Bachelor of Arts Majors

Our department offers two majors for BA degree students:

• Major in Art & Design
• Major in History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture (HADVC)

Students who major or minor in Art & Design or in the History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture may not select their other subject of concentration from the Department of Art & Design.

All BA students are encouraged to thoroughly investigate the Faculty of Arts Student Services website for tutorial videos and tip sheets which can help you get comfortable using your Bear Tracks account, registering for classes, understanding your general BA program requirements, academic standing, and much more.

Major in Art & Design

BA students with a major in Art & Design can meet their degree program requirements with any combination of our ART, DES, and HADVC classes. Art & Design majors explore many aspects of art and design, and develop skills in critical thinking, communication, creativity, and commitment in both academic and practical course work.

Students who major in Art & Design will need to register in ART 134 and DES 135, the 100-level Art & Design Fundamentals studio courses. You can read more about registering for our courses under Course Registration and Listings.

Together, ART 134 and DES 135 are the prerequisites to all second year studio courses in the department.

Program Requirements

A major in Art & Design requires a minimum of *30 (10 courses) to a maximum of *48 (16 courses) at the senior level (200-level and above), of which at least *6 must be at the 400-level. These courses can be any combination of ART and/or DES and/or HADVC classes.

It is to your advantage to declare your major in Art & Design as soon as possible as you will then have early access to registering yourself in ART 134 and DES135. The earlier you do these course the better, since you will then have more years to complete your major requirements. (We do not recommend that you do ART 134 and DES 135 in the same term.)

Here is a possible course list for a first year Art & Design major:

Fall

1. ART 134 (or DES 135)
2. ENGL 102 (or 103 or 125)
3. HADVC 100 or 2XX
4. Option (from any department in the Faculty of Arts or Science other than Art & Design)*

Winter

1. DES 135 (or ART 134)
2. ENGL 103 (or 102 or 125)*
3. HADVC 100 or 2XX
4. Option (from any department in the Faculty of Arts or Science other than Art & Design)*

*If you know you want to transfer to the BFA or BDes program later, please research the degree you want, so you can tailor your options classes to meet program requirements for that program. For instance, BA students only need one ENGL class but BFA and BDes students need two ENGL classes.

Planning an Application to the BFA or BDes Program

While a portfolio is NOT required for admission to the BA program; many students choose to major in Art & Design in order to take studio courses and work towards applying to the BFA or BDes program (which does require a portfolio for application). If that is your plan we recommend that you try to follow the course requirements for ENGL, HADVC, and options courses of your ideal future degree, with the exception that you will take ART 134 and DES 135 instead of the studio courses listed in the BFA/BDes first year requirements.

Major in the History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture

Contemporary culture is saturated with visual representations. We are bombarded on a daily basis by advertisements, posters, and digital photographs. Courses offered in the History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture teach students to understand our visual world, its messages, and its histories. From representations of sex and death in the Renaissance, to performing bodies in contemporary activist art, to China's design revolution, course topics range widely. Students explore practices of slow looking, learn how to pose original questions of artworks, and engage in creative research projects including faculty and student curatorial projects and pop-up exhibitions in public spaces.

Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in the History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture begin by taking introductory (100- and 200-level courses) designed to equip them with the skills of close visual analysis and an ability both to understand and recognize the visual culture of diverse historical periods. These courses range from the early modern to the modern and contemporary periods. More advanced (300- and 400-level) courses concentrate on specific themes and visual media. At this level, students learn how to produce scholarly essays, undertake original research, present their ideas orally, and engage critically with various art-historical methods.

Program Requirements

A major in History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture requires a minimum of *30 to a maximum of *48 HADVC at the senior (i.e. 200-level or higher) level, with at least *6 at the 400-level. Students who wish to major or minor in History of Art, Design, and Visual Culture should take HADVC 100 in first year.

Here is a possible course list for a first year HADVC major:

Fall

1. ENGL 102 (or 103 or 125)
2. HADVC 100 or 2XX
3. Language other than English, if required
4. Course for second major or for minor
5. Option, or course for second major or for minor

Winter

1. ENGL 103 (or 102 or 125)
2. HADVC 2XX
3. HADVC 2XX
4. Language other than English, if required
5. Course for second major or for minor