAPHY: ADVANCED PRACTICE
Printmaking
PRINTMAKING
Sculpture
SCULPTURE
Visual Culture
ART AS SOCIAL ACT
ART AND COMMUNITY
WRITING ABOUT ART
Professional Practice 4-6
In consultation with their faculty advisor, students complete a minimum of 4 credits in Professional Practice topics. ART 439 to be repeated for credit.
TOPICS IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Required Capstone
ART 490SENIOR CAPSTONE (a UGR–senior capstone)5
Total Credits70-72

Catalog Listing

General Education

University Competencies and Proficiencies

English 
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance 
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB


General Education Requirements (GER)

  • Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours 
    • 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
    • 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
  • Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0

Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)

Humanities and Arts 
Natural Sciences 
Social Sciences


University Graduation Requirements (UGR)

Diversity Course List
Foreign Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List


Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term you expect to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).

Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.

Degree Works calculates based on these two catalog years.

  1. The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Credit Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
  2. The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who earn a BA in Art at EWU should be able to do the following:  

  • demonstrate advanced technical skills in a studio concentration; PLO-4;
  • produce a professional quality artist’s portfolio; PLO-1;
  • use appropriate terminology to evaluate works of art; PLO-2;
  • write a well-crafted artist’s statement; PLO-3.

Sample Elective Courses

ART 302. COLOR THEORY. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: ART 201 or ART 202, or sophomore standing.
This course examines the principles of color and their application in studio art. Students investigate the complex visual effects of color and their impact on composition, learn to identify and utilize color harmonies, and explore the expressive qualities of color while moving beyond the limits of personal color preferences.

Catalog Listing

ART 314. THE BODY IN ART. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: GWSS 303, HONS 303.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 201 and junior standing.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–diversity.
Many ideas about race, gender, and sexuality originate in representations of the body. This theme-based survey explores how figurative art has contributed, since prehistory, to shape today’s views. Emphasis in on applying contemporary issues, such as consent and identity, to the study of historical artworks. Includes class discussions and weekly writing assignments about art historical and critical texts that examine the production and perpetuation of cultural attitudes about the body.

Catalog Listing

ART 360. PRINTMAKING. 5 Credits.

Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
This course explores the fundamentals of printmaking, incorporating drawing, painting and collage; processes may include lithography, etching, relief and monotype.

Catalog Listing

ART 381. FIBER AND TEXTILES. 5 Credits.

Cross-listed: THTR 381.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing or permission of the instructor.
In this studio course, students develop skills and cultivate conceptual concerns related to the fiber and textile arts. Traditional and experimental materials will be used to explore such techniques as dyeing, looping, felting, weaving, piecing, and quilting. Critiques and discussions will be informed by lectures, articles, and independent research.

Catalog Listing